The Lion and the Lambes

A new year

2012-01-17T23:22:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! ...a few weeks ago! We had a great Christmas with our families and New Year's with our college friends! It was so nice to see everyone- it seemed like we'd never left :)
Above are all the guys.

Eliana practicing being a big sister (her little brother Isaac was born a few days later).

Desy the cowboy!

I wish we and our college friends lived closer together.

I got a fancy-pants new camera for Christmas (Canon EOS Rebel T3 if you care) so I've been having lots of fun with that! We went with some of our family to Cox Arboretum the first week of January and had fun walking around and taking pictures. It's really beautiful there- I can't wait to see it in the spring!

Last week (?) Nathan and I took the boys to the park and O had a blast! It was chilly but still unseasonably warm. As pretty as snow is, I'm honestly kind of enjoying the not-frigid weather.
I guess I haven't really written about Orion for a while. He talks all the time, often in phrases. His pronunciations are getting better so it's a little easier to understand what he's saying. He's still crazy about cars, and loves toy cars, the Cars movies, and real-life cars. Orion also loves letters and numbers. And running around like a crazy person, especially if he's being chased.

He's been inconsistent with naps lately- I'm worried he's trying to drop his nap already- but still sleeps great at night. We want to transfer him out of the crib soon, but I'm kind of dragging my feet on that one.

As for Desmond, he's sitting up pretty well, but not well enough to leave him unattended because he'll undoubtedly fall over. He's rolling over really well. He loves to play.

He's eating solids at every meal and enjoying everything I give him. So far he's had squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, pears, sweet peas, and carrots. We often mix in rice cereal. He's a good eater!

Sleep is NOT going well. At all. I'm trying to get him to take 2 naps a day instead of like 5, which seems to be going well except that the naps aren't as long as I think they should be. Night time has been terrible lately. He's been waking up every couple hours and crying a LOT. I am trying to do some sleep training because he's fully capable of going more than a few hours without eating at night, but it's hard. I'm going to read a book I haven't read before today/tomorrow, so hopefully it'll have some helpful tips.

I actually ran yesterday for the first time since October!! My running band was completely dead from disuse. Ha! It was so warm that I thought I better take the chance and get out there (and break in my awesome new running shoes!). I did pretty well- I ran about a mile with a short break toward the end. It was SO windy... oh my goodness. The last leg was INTO the wind and it was crazy hard. That's when I had to take a break and walk for a minute. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with how I did.

I'm pushing myself to start running again because I think I've gained back a couple pounds :/ So I have 8 or 9 pounds to lose. I need to get myself organized and motivated to get this DONE!

Desmond - 6 months old

2012-01-05T11:23:00.006-05:00

My little guy isn't so little any more! It's just crazy how time is flying by... Desy turned 6 months old last week! He had a checkup today... so here are the stats:

Weight: 14 pounds 4.5 oz ish (5th percentile)
Length: 24.75 inches (4th percentile)
Head: 43 cm (26th percentile)

So he's doing a little better weight-wise, dropped a little on the chart length-wise. Regardless, he's healthy and that's what we care about. No worries!

What Des is up to:

-He's sitting up! He's getting more steady and can sit up for longer, but still not well enough to leave him by himself without any support... because he will fall over.

-He can roll over both ways- in the picture above he rolled to his belly by himself. He really doesn't roll very often... not sure if he understands the whole concept. But that's ok.

-Sleep is a struggle at the moment. He got all messed up from travel+stuffy nose, so we're still battling that, but I added to the issue by deciding that it's time that he learned to sleep in his bed without being in the car seat or being swaddled (it seemed to be making him mad). So yeah. He's mostly falling asleep fine even for naps, but not sleeping as long and has been getting mad and crying a lot during the night. Not sure what to do about that but stick it out. So that's the plan. Hope things improve quickly... I'm tired!

-Des loves to smile and make friends. Sometimes he sticks his tongue out instead of smiling.

-I started giving him baby food a couple days ago! He loves it. So much different from when we tried a month or two ago. He chomps right down on the spoon every time. So far he's had rice cereal with formula a few times and squash once.

I just wanted to show off Desmond's Christmas present from Nathan and me. We made him an origami star mobile! I just bought a photo clip mobile online, and then we made the stars. I was worried because the instructions looked really hard, but once we figured it out it was pretty easy. I really like how it came out :)

Just for kicks, I want to give you a comparison between Orion at 6 months and Des at 6 months! I even (accidentally) took their picture in the same outfit! Some people say they look just alike and some say they look nothing alike. I think they look totally different, but like brothers :)

Orion

Desmond

What do you think?

Maybe my quirkiness is endearing...

2011-12-21T12:27:00.005-05:00

If we're going to be friends I think it's only fair that I let you know how weird I am. If you're weird too I think we have a long and happy relationship ahead of us. If you're normal... you have my permission to step away quietly ;) Here are a few of my... um... adorable eccentricities.

I'm not typically a neat freak. I don't like my house to be dirty, but I'm not the neatest person ever. We typically have piles here and there, and our desk is always heaped with random things without homes.

So... if someone wants to help out with housework or chores, I'm thrilled to accept! Often someone other than me folds our laundry which I am VERY thankful for!! But there's one thing that I cannot abide...

...and that is improperly folded socks. If almost anyone other than me folds my socks, I unfold them and refold them before putting them away (my sock drawer is probably the neatest part of our house). I don't know what it is, but I CAN'T put them away folded wrong. Yep. That's a really weird thing to be picky about.
My favorite word is "lunch." It may or may not have something to do with the meaning of the word. I just really like the sound of it.

If you've been reading my blog for a long time you know that I am very motivated by sticker charts. I used one when I was training for my first 5K. Nathan recently made me a new chart... for Spider Slaying.

I am terrified of spiders. Always have been, although I think it's gotten worse over the last few years. A couple months ago when it started getting cold, LOTS of spiders started coming into our house. One day a really big one ran across the middle of our living room when O and I were sitting on the floor and I flipped. I managed to kill it, but not before I started saying "ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh," and then following the slaying I yelped and danced around the room from the heebie-jeebies... I actually kind of felt like I was crazy at that moment... which is really pretty sad. Although Orion thought it was funny and started laughing at me.

That day Nathan decided the phobia had to stop and he made me a sticker chart with food rewards... that's double motivation! I've done really well, as you can see! Many of those were tiny spiders, but he said any spider counts.

Also, I killed a spider with a lightsaber.

One of my favorite food combinations is cottage cheese and potato chips. Just dip the chips in the cottage cheese and mmmm. If you're in my biological family you already know that this is one of the yummiest things ever. If not... you're missing out.

If I eat something very sweet for dessert, I almost always eat carrots afterwards as a pallet cleanser. Both my mom and my mother in law do this too, so maybe it's not THAT weird.

I love plain, unsweetened iced tea. I don't like sweet tea. I don't like hot tea (even if it's the same kind). Only plain iced tea.

I have a Bachelor's degree in English Writing. And I don't like to write any more. Blogging is as much as I care to do. Certainly not creative stuff. I don't even care if people speak or write correctly any more as long as I can understand them, and I'm not even strict about being correct myself. The one thing that bothers me is misused apostrophes.

I love cartoons. This may not seem weird to some people, but I know a lot of adults don't watch cartoons, at least not without their kids. Well I do. Often. Pictured above are three favorites: How to Train Your Dragon, Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV series), and Wall-E.

I eat my salad without dressing. I don't like any type of dressing. But I do like salad.

_________________________

Alright, I think that's enough. I only started with 2 things but that doesn't constitute a whole blog post, so I padded it for you. I hope we can still be friends.

Your turn! Post in the comments something that makes you... special.

Desy - 5 months

2011-11-30T15:35:00.004-05:00

Desmond is five months old as of yesterday. He's still pretty much the same ol' Des. Still pretty laid-back and smiley. He especially likes to smile at new people.

I took him along to Orion's doctor's appointment to get him weighed. He's still a skinny little thing just like his brother (except he doesn't LOOK as skinny). 12 lbs 7 oz, which is the 2nd percentile. Sigh. The good news is that he finally started taking formula over the weekend so we can actually supplement like we're supposed to! Hopefully his weight gain picks up soon.

We've fed Desmond rice cereal a couple times. He's not super interested but he'll eat it ok. No real rush to start giving him consistent solid meals. The picture below is from after his first "solid" meal.

Oh, and he's already tried frozen yogurt... haha! Apparently he liked it because he grabbed the whole cone... by the frozen yogurt part! I tried giving him a bit of applesauce the other day but he just gave me a disgusted face and spat it out.

Desy just isn't into sleeping long stretches at night any more :( I'm happy if he sleeps more than 3 hours at a time. People keep telling me that giving him that extra formula should help him sleep longer, but so far that's not the case. Hm. This too shall pass ;)

He's still on the same schedule of wake up, eat, up for an hour, nap for an hour. Yesterday I tried to get him to skip the first nap to attempt to get him to just take two longish naps a day... but that just screwed up his schedule and made for a grumpy day. Sooo... I guess he's not ready to consolidate naps?

He can finally roll over from his belly to his back! His buddy Easton, who is 3 1/2 months younger than Des, started rolling over before him, so I think that gave Desmond the motivation he needed to get rollin ;) He still doesn't do it all the time, but at least I know he can. He can also shake a rattle. And he likes to grab my face or hair or his daddy's beard.

Pretty much he's just the sweetest little guy ever and I'm very blessed to have him!! He really is an easy baby. I can't believe he's going to be six months old soon!! I love you, Desy Do!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Orion!

2011-11-22T11:00:00.009-05:00

My baby turned 2 a couple days ago! In some ways I can't believe two years have passed already, but in others it seems like he's always been around.

Here are the stats:
Height: 2' 9" (15th percentile)
Weight: 28.5 lbs (55th percentile)
Head: 19.69" (80th percentile)
So he's doing awesome! He's short which is no surprise, but I'm thrilled that he's finally an average weight! He's not skinny any more! Aaaand he still has a big noggin ;)

What he's up to:

-Orion talks all. the. time. He has a word for just about everything, or will copy whatever you say if he doesn't know what a thing is called. He's been stringing words together a lot... he'll say "more juice," or "Night-night Daddy," or "light on." My favorite phrase is "I love you," of course ;)

-O knows all of his letters, numbers 1-13, colors, and shapes!

-He has slept in til 8:30 or 9:00 every morning for the past week or two! And he's been napping for 1.5-2 hours every day! If you know Orion, you know this is NOT normal. I could get used to this!!

-Right now he's obsessed with the movie Wall-E. He asks to watch it constantly ("Mawl-E? Boo-bot?"). Speaking of talking, he gives a commentary through the whole movie... "Uh oh! Boo bot! Night night Mawl-E." Rocket!" I'm glad he likes a movie that's not obnoxious... I love Wall-E, but I can't figure out why HE does!

-O loves cars and trucks. And planes. And trains. And boats. Anything transportation related :P He likes to carry a toy car with him when we go anywhere, even if it's just upstairs.

-Orion loves to run and climb and kick and throw. I think he's going to be pretty athletic.

We had Orion's birthday party last weekend (the weekend before his birthday, because our friends Andrew and Kayla got married on his birthday!). We ended up having it in the youth room at church because we had so many people!

We went with a car theme. He likes the Cars movie, but I didn't want to do aaaalll Cars character decorations, so we combined it with checkered flag and red decorations. I think it came out really cute :)

Here's his cake! I'm very happy that it came out just as I imagined :)

We decided to leave the balloons on the floor for O to play with.

Some of our party guests. Jenga!

My dad and Desy :)

Aunt Rachel and Des in their party hats (and Des with drool).

Nathan made fajita quesadillas and I made cilantro lime rice. Yum!

O approves this lunch. Cheese quesadillas are his favorite :)

Everyone enjoying dinner. Rachel brought her boyfriend and Allie brought 3 friends, and my parents came, so we had quite a party!

O isn't sure what to think of those crazies standing on chairs singing to him.

...but he liked the cake decorations! I love the trail of frosting :P

Mmm, cake.

O and Mama

Aunt Allie and Aunt Rachel got him a super cool trike! I think he'll get the peddles figured out by spring. In the mean time, it has a bell!!

So many cool presents, including a motorized train and lots of cars!

I love my big 2 year old :)

That's a plan I can live with!

2011-11-08T08:23:00.002-05:00

Here are the stats:
Starting weight: 132.4
Current weight: 126.8
Goal weight: 120
Weight lost this week(s): 3
Total weight lost: 5.6
Pounds left 'til goal: 6.8

So... apparently the secret to success is NOT running and making sure to eat lots of Halloween candy...? Huh. OK!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:44:00.003-04:00

Andrew and Kayla threw a pumpkin carving party last night and we had a great time! Nathan carved a film noir detective. Because he's Nathan and has skillz.

And I carved a spider... in honor of my spider killing spree... which I will post about another time.

Cheese ball bat!

Tonight was our church's Fall Family Festival, but before we went we ran up to Chipotle for $2 burritos! We just had to dress as something farm related... Nathan was a classy cow (I didn't take a picture, which I'm bummed about), I was a pig, Des was a dog (B-I-N-G-O), and O was the farmer. So 4 burritos for $8!

Orion has a monkey costume that he was going to wear to the festival, but he doesn't like it and he was already all farmery, so we went with it ;) He also kind of looked like a puppet because he had a balloon on each wrist :P

And Desy was the cutest puppy ever :)

Prayers please (with updates)

2011-10-31T13:09:00.003-04:00

Please pray for my good friend Amanda Rust and her family. Her youngest son Benjamin had an appt with an eye doctor this morning for a possible lazy eye. Instead the eye doctor said that he has an eye tumor. They think it is cancerous and that he is already blind in that eye and the retina is detached. Ben will be 2 years old next month. Rodney and Amanda are on their way now to see a specialist in Cincinnati. Please pray for Ben's healing and comfort for this dear family.

Amanda, I love you and am praying hard for B and your whole family.

**Update**

First, thanks to anyone who is praying.

They determined that there is a thumb-sized cancerous tumor inside his eye- he was born with it and was never able to see out of that eye. They will do a procedure to remove the eye and put in an artificial one on Saturday. Tomorrow Ben is having an MRI to check to make sure it is confined to his eye, which the doctor thinks it is. He has one of the top specialists in the nation taking care of him, tons of people praying for him, and a great God who loves him. Please continue to pray for B and his family... it means a lot to me.

**MRI Update**

The cancer is confined to his eye! The doctor said there is a 98% cure rate with the removal of the eye. Praise God! The tumor had completely taken over the eye; they are going to remove it Saturday and he will get an artificial one in a few weeks. Please give praise to God and also keep praying for B and his family.

I love him :)

Desmond - 4 months old

2011-10-31T10:48:00.003-04:00

Desmond turned 4 months old yesterday! I can't believe how big he is already... I feel like Orion's first four months went MUCH more slowly! Poor second child.

Here are the stats:
Length: I don't know! It's not on my sheet! (But 25th percentile ish)
Weight: 11.8 lbs (<5th percentile)
Head: 15.94 in (10th percentile)

Sooo. Yeah. His weight dropped on the growth chart quite a bit. Sound familiar? It does to me! Orion had weight issues too, except he was below the growth chart by 2 months. He weighed 11 lbs 1 oz when he was 4 moths, so Des is a little bigger but not much!

The doctor recommended that we start supplementing with formula, but Desmond won't drink it!! He's had bottles before so that's not the issue; I think he just doesn't like the taste of the formula! So that's not working.

BUT, the more I read, the more I think the the drop in rate of growth is normal. Apparently not only are breastfed babies lighter than formula fed babies (in general), but they also slow down in weight gain after 3 months. Hm. On charts based only on breastfed babies Des is almost 10th percentile. I believe the charts my doctor's office uses are based on both formula and breast fed babies.

All that is to say, I'm trying not to worry about it and keep doing what I'm doing and we'll see how his weight is doing in a month. Since he won't drink formula anyway there's not much I can do :P

He's gotten a lot more active lately. He likes to roll onto his sides and scooch around in circles on the floor.

He also drools all the time. Nice.

Sleep has been not so fabulous lately... he has been getting up every couple hours at night to eat. I was kind of looking forward to giving him a bottle of formula before bed in hope that he would sleep longer, but obviously that's not going as planned.

However, he randomly slept for TWELVE HOURS STRAIGHT the other night. What?! Unfortunately it was just a fluke. Just weird.

Most days he naps well during the day, still in a pattern of get up and eat, stay up for about an hour, then nap for about an hour. With some variances of course. But it's nice to have a baby with a fairly consistent schedule and who doesn't require constant attention.

Overall he's still his happy, healthy, smiley self. He's best friends with everyone he meets :)

Just weighing in

2011-10-25T14:11:00.002-04:00

Here are the stats:
Starting weight: 132.4
Current weight: 129.8
Goal weight: 120
Weight lost this week(s): 0.8
Total weight lost: 2.6
Pounds left 'til goal: 9.8

Yaaay for getting into the 120s!! Less than 10 lbs left :D

Germantown 5K

2011-10-17T10:53:00.004-04:00

My dad and I successfully ran the Germantown 5K on Saturday! My only goal was to run the whole thing (no walking), and I achieved that goal! My buddy Kaylee, who ran it with me last year, ran with us too. I finished in 35:45, which is just about the same as my other 5K results... slow and steady ;) Hey, at least I'm consistent!

Race Results

About to cross the finish line!

As a big surprise, I got a medal for finishing in third place in my age group (and gender), and my dad got second in his! Please ignore the fact that we were beaten by a 7 year old and a 78 year old... ha!!

I also won a pedicure and a TJ Chumps gift card (well, dad won the card and gave it to me) as door prizes! Sweet!

Thanks again for running with me, Dad; I couldn't have done it without you!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-13T10:48:00.004-04:00

As part of our Hallogivingmas festivities in Elkhart, IN this weekend, we visited a pumpkin patch and corn maze! It was fun but SO HOT! Not expecting that! But we defeated the corn maze and had fun looking at pumpkins- Orion even picked out a little one of his own :)

Big brother on the bumpy pumpkins. He thought they were great for sitting and climbing.

Little brother's first Halloween/Hallogivingmas! He was so good on our trip... but I lost a paci there, I believe a minute before I took this picture :/

Kisses! So cute :D

Orion driving a tractor! You bet he loved this :) Maybe he'll be a farmer when he grows up...

A bit

2011-10-12T23:10:00.002-04:00

Here are the stats:
Current weight: 130.6
Goal weight: 120
Weight lost this week(s): 1
Total weight lost: 1.8
Pounds left 'til goal: 10.6

I'll take it.

5K on Saturday!! I'm anxious about it since the furthest I've run since Des was born is 2 miles (5K is about 3 miles), but I'm going to give it my best! My dad and a friend are going to run it with me which I know will be a big help. Wish me luck!

I think I can, I think I can

2011-10-03T22:22:00.002-04:00

I need to write a little update about my running/weight loss. Running is going alright... I ran two miles today for the second time! It was super hard, but I did it. I registered for the Germantown 5K on October 15, so I need to keep pushing myself like crazy so I can run the whole thing!!

Weight loss... boooo... not going so awesome. According to my scale a minute ago I have lost less than a pound in over a month. :( Nathan and I aren't eating desserts for a couple weeks, so I was/am hoping that (combined with running) will help... that's got to be a lot of calories I'm saving (we... eat a lot of desserts).

Here are the stats:
Current weight: 131.6
Goal weight: 120
Weight lost this week(s): ?
Total weight lost: 0.8
Pounds left 'til goal: 11.6

Meh. Hopefully it starts coming off soon...

Desmond - 3 months old

2011-09-30T23:15:00.003-04:00

Desmond is three months old today :) He is still a super sweet, laid-back little dude. He sleeps most of the day... even more so the last couple days which makes me wonder if he's going through a growth spurt. He's getting so big and heavy! I'll have to update this if I decide to go in and get him weighed. I got to hold my friend Melanie's newborn today... I can't believe how much Des has changed and grown in 3 months!! But he gets cuter by the day and he's SUCH a joy.

This is his favorite thing to do lately: suck on his hands. He's so talented ;)

And here's what O has been up to. Train track! Or "choo chack!" Haha :) We also finally got his train table set up which is nice for keeping the track all in one place. He's been carrying his trains and trucks around more though, so the whole train ended up upstairs today :P

He has been extra snuggly the last few days which we are loving, and repeats words all the time. He even helped me load my groceries from the cart to the van yesterday. What a big boy :)

Aaand here they are both giving me death glares. Pretty sure Orion was trying to watch TV and Desmond was obviously falling over. But they're still cute :)

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. We've been busy! Hallogivingmas is coming up next weekend!! Yaay!

A day at the park

2011-09-10T11:31:00.002-04:00

This is my very favorite picture of baby Des :)

Yesterday was a pretty day so we decided we should spend some time outside. We took the boys to the park and Orion had a great time playing! Enjoy the pictures from our day :)

Here's where I get to brag on Orion ;) He knows all his numbers from 1-10! Well... except maybe 7. Haha. Watch and see!

We somehow hadn't gotten a picture of our whole family since Desmond was born! We finally snapped one yesterday. Orion even said cheese ;)

Leprosy 2011

2011-09-05T22:46:00.002-04:00

Alright, let's start off with a cute, happy picture, because I don't want the rest of these pics stuck at the top of my page until I post again :P I can't believe how grown-up Orion is looking!! I guess I shouldn't have cut all his hair off!

And in cute, happy news, Nathan and I finally got to go on a date for the first time since Desmond was born! We got Chipotle, ate it at a pretty park, took a nice leisurely walk, got an amazing Raspberry Killer Brownie at Dorothy Lane Market, and came home in time to feed Des. It was way too short, but we had a really nice time :)

So. I have been pretty sick the last couple weeks. It's really quite an epic saga. Over the past month or so I've had around seven canker sores. I had what I thought was a cold a couple weeks ago, then I felt fine for a couple days (during which I ran a mile! Woohoo!!). Last Sunday I felt just plan crappy all day... baaaad sinus headaches, dizziness, shooting pains through the outsides of my ears (??), tiredness... then that night I had a fever and was freezing til it broke during the night. The next day I got a sore throat which kept getting worse throughout the week. During the night Thursday night I woke up covered in hives. My eyelids were also extremely puffy. Friday morning the hives went away but I felt totally wiped out and my throat was killing me. I finally decided to go to the doctor.

Turns out I had some kind of virus that had caused some kind of infection in my throat, so I got some antibiotics. My throat is finally starting to feel better but is still pretty raw.

Not. Happy.

That leaves the hives. I hate hives. A lot. I occasionally have a break-out for completely unknown reasons (which I've read is pretty typical. Something like 70% of cases of hives are from unknown causes). Since Thursday night they have come back every evening and faded in the morning. Today they never really went away, and tonight they are AWFUL. They are absolutely everywhere and the itching is driving me crazy. I wanted to avoid taking Benadryl because it can affect my milk supply, but tonight I gave in and took one. So far it doesn't seem to be helping.

If you think of me please pray that the hives go away and stay away. I am going to call an allergist tomorrow and make an appointment to get tested to see what I'm allergic to. The hives may not be an allergic reaction (you can get them from a virus, stress, whatever), but I would like to at least TRY to avoid things that could make me sick, so I need to know what those things are.

Well thanks for looking at my nasty diseased skin. Uhhhhgh :/

2 months old!

2011-08-31T10:37:00.004-04:00

Desmond turned two months old yesterday! He is changing so much every day. He's getting cuter and cuter!!

He had a checkup the other day...
Here are his stats:
Height: 22.25", 25th percentile
Weight: 10 lbs 1.4 oz, 25th percentile
BMI: 14.33
Head: 14.96", 25th percentile

Look, this child's head fits his body! Haha :) He's staying on a consistent growth curve so far which is fabulous... hopefully he'll keep it up!!

I have been trying to pay closer attention to his cues that he's tired and putting him down in bed (aka carseat) instead of fighting with him/rocking him to sleep. I usually have to give him his paci back a few times but it's better than bouncing him for half an hour! He's already on a pretty good daytime schedule of eating, playing, sleeping (BabyWise!) all by himself. I don't know if Orion didn't have such a schedule or if I just didn't realize it. Poor first child...

Desmond is learning to play! Usually after he wakes up and eats I lay him down and we talk and smile at each other for a while, then I let him play under his playgym. A couple days ago he figured out how to bat at the toys! He's growing so fast. Check out this cuteness... and my lovely talking-to-the-baby voice ;)

Here it goes again

2011-08-27T23:00:00.004-04:00

Yep, it's that time again. Time to lose weight. Oh joy!

I AM happy to say that I weigh about 8 lbs less than I did after Orion was born (which makes sense since I weighed 8 lbs less when I got pregnant with Desmond than I did with Orion) so I have less to lose this time. Still, it's going to take some serious running and possibly a change in my eating habits (*sob*) to get it off. So... here it goes again.

Here are the stats:
Current weight: 132.4
Goal weight: 120
Weight lost this week(s): 0
Total weight lost: 0
Pounds left 'til goal: 12.4

Aaaaand.... the dreaded "before" pictures.

Before:

I have gone running twice this week (first time in almost a year!). The first time I didn't start my running band correctly so I'm not sure how far I went, but it was probably half a mile at the most, which was my goal. Tonight I went running- Robin rode her bike along with me since it was dark and my iPod was dead (nooo!). I ran into our resident skunk while we were out... thankfully that's all there is to that story. I did my very best and... I RAN A MILE! I can't believe it... my second run in a year and I ran a whole mile. I am beyond thrilled. I am totally doing the Germantown Oktoberfest 5K on October 15.

The inspiration for this post title. There's a lot of Ok Go on my running playlist :) Best music video ever.

Stay tuned for Desmond's 2 month update on Tuesday!

All smiles

2011-08-18T21:02:00.004-04:00

Desmond is learning to smile! He's especially happy right after he wakes up... if you lay him on the floor and lay with him and give him a big smile he'll smile right back. Sooo cute :)

Brothers! These are the adorable matching outfits my friend Amanda got for them. This is Orion being "nice." I promise Des isn't crying even though it kinda looks like it here :P I could not get Orion to pose for a picture.

Quick Orion update: he knows all of his letters and can count to five. Wow. He's so big...

More smiles from the little guy!

Look how strong he's getting! I was surprised how high he could lift his head when lying on his tummy. He's ready to take off and chase his brother.

Desmond slept eight hours straight last night!! I can't imagine that he'll do it again any time soon, but it was so surprising and amazing! I got more uninterrupted sleep than usual so I felt way more rested today than I expected. Des is still sleeping in his car seat for both night time and naps. Sometimes he goes down easily and sometimes he really fights. Thankfully he goes right back to sleep after eating during the night. Amaaaazing :)

Nathan, Desmond, and I got back yesterday from camping with the youth group for 3 nights in Hocking Hills. We are soooo worn out! My legs are really sore from all the hiking we did and Nathan is just exhausted from working so hard. It was a fun trip though and I think the kids enjoyed it. Desmond was so good... he slept a ton and was a good hiking buddy.

It has been a crazy couple weeks so hopefully we find some time to relax soon! Sorry for the lack of info in this post, but at least I gave you pictures! ;)

One Month Old!

2011-07-28T20:38:00.004-04:00

Desmond is one month old already!? Wow! Four weeks I could handle, but one month is just too crazy.

I stopped into the doctor's office to have him weighed a few days ago- he's already a little over 9 lbs! I'm paranoid about him not gaining enough weight since Orion was underweight when he was little, so I'm keeping a close eye on this one! He's following the growth curve so far, so that's good!! Back to the doc in a month. He already moved up to size 1 diapers and I think he's going to need to be moved to 0-3 clothing soon!

He goes to the specialist tomorrow to check out his tongue (he's a bit tongue tied), so hope that goes well!

We spent the weekend visiting my family in Napoleon! We haven't been up there in months so it was nice to be home for a couple days. Orion had a BLAST playing cars and reading with his Grandpa and Nana... he never stopped playing the whole weekend.

Snuggling with Uncle Andy

Haha, this is our ghetto diaper. One of the tabs broke off and I didn't just want to throw it away, so Nathan taped it together. Ha!

The boys' first bath together! Immediately before this picture Desmond pooped all over me and the floor as I was carrying him to the tub. He pooped on me again the next day. And peed on me three times over the weekend. Orion has peed on me maybe four times EVER... Desmond has already done it probably a dozen times. Everybody has talents I guess...

This is Desmond's bed... otherwise known as his car seat. With a blanket in it. Last night he would not sleep in it, but is napping in it now... hm. He usually does really well at night but last night was really rough... pretty sure I slept for over an hour sitting up. Heh.

Nap time! As much as I wish Des would consistently sleep in his own bed I do love napping with my babies. I miss napping with O!

Today is hopefully going to continue to be a lazy day at our house. I need a nap!

Des is 2 weeks old!

2011-07-14T20:38:00.004-04:00

Wow, Desmond is two weeks old already! Honestly it feels like he's been around a lot longer than that- I can hardly imagine life without him!

Desmond's first bath at home. I feel the need to bathe him more than I did Orion because Desmond has more hair! He just had his first non-sponge-bath in the sink tonight... he did not like it... and he peed on me. :P

Let's not forget little O! He's still obsessed with being outside, and now he has both a sandbox and a little pool to play in so he'd be happy out there forever. Today was actually beautiful instead of insanely hot so I actually enjoyed sitting outside with him!

Orion has been on a lot of bike rides lately!! His grandparents are constantly taking him out on rides (sometimes to Dairy Queen- lucky duck), and he went out with his Daddy tonight to the park. Grandma found him some pretty cool shades... haha!

This is what Desmond does much of the day... haha! Rolled up on the couch sandwiched between two pillows. He's actually been awake a lot more the last few days... I think that's a little frustrating to both him and us because he's too little to play, and all he knows to do when he's awake is eat! But right now he's just chillin on the floor with Daddy, just looking at him, so that's nice :)

He is doing fabulously at night with sleep. He sleeps in his car seat (lined with a soft blanket) in his pack n play. He sleeps 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours at a time, gets up to eat, and goes right back to sleep. It's amazing. On the rare occasion that he won't go to sleep he sleeps with me in my bed, but that's not happening much. We usually also nap together in the afternoon.

Look who's being a good big brother! Orion is slowly warming up to Des... he usually slows down and looks at Desmond if he walks by. He likes to play with Desmond's pacifiers and will shove them in Desmond's mouth if asked :P We have to watch O pretty closely because he doesn't really understand how to be gentle, but he will pet Des if you tell him to be nice :)

And lastly a little smile :) Today was my first day with both boys completely to myself (until Nathan got home of course... but Robin is out of town). It went well! It was a very low-key day with lots of TV time, but that's ok. I'm thankful Orion is so content to hang out in his crib in the morning because they keep getting up at the same time! I'm sure I'll continue to get the hang of things, but I'm pleased with how well having two little ones is going! Thank you, Lord, for a mellow baby!!

Baby Des: Birth-1 Week

2011-07-07T22:44:00.005-04:00

My little Desmond is one week old today! I figure I've made you all wait long enough, so here's his birth story and some pictures...

As many of you know, I was very sick last Wednesday. I spent my day languishing alongside my hubby on the couch with nausea, fatigue, and vomiting. Around 8 at night I realized I was having an awful lot of contractions and kept an eye on the clock... they looked to be around 5 minutes apart. I got online and used a contraction timer... yep, about five minutes apart for an hour. I took a shower while hubby went to bed just in case we had to go to the hospital that night. In the hour after I got in the shower contractions went from 5 minutes apart to 3 1/2 or less. Time to wake up Nathan and go! Robin drove us and Larry stayed home with Orion.

Amazingly enough, we both felt completely fine as soon as it was time to leave for the hospital. Nathan went to bed with a fever and woke up with it having broken. I had thrown up right after my shower and suddenly felt hungry for the first time all day as we left. Still thanking God for hearing our prayers that day!!

When they checked me at the hospital (we got there at midnight) I was dilated to 4 and 80% effaced!! I was so thrilled- when O was born my water broke at home and I was like 1 cm when I got there. I waited while they got a room ready and my contractions started to get stronger. When they checked me I was almost at 5 cm. They gave me a sleeping pill and an IV (this was the worst part of labor... O.U.C.H.) and told me to relax and see how things went. Robin and Nathan slept while I worked through contractions. They were painful but NOTHING like I remembered labor with O (Pitocen with O. Yeah, it sucks.). I held out for a good long while, but I was so exhausted from being sick I decided I should go ahead and get an epidural so I could rest. They came in and did it fairly quickly. There was a spot in my right hip that still hurt after they did it, but they just tilted me to that side and that fixed it. I think I got to rest for a while after that. One weird thing about my labor is that ever since the IV (they had a HORRIBLE time getting it in) I shook almost the whole time. That was annoying.

The next time they checked me I was at 8 cm. They told me they'd check back in an hour but to buzz them if I felt pressure before that. I don't remember how long it was after they left, but I eventually thought I felt some pressure so I called them, and sure enough, I was at 10! They started breaking down the bed and calling people in.

I pushed probably 4 times, then they told me to stop. My water still hadn't broken and the sack was actually bulging out! The nursed were saying they'd never seen that before and seemed surprised I'd made it to 10 without breaking it (I was surprised too!!). We sat there and waited for the doc for a little while (the nurse didn't think he'd make it in time and was hovering over me ready to break the sack and deliver the baby). He finally came in, and I gave one or two final pushes and Desmond was born while the doctor was tying his shoes! Nathan said they actually had to peel the sack off of Des after he came out.

Desmond Daniel was born at 8:15 am on June 30, 2011. Des was born covered in poop, just like his brother. Aawww. They suctioned him out and he cried nice and loud right away. He weighed 7 lbs, 13.9 oz and was 21 inches long. His Apgar scores were 8-9. He has brown hair, dark blue eyes, and looks just like his daddy. :) I had an episiotomy but no tearing (I had a 4th degree with O so I was thrilled)!

Desmond is SUCH a sleepy baby so I actually got a decent amount of rest in the hospital! Since coming home he only sleeps well if he's in bed with me, which is fine for now but we'll start working him back into his own bed soon! But when I get 3 hours of sleep at a time with a newborn I can't complain much! Orion never slept when he was little, so this is heaven! Des is eating well and was already up to 7lbs 12oz at his 5 day checkup. He is a little bit "tongue tied" which makes it pinch when he latches on, so we're seeing a specialist on Aug 2, but it sounds like it's a very simple fix.

I can't believe I just had a baby... it feels like he's been here forever. He is SUCH a good baby. Orion is still getting used to him, but I think he's going to become a good big brother. I'm doing well, just a little uncomfortable in the area of my stitches and sometimes I get sore in my back or get a twinge in my abdomen. Really minor stuff and I'm thankful that I'm doing as well as I am!

Thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes! We really do appreciate it :) And now for pictures!

Orion's first reaction to his little brother :P

...he's doing better :)

He already looks so different! My handsome little man.

Desmond Daniel Lambes

2011-06-30T09:26:00.003-04:00

Desmond Daniel Lambes was born at 8:15 on June 30th, 2011. He is 7 pounds 13.9 ounces and 21 inches long.

He's strong and healthy, as are his mother and I. Got over being sick just in time to run to the hospital at 11:30 last night.

Labor details are as follows. No drugs other than an epidural, so labor progressed naturally. I got to nap on and off all through the night, which was nice. Rachel didn't sleep, but she was fairly comfortable through the night. She was fully dilated at ten centimeters by seven this morning, but she didn't feel the need to push until seven forty five, when most of the hospital staff started piling into the room (not really, it just feels that way. There were probably only four or five.) After that, it was just a waiting game. The doctor hadn't come in yet, but Desmond was coming. The woman who delivered him was literally hovering over Rachel, waiting for the doctor to come through the door so she could break the water. The doctor came in at about ten after eight and was tying his shoes when Desmond was born at eight fifteen.

It was a great birth, much less stressful than Orion's. So far, he's a lot quieter than Orion too, though he has already pooped a ton. Nursed pretty much right away. Right now they're both resting while I wait for my breakfast platter from McDonalds, the first meal I will have eaten that wasn't cereal in two days. Looking forward to it.

I can't stress enough just how awesome God has been to us. To go from being seriously ill one day to delivering a baby the next isn't a situation most would want to be in. I had a fever that broke, literally, just before we left for the hospital and I've felt fine (if hungry) ever since. Rachel just ate a nice breakfast and all signs point to it staying down. I really can't point to anything other than the power of prayer for this, so I want to thank all of you who went to God on our behalf last night. We needed it, and he delivered.

Sometimes it takes being helpless and weary to realize just how solid a rock he is to lean on and we were definitely leaning on him last night. The result? All three of us are feeling healthy.

God bless, everyone.

40 Weeks

2011-06-28T20:55:00.002-04:00

How far along? 40 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +29
Inches gained: +9.5
Maternity clothes? Of course
Sleep: Mostly good!
How I'm feeling: Finally pretty uncomfortable. I think my body's getting ready.
Best moment this week: Not being forced to schedule an induction?
Movement: Yep, still an active boy. And hurting me again :P
Food cravings: Chocolate, fruit, fast food. Earlier this week I smelled watermelon being cut upstairs... there's not even an air vent near where I was sitting... then of course I needed watermelon.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Bloody show today- O was born two days after that last time so we'll see!
Belly Button in or out? Very nearly flat
What I miss: Comfort!
What I am looking forward to: Having my baby!!!
Milestones: Today is my due date!

Yesterday I had a Non-Stress Test (NST), which is just having a couple monitors strapped on my belly for like half an hour. Everything looked good.

Also had a regular weekly appointment- no changes from last week (still 1cm, 50% and high). They did a 2 second ultrasound just to check his position- still head down! They asked if I wanted to be induced and were totally supportive of my wanting to wait at least a week which was a relief! I have another NST at the end of the week and an appointment Tuesday if I make it that long. We shall see...

The Walgreen's Game

2011-06-22T14:13:00.002-04:00

I'm trying to figure my way around the Walgreen's Register Rewards game. My non-math-inclined brain has trouble with this one, because it doesn't exactly work by reducing your bill with coupons, but by giving you credit towards your next purchase. So... I think I'm doing ok, but the fact that I really don't have a firm grasp of the whole system might be a bad thing :P Here's what I've done so far:

Transaction 1:
Colgate Toothbrush: 2.99 (on sale)
M Coupon - 0.75
Tax + 0.20
Total = 2.44
*Received $2.00 Register Rewards*

Transaction 2:
Schick Razor Refills: 8.99 (on sale)
M Coupon -2.00
R Rewards -2.00
Apricots +1.00
Tax +0.59
Total = 6.58
*Received $4.00 Register Rewards*

Transaction 3:
2 Lysol Wipes: 2.99x2: 5.98 (on sale)
M Coupon -1.00
R Rewards -4.00
MMs +0.69
Tax+0.37
Total = 2.04
*Received $1.00 Register Rewards*

So... here's how I understand this whole thing. For $21.81 worth of merchandise I paid $11.06. So I pretty much doubled my money. That's pretty good, right??

I have definitely figured some stuff out by trial and error though. Here's what I've learned so far about couponing at Walgreen's:

-At Walgreen's you can't have more coupons than you have items. So if you have 3 coupons (including Register Rewards) you have to have at least three items. So sometimes you have to grab an extra item with no coupons to pad your bill. These items are italicized in my lists above. I knew this the first time I went (and grabbed apricots for me and O to snack on), but I did NOT know...
-...Coupons for a dollar amount off of TWO items counts as two coupons... so my $1 off 2 Lysol wipes coupon counted as two coupons, which is the reason for the random MMs on my bill. So next time I need to have an item in mind that I can quickly grab if something doesn't work out as I expect.
-You can only get one Register Rewards coupon per item per transaction... so if I buy 2 Lysol wipes and use a $1 off 2 coupon I will only get one RR coupon, but if I don't use my $1/2 coupon and purchase the wipes in two separate transactions I will get two RR coupons.

There is a lot to learn and a lot of opportunities to mess up!! I'm glad to be learning though... I'm going to keep trying.

Other recent deals:
-I used two more Ivory coupons to get 6 more bars of soap for free (and made 6 cents).
-I used a $1 off of any Shout product coupon to get a trial sized package of Shout to Go wipes for free.

39 Weeks

2011-06-21T22:47:00.004-04:00

How far along? 39 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +29
Inches gained: +9.5
Maternity clothes? Yes... I've kind of been wearing the same thing all week...
Sleep: Hit or miss.
How I'm feeling: Can't believe how good I usually feel, just extra tired and sore in a couple places.
Best moment this week: Getting Desmond's name up on the wall with Orion's in their room.
Movement: It doesn't hurt as much- he doesn't have room to wind up for his punches I guess.
Food cravings: Chocolate, fruit
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None. Tons of Braxton Hicks contractions. So many I've timed them a few times!
Belly Button in or out? Out, almost flat.
What I miss: Easy dressing, my chin ;)
What I am looking forward to: Having my baby!!!
Milestones: ONE WEEKish LEFT! I'm buying Newborn diapers tomorrow.

Fourth Anniversary

2011-06-16T22:05:00.000-04:00

Four years with my hubby and I couldn't be happier. Thank you for being such a good husband, Nathan. I couldn't ask for more.

38 Weeks

2011-06-14T21:39:00.002-04:00

How far along? 38 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +26
Inches gained: +9.5 (an inch this week?!)
Maternity clothes? Yes.
Sleep: Waking up having to roll over a lot.
How I'm feeling: Pretty good, just extra tired and sore in a couple places.
Best moment this week: Buying Des some super cute newborn sized summer rompers :)
Movement: Ouch!
Food cravings: Chocolate, fruit
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None. Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.
Belly Button in or out? Out, making its way towards flat.
What I miss: Moving and sleeping comfortably, easy dressing, sleeping well (have a feeling I'll be missing that for a long time)
What I am looking forward to: Having my baby!
Milestones: Two weeks left! He can come any time...

I've been getting a LOT of people saying "you look like you're ready to pop," and "I don't think you can get much bigger!" I think that means it's about that time ;) I hate not knowing when he's going to come... I spend my days walking around expecting my water to break any second... I think he just needs to get a move on ;)

Gulf Shores 2011

2011-06-08T08:56:00.007-04:00

I always find picture-heavy posts daunting, so that's why it took me so long to get this up! The whole Lambes clan traveled to Gulf Shores, AL for our second summer vacation there on May 15. We drove through the night and Orion miraculously slept almost the whole way! I don't really sleep in the car so I was so thankful when we were finally able to get into our condo and I got to take a nap! Our vacation was overall very relaxing and fun- the kids were great and we all enjoyed being together for a solid week.

These first few pictures were from our family photo shoot... we were going to use the same professional photographer we used last year, but Orion ended up getting sick with a fever (it was a rough couple days for him but he took it like a champ and got better on his own) that day so we had to cancel. Instead we just used Emiley's nice digital SLR camera and a friend (another family we're close with from our church was there at the same time as we were), and the pictures turned out great!

I love this picture of Ellie and Orion. Beautiful beach babies.

The whole family! It was so nice to spend so much time together. I wish it happened more often!!

The sunshine really wore Orion out! He took two naps many of the days we were there which never happens at home! In this picture he'd fallen asleep on the car ride to a restaurant for lunch and not only stayed asleep when we got him out of the car, but slept almost all the way through lunch. If you know Orion you know that this is NOT normal!! He was beat!

Ellie and Orion loved their wagon rides! Their grandparents had SO much fun taking their babies out and exploring the resort.

I love this picture too. Ellie looks so sweet and Orion just looks like trouble.

Grandma and Grandpa snuggling with their babies. This was the day O was sick so he spent a lot of time watching Boz.

Of course we all spent most of our time enjoying the sunshine! We had perfect weather... it was cool when we got there but hot when we left, so we got to enjoy mostly very warm but not toooo hot weather. It was nice having so many people around to make sure the kids didn't swim away...

Ellie was a little fishy... she LOVED the ocean and wanted to be in it all the time! Orion couldn't make up his mind... he liked the surf and even being out in the water with Daddy, but I think the waves scared him.

This family's talent it digging big holes. I know, it's a valuable skill. Orion only wanted to fill the holes back in...

Fun in the water with Uncle Jon and Daddy.

Cute :) And I'm happy to say that neither Orion or I (this is miraculous) got a sunburn!!

Sand is so much fun! And also apparently delicious... :/ Orion definitely ate a few hand-fulls of sand that week.

One of the highlights of this year's vacation was visiting "The Little Zoo that Could." I think it's actually called the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo or something, but that's what the sign said and I think it's cute and appropriate. It really was a small zoo, but it was a really good one! The animals were close and most of them were even awake and moving around! And there were lots of opportunities to touch and feed animals. O and Ellie got to go into the petting zoo and pet goats, sheep, and bunnies. Orion followed this bunny around for so long and finally got to pet it!

Making friends with a goat. He also gave it snuggles :)

My favorite part was getting to play with lemurs!! They were so cute... the black and white one was such a cuddler... you could just hold it and rub its tummy and it was happy. And the orange one was more of a climber but really liked Nathan.

So sweet! They made little chirping noises.

Shoulder lemur!

Vacation went so quickly! It was tons of fun. There are more pictures on my facebook if you're interested. Thanks for reading!

37 Weeks

2011-06-07T21:47:00.004-04:00

How far along? 37 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +24 (I am shocked I haven't gained more)
Inches gained: +8.5
Maternity clothes? Yes. Got a couple new tank tops so I have something to wear... if you haven't been to Gabriel Brothers you need to go! I got new shirts for less than I got them used at Once Upon a Child! Best store ever.
Sleep: Waking up more often, sore back if I sleep wrong.
How I'm feeling: Nauseous all day today... great other than that.
Best moment this week: Finding out Desmond is HEAD DOWN!
Movement: He hurts me most of the time when he moves :/
Food cravings: Chocolate, fruit
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None. Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving and sleeping comfortably, easy dressing
What I am looking forward to: Having my baby!
Milestones: FULL TERM!

We got Desmond's bed set up in our room and I have the hospital bag packed. Kinda hoping he waits to come at least til next weekend so it's after VBS, my prenatal massage, and our anniversary next week!

I think he may have dropped. My belly feels lower and looks smaller (compare to last week).

Car Wash, Battle Scars, and Couponing

2011-06-07T21:07:00.007-04:00

Yep, putting this child to work. He learned to wash the car last week.

Helping Grandpa scrub the car. That spot got very very clean.

You see this face? This is what trouble looks like.

Tonight Orion got a manly wound. Lots of blood and everything. He's going for the Harrison Ford look. Nathan told me to say O did it with a bull whip...

He's a tough little guy and only cried for a couple minutes... Boz and a drink make everything better.

Today, in Adventures in Couponing:

Kroger:

Oral B: 1.99 (I discovered I looove floss picks! So much better than the regular stuff. So I bought more while I had the coupons.)
S coupon (didn't work for some reason!! Not happy to discover this!)
M coupon (.75 doubled to limit) -1.00
=0.99

Kikkoman Soy Sauce: 1.99
S coupon -0.55
M coupon (.55 doubled to limit) -1.00
=0.44

Always: 2.99
S coupon -0.50
M coupon (.75 doubled to limit) -1.00
=1.49

Tax: 0.28

Grand Total = $3.20 (Saved $4.45. 60%)

Target:

Nexcare Kids' Bandages: 1.68 (on sale)
S coupon -1.00
M coupon -0.55
= $0.13

Pretty excited about that one :)

I'm glad I'm blogging about this stuff just because it makes me do the math and see the mistakes I/the store/whoever made! I had no idea my Kroger coupon for the floss picks didn't work til now. No idea why it didn't work either unless you can only use it once...? But I'd think it would disappear from my coupons online if that was so. It's a mystery...

Makin' Money

2011-05-31T22:34:00.002-04:00

Oh yes, today I made money with a coupon! 3 whole cents. I am super excited.

I had a $1 off coupon for Ivory soap, and the cheapest package they had was a 3-pack for 97 cents. I didn't know if the coupon would work since it was worth more than the purchase, but it went through! -$1 off the end of my bill. So... free soap!

...ok, so I know that with tax and everything I didn't really make money, but hey, I'll take it!

___

I was thinking about just posting stuff like this on my long...very long-neglected Wallet Moth blog, but I was thinking it might be nice for you to read about something other than babies once in a while. Thoughts??

36 Weeks

2011-05-31T15:52:00.006-04:00

How far along? 36 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +24
Inches gained: +8.5
Maternity clothes? My options are pretty limited
Sleep: Good if I manage to stay off my back.
How I'm feeling: Good, just uncomfortable now and then. Doing great.
Best moment this week: Other people having fun feeling Des move
Movement: He beats me up!
Food cravings: Chocolate, fruit
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None. Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably, easy dressing
What I am looking forward to: Getting my hospital bag packed, meeting my littlest man.
Milestones: Less than one month to go!!

For Sadie :) A comparison between 36 weeks pregnant with Orion (left) and Desmond (right). People keep telling me I don't look as big this time but my belly is definitely sticking further out this time! I think maybe I was just rounder with O and this time I'm pointy :P Also I don't weigh as much so that probably helps.

My first adventure in couponing

2011-05-28T19:59:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week I went to a two hour class my friend Lori taught about saving money on your grocery bill, in part by using coupons. I've used a few coupons in my lifetime, but didn't really understand the ins and outs of using them or how to really get a good deal with coupons. Combined with watching Extreme Couponing on TV a couple times (ok, those people are just crazy), I felt inspired to try my hand at the art of couponing.

I had some trouble getting started because we don't get the Sunday paper, and thus don't get the coupon inserts. A Facebook friend gave me the tip to check the library- jackpot! They had a huge basket of pre-clipped coupons ready to dig through. I snagged a whole bunch and then started scouring store ads/coupons to find things to stack my manufacturers' coupons with. I was able to find a few products that we'd use and that I had stackable coupons for and gave it a try.

I went to a couple stores today, but the first and most successful was Kroger. This was my haul:

This is $15.80 worth of products... I got it for $5.97! That's $9.83 in savings!

Here's the breakdown:

Old Spice: 2.29 x 2 = 4.58
S coupon -1.00
M coupon -1.00
=2.58

Secret: 1.67 x 2 = 3.34 (on sale)
M coupon -1.50
=1.84
(I messed up here and got the wrong kind to use my 1.50 S coupon... didn't realize it til now. Oops.)

Crest: 3.49 (on sale)
S coupon -1.50
M coupon -1.50
=0.49

Oral B: 1.99
S coupon -0.75
M coupon (.75 doubled to limit) -1.00
=0.24

Tax: 0.82

Grand Total = $5.97 (saved $9.83)

Even though I screwed up one of my deals, I still feel good about saving so much money (and spending so little!). I think I'll keep learning as I go... and it will take less time for me to figure it out ;) Next week I'm going to try my hand at Walgreen's Register Rewards game... I was going to this week but the product I was going to buy was sold out.

I did go to Target today also, and although my deals weren't as spectacular I'll share anyway:

Old Spice 3 pack: 4.24 (clearance)
M coupon -1.00
=3.24

Charmin: 13.99
Sale -2.00
S coupon -1.00
=10.99

2 Cover Girl cosmetics: 4.99 + 4. 24 = 9.23
S coupon -2.00
M coupon -2.50
=4.73

Tax: 1.39

Grand Total: $20.35 (saved $8.50)

At least all my coupons worked correctly! We weren't actually planning on buying the Charmin or the Old Spice, but we got good deals and we need those things anyway, so it's all good. Nathan is set on deodorant for a looong time...

I hope you enjoyed my extreme couponing adventure... I did :D

Orion: 1.5 Years

2011-05-27T14:47:00.005-04:00

As of last week Orion is one and a half years old! This week his favorite things to do are give big cheesy grins and random hugs (which we LOVE), as well as whine a lot and refuse to eat entire meals (NOT so fun). He's always changing, so hopefully the terrible two's aren't really upon us already ;)

Here are his stats:
Height: 2'7.5" (31.5"), 35th percentile
Weight: 24lbs 8 oz, 35th percentile
BMI: (this is new!) 17.36
Head: 19.09", 75th percentile

He's finally climbing the growth chart in both height and weight!! The doc thinks maybe he's aiming for the 50th percentile after all. Aaand... he still has a big head ;) He doesn't have his next appointment until he's 2!

What he's up to:

Vocabulary: Newish words include... help, scissors, poop (I'm so proud), that, water, kick (He knows around 45 words total which blows my mind!)... and some of his pronunciations are getting better. Boz has a "z" sound now, and truck is now "gruck" instead of just "guck."

Eating: He seems to be getting pickier and pickier. He'll always eat fruit, but beyond that it's hit and miss. He's more receptive to foods if he gets to feed himself with a fork, but that's limiting and messy. Hey, he's not starving or anything since he's doing great weight-wise, but I wish he wasn't so picky! I need to take a hint from Sadie and be creative with getting him to eat veggies. He will drink vegetable juice with total abandon... which is gross.

Sleeping: Orion is a fabulous sleeper these days! He very very rarely wakes during the night, and if he does he goes back to sleep on his own. He sleeps from around 8:30 pm until usually between 7:15 and 8:15 am. He usually takes one 1.5 hr nap a day, give or take half an hour. He even slept great on vacation!

Play: O LOVES trucks... he likes to watch real ones and play with toy trucks (which is anything with wheels, including trains... although he differentiates the two with sounds). He still loves kitties and chasing them around and snuggling them. Climbing is a big favorite... chairs, ladders, and otherwise. TV wise, Boz is still the favorite, followed by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He's big on reading as long as it's interactive in some way... I usually ask him where or what things are to get him to point or name things. Being outside is one of his favorite things... the words we hear most often are "go" and "bye bye." And "no," of course ;)

Overall, Orion is a happy, healthy, crazy-active little guy. He wants to be moving all the time and is never-ending entertainment. I love how snuggly he has become and how much he learns every day. I can't imagine what he'll be like when he's two!

35 Weeks

2011-05-24T23:33:00.005-04:00

How far along? 35 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +23?
Inches gained: +8.5
Maternity clothes? Getting short and snug...
Sleep: Good if I manage to stay off my back.
How I'm feeling: Good, just uncomfortable now and then
Best moment this week: Vacation! And hearing Desmond's heartbeat is always awesome.
Movement: Strong. I clearly felt a long skinny leg today... that was weird and cool.
Food cravings: Chocolate, fruit
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None. More and more Braxton Hicks contractions.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably, easy dressing
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my littlest man.
Milestones: Today is 35/35 day... 35 weeks and 35 days to go!

I forgot to have Nathan take a picture of me today so you get these instead. Rachel took some maternity pictures for us while we were on vacation with Emiley's fancy camera. I think they turned out great :) Will post more about vacation soon!

33 Weeks

2011-05-10T22:26:00.005-04:00

How far along? 33 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +21
Inches gained: +8
Maternity clothes? Oh yes
Sleep: Good-ish. Waking up pretty often and if I accidentally sleep on my back I wake up very sore.
How I'm feeling: Good! A tad uncomfortable of course.
Best moment this week: Surprise baby shower from my Bible study girls!!
Movement: I honestly think he flips a couple times a day. And kicks me awful hard.
Food cravings: Chocolate
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None. A few Braxton Hicks contractions.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably, easy dressing
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my littlest man, Gulf Shores vacation in less than a week!
Milestones: I'm having a baby NEXT MONTH. Hopefully ;)

On Monday night I was at Amanda's for a Bible study with a small group of women. When I got there we chatted and got snacks in the kitchen as usual, then decided to head downstairs. Amanda said, "Rach, go ahead and hit the lights at the top of the stairs." When I did I saw a big sign with streamers that said "Congrats Rachel and Baby Desmond!" I just stood there staring for a minute... I was SO surprised!! The ladies threw me a surprise baby shower! We had delicious cake made by Melanie, and Desmond got some super cute new clothes (newborn clothes are sooo tiny and cute!!) and diapers (plus a candle and bath gel for me :D). It was such a sweet surprise. Thank you again!! I may post more pictures later.

Happy Mother's Day and other good things

2011-05-08T20:05:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there! I feel like a good mom today... I chose to post the better picture of Orion instead of the better picture of me. Ha!

Nathan and O took me out to lunch and ice cream today and I also got a nap, so it's been a good day ;)

My mom and dad came down for part of the weekend! We had such a nice time with them and it was sooo nice to see them. I'm sure it was worth the drive for my dad just to get to read to Orion :)

Earlier this week I got to babysit for O's best friend B and the boys had a great morning playing together. Here they are eating a formal dinner.

Best buds!

Peek-a-boo Ben!

Ghosty babies! Curtains are so much fun...

Aaaand here are a few more random pictures... and a video!

I'm pretty excited that it's ice cream season :D Orion is too.

This day Orion discovered that baby wipes make great confetti. I think he emptied the container about three times by throwing each wipe up in the air over his head. Sooo fun.

Big boy swing! He's still getting the hang of it, but Orion is learning how to sit on a swing!

Sleepy boy :) I neeeever get to see Orion sleeping (it was so hard to get him to be a good sleeper that I'm always scared to peek in on him) so on this day when he napped so long that we had to wake him up (?!) I had to snap a picture. So sweet <3

32 Weeks

2011-05-03T10:49:00.004-04:00

In 3D! I think he looks like his daddy :)

Open mouth. He kept opening and closing his mouth and rubbing his hands around by his face. So sweet.

How far along? 2 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +19
Inches gained: +7
Maternity clothes? Oh yes
Sleep: Fairly good.
How I'm feeling: Good! A tad uncomfortable of course.
Best moment this week: Ultrasound today! Everything is A-OK!
Movement: He hurts me. Mean baby.
Food cravings: Chocolate
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None. Well, had a couple Braxton Hicks contractions this week, so that's something I guess.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably, easy dressing
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my littlest man, Gulf Shores vacation in less than two weeks!
Milestones: Only about two months left!

We had what will hopefully be our last ultrasound today! Desmond measured right on track at about 4lbs 5oz, which is the 49th percentile... so pretty much perfectly average. There was also a good amount of amniotic fluid. Hurray!

He is transverse though... that means he's laying sideways. Which is probably why my measurements were off and why his kicks and punches have been hurting me so much! The doctor said there's still time for Des to turn head down and that they don't worry about it this early, so here's hoping he turns!!

32 weeks and new haircut :)

31 Weeks

2011-04-26T23:16:00.003-04:00

How far along? 31 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +18
Inches gained: +7
Maternity clothes? Oh yes
Sleep: Pretty good.
How I'm feeling: Good!
Best moment this week: The conclusion of the blood sugar saga
Movement: Very yes
Food cravings: CHOCOLATE
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably, easy dressing
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my littlest man
Milestones: Desmond's lungs are almost ready for the big world outside!

Yes, I finally got the whole blood sugar thing sorted out today. They just did a finger prick test an hour after I ate lunch and were happy with the number (101 if that means anything to you), so I guess I'm in the clear! What a relief.

NOT such a relief, my belly measured small for some reason today (which has never happened before), so they ordered another ultrasound to make sure everything's ok. Which means my nerves are not ok. Hopefully Des was just laying funny or something... they're supposed to call me to schedule an appointment. I would like to get it done this week, but we'll see.

See, not so pointy this week ;)

Easter 2011!

2011-04-25T10:10:00.003-04:00

We spread our Easter celebration out over two weekends this year! Both Allie and Rachel were home last weekend, so we did our big Easter Egg Hunt. It's usually pretty epic... because it's us big kids who do the hunting and the competition is fierce. I mostly helped Orion this year instead, but I still cleaned up all the eggs the others missed ;)

O picking up his eggs. He did a great job finding them and putting them in his basket (with enthusiastic instructions... see video)!

Putting his eggs in the basket.

Found them!

Sharing his haul with Daddy.

Easter morning! Isn't he the cutest?? :)

Family pictures after church.

Me and my little O under the apple blossoms.

Daddy and Orion.

Nathan and me! I figured it had probably been a while since we'd gotten a picture of just the two of us! I love my hubby :)

30 Weeks

2011-04-20T21:20:00.008-04:00

How far along? 30 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +18ish
Inches gained: +7
Maternity clothes? Oh yes
Sleep: Pretty good.
How I'm feeling: Just some aches and pains. Hips hurt when I walk a lot.
Best moment this week: Watching him try to escape.
Movement: Constant.
Food cravings: CHOCOLATE
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably, easy dressing
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my littlest man
Milestones: 3/4ths of the way there! Only 10 weeks left!

I took my one hour glucose tolerance test a week and a half ago... and failed by ONE POINT. So they ordered the 3 hour test. Which meant drinking a sickly-sweet bottle of glucola after fasting all night/morning, sitting at the hospital for 3+ hours, and getting my blood drawn a total of 4 times. Except I only got mine drawn twice. Because I threw up in the middle of the test and had to quit. I was soooo frustrated. I assumed I would have to retake it, but the doctor hasn't called me about it and it's been almost a week, so we'll see I guess. Maybe they'll let me squeak by.

30 weeks! Belly is pointy this week :P

And just for kicks, here's a picture of me 30 weeks pregnant with Orion:
Bahahahaha! I am going to be huuuuge by the time Desmond shows up...

Here's a video of my crazy alien baby trying to escape my belly. I even figured out how to edit it so you wouldn't have to sit through a whole minute of nothing :P Enjoy this very strange video...

29 Weeks & Ultrasound

2011-04-12T19:27:00.006-04:00

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +16
Inches gained: +6
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: Pretty good.
How I'm feeling: Just some aches and pains. He's getting heavier.
Best moment this week: Seeing Desmond on ultrasound today <3
Movement: So much
Food cravings: CHOCOLATE
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably (especially shifting/turning in bed).
What I am looking forward to: Meeting my littlest man
Milestones: 2 doctor's appointments a month (instead of 1) now. Going in on Thursday.

We had our last ultrasound today! I had a borderline low-lying placenta so they had to check on it, and it has moved up nice and high! Hurray! I actually wasn't worried about it ;) They were only going to check the placenta and not look at the baby so I was suuuper bummed when I found that out (I almost started crying), but the tech was so nice and gave us a quick peek at the little guy anyway.

He's head down and facing my back, so he just has to stay put and he'll be in a perfect position for birth :) We could even see a little hair on his head! Maybe he'll be born with more hair than O? She also checked and we could very clearly see that he is definitely a boy! Good to know ;)

We got a beautiful picture of his sweet face, below (tilt your head to the right- he's sideways). I think he was smiling :)

Abuncha Pictures

2011-04-08T15:51:00.004-04:00

This one is from the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention I went to last weekend with Amanda and Melanie! I think this is from when we were waiting to hear Michelle Duggar speak. We went to some really good sessions (Pretty sure Michelle's was my favorite), but really I just had a great time hanging out, staying up late talking, and having some quality girl time :)

This is from today... Orion actually just fell asleep in Nathan's arms! Awwww. That happens so rarely, it was really sweet. He even stayed asleep when Nate put him down in his crib and slept for almost 2 hours!

I just thought this was so funny. Orion LOVES Charles, and thankfully Chuck is really good with him. I think O laid down on the floor just because Charles was :P

This is my favorite recent picture... it's just such a nice smile! I wanted to get him a baseball hat for this summer and was so excited to find a Perry the Platypus one! ...it's from a show called Phineas and Ferb... if you haven't seen it you're missing out.

Guess who has started climbing. Sigh. This is my little monkey. And he wants to climb on chairs all the time...

Look who has a fancy new playset! A family from our church moved away and said we could have their old playset. It's overall really nice... Nathan has to rebuild a section of it with some random pieces that used to be part of it, but hopefully that won't be too difficult. I think O likes being up in his tower.

Another recent favorite. I think he was drumming on the floor.

We spent most of yesterday playing outside... in the dirt. Yeah, he pretty much just sat in the dirt and dug around forever. This kid is going to have a killer immune system.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! All is well here... I'm babysitting tomorrow morning, then we have a youth event tomorrow night. I just scheduled our last ultrasound for Tuesday, so hopefully I can post pictures from that. All next week we have rehearsals and performances for the "Resurrection Celebration," or Easter musical, at church. I... really need to work on learning the words to a couple of songs ;) Have a great week!

28 Weeks

2011-04-05T22:47:00.004-04:00

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +15
Inches gained: +6
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: Pretty good.
How I'm feeling: Good most of the time, just some aches and pains.
Best moment this week: Feeling his body pushing out against my belly several times... like a big hard bump. Don't know if it was a butt or a head or something in between. Also feeling him hiccup for the first time :)
Movement: Lots and lots.
Food cravings: Breyer's Brownie Mud Pie ice cream
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Moving comfortably (especially shifting/turning in bed).
What I am looking forward to: My last ultrasound (will call to schedule tomorrow).
Milestones: Less than 3 months left... that is seriously crazy to me.

Mom-mobile!

2011-04-03T16:04:00.004-04:00

We've got ourselves a mini van!! I'm ridiculously excited. I'd been stalking Craigslist for a couple weeks but finding nothing but scams (Note: if someone online tells you they're selling their car because they're being deployed to Afghanistan and that the car is in California but they'll ship it to you... it's a scam) so I was getting frustrated. Well the other day we were out and happened to see a mini van sitting by the road with for sale signs in it, so we stopped, not hoping for much.

Lo and behold, it was actually a great deal! It's a 2003 Ford Windstar with 67,000 miles on it. It was priced fairly enough, but we offered the seller $500 less than his asking price and he took it without hesitation! Score! I don't love the color (white), but hey, I'm not turning down a great deal.

Nathan had a stressful time trying to get the thing though... on Friday he went to pick up the cash at the bank only to find out the bank's system was down... nationwide. So he had to wait til Saturday morning to get the money, and of course then the title bureau was closed. But the guy still let us keep the van and will meet up with Nathan on Monday afternoon to finish the paperwork.

We spent this afternoon cleaning the whole inside of the van, which was actually in good shape to begin with. Just the normal dirt and dust. Here's the inside of the van, looking from front to back. It has captain's chairs in the middle and a bench in the back.

And here's the front. It has a CD player which I've missed from not driving the Honda much since O was born. It also has a flip down screen with a VHS player... ?! Apparently they put those in cars before DVD players got popular. Anyway, it's a cool bonus and works great.

The only problems are a rust spot on one side near the wheel well (which the guy who does our car body work says will be easy to fix) and a small ding on the corner of the back bumper. Besides that, the ABS and Brake lights are on a lot, but I looked it up and there seems to be some kind of recall on that so maybe we can go get it fixed by Ford. Anyway, compared to our other vehicles it's in beautiful shape.

I love our new Windstar and can't wait to start driving it around. It should work much better for our family :) Now we just have to sell the Honda!

27 Weeks, and The Name!

2011-03-28T21:09:00.005-04:00

Yes, we finally committed to a name for the new little man! It was tough, but we really like what we decided on. And his name is...

Desmond Daniel Lambes

Desmond is Irish and means "man of the world" or "man from South Munster."
Daniel is Hebrew and means "God is my judge." It's inspired by the Biblical figure of the same name, and we also like the alliteration of the two D's :)

Hope you like it!! ...and if you don't, tough ;)

How far along? 27 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +13 (None this week! Yaaay! Haha ;)
Inches gained: +5.75
Maternity clothes? Yeah, gotta pack up some more "normal" stuff.
Sleep: Pretty good, usually get up once a night.
How I'm feeling: Good most of the time, just some aches and pains and heartburn.
Best moment this week: Announcing Desmond's name to our families this weekend.
Movement: Tons.
Food cravings: Chocolate, fast food.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Running, comfort.
What I am looking forward to: My last ultrasound (for low-lying placenta- hoping it moved up ok).
Milestones: The beginning of the 3rd trimester! I cannot believe it.
Do you happen to remember that I posted about this crib bedding and how much I loved it a few months after Orion was born? Well it was discontinued and has been gone from stores for ages. I recently looked on Ebay and the set was selling for like $150!! What?! I looked on Amazon and found it for half that price, but hesitated to buy it, and of course it sold out by the next day. I was so mad at myself for hesitating! Then it showed up again saying there were only 3 left and I pounced on it! Mine! It's already sold out again. I figure I've wanted it for so long and we had some Amazon money available, plus we're having another boy, I should probably go ahead and get it while I could ;)

Plus it matches Orion's big boy bedding! My parents got him this super cute rocket bedding for Christmas (but in twin size, not toddler like this pic). My boys are going to have one cute room :)
Now I just have to decide whether to put the new bedding on the crib as soon as it comes or wait til Orion moves out and Des moves in... hmm...

Space Adventurer

2011-03-28T09:24:00.003-04:00

Our little adventurer taking his first spaceship for a spin! He's making Daddy proud training to be a spaceship captain at an early age.

He thinks busting through the door is hilarious. I'm glad he likes his ship so much :)

Every astronaut needs a space helmet!

And he can't go anywhere without his lightsaber! That sound it makes when it turns on is amazing.

To mix nerd references... he's ready to boldly go where no man has gone before!

What I Did Tonight

2011-03-25T21:43:00.002-04:00

26 Weeks

2011-03-22T22:32:00.003-04:00

How far along? 26 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +13 (right on track with my last pregnancy)
Inches gained: +5
Maternity clothes? Yep!
Sleep: Pretty good. Nathan got me memory foam for my birthday :D
How I'm feeling: Pregnant. Little uncomfortable now and then, but not bad.
Best moment this week: Nathan got to feel some of the weird movements I feel all the time... like Baby's running his hand/foot/elbow back and forth across my belly. Super cool!
Movement: Ninja baby. He is STRONG.
Food cravings: Chocolate, fast food.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Running.
What I am looking forward to: Announcing his name sometime this week! :D
Milestones: Less than 100 days to go!

We got a new dresser! We knew we would need more storage once the baby was born, so I hopped on Craigslist and found this gem! OK, not the most stylish thing ever built, but it's solid wood, very clean, and only cost $30. It's kind of scratched up, but that seems appropriate for a little boys' room. And it matches the other furniture. It's in Orion's room now and I moved his clothes over and they only take up half, so I think we're going to have the boys share and move the other dresser out of the room and use the other dresser for bedding, etc. The new dresser is pretty huge so the room is looking crowded.

We got a new bumper cover in the mail today for our Honda Accord Coupe and installed it... the old one was literally falling off and was only being held on by a "car bra." I also cleaned the car out. We're going to get it painted (the last owner lived in Texas and the paint is destroyed... the top coat is peeling off all over) and then sell it... because people with children have no business owning a two-door car. Going to buy a mini van which I'm super excited about. I've been stalking Craigslist non-stop (that's where we found the Honda in the first place). If you want to sell me your mini van let me know ;)

...sorry about all the parentheticals.

25 Weeks

2011-03-15T22:54:00.006-04:00

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +11
Inches gained: +5
Maternity clothes? Yep!
Sleep: Fine, but lots of weird dreams
How I'm feeling: Good, just a bit sore here and there. Feeling a lot bigger.
Best moment this week: Crazy active baby!
Movement: All the time- he's nuts.
Food cravings: Chocolate.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Running.
What I am looking forward to: Deciding on a name... getting close!
Milestones: Increments of 5 weeks always seem like a big deal. Also gaining 10+ lbs.

24 Weeks

2011-03-08T13:52:00.003-05:00

How far along? 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +9. Whew, only 1 this week ;)
Inches gained: +4.5
Maternity clothes? Yep!
Sleep: Been having some bad dreams, so not so hot.
How I'm feeling: Mostly really good- just keep hurting myself while doing normal movements. And my inner thigh muscles feel permanently pulled/strained, which I remember from being pregnant with O.
Best moment this week: Very clearly feeling a tiny hand or foot pushing against my hand. Amaaaazing.
Movement: Lots!
Food cravings: Constantly craving chocolate... have been for a long time.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Very out.
What I miss: Running, actually. Which I never ever thought I'd say!
What I am looking forward to: Deciding on a name. It's the middle name that's hard this time!
Milestones: Realizing how soon this baby will be coming! I just looked at my countdown... only 112 days to go!! Less than 4 months!

The Life of Orion in Fuzzy Cell Phone Pics

2011-03-06T21:11:00.003-05:00

Using Aunt Allie as a stool to see out the window

I've accumulated quite a few pictures of Orion already this month, and oddly enough they're all- you guessed it- cell pone pics. Many of them fuzzy. Remember when my phone used to take really good pictures? I do. It was before Orion had teeth.

"Wow"

Orion and I spent a loooong time the other day watching a backhoe working. Actually, we were watching its arm. It was behind a mound of dirt. He was completely fascinated though. I decided to put him in the stroller and get a closer look, but it had stopped by the time we got over there. We made some new friends on our walk though :P And it was running again when we came back. And I also learned how very out of shape I am... our little walk made my legs hurt!!

Snuggling his kitty. Awwww...

Bubble beard!

Escalators are SO COOL.

Popsicle!

Sleeping on Grandma

Looking out the window with Charles

New words:
-Hey
-Book (allegedly... I haven't heard it)
-Juice (sort of) / Drink (sort of)

Other new stuff:
His favorite new thing to do is bring me his coat and pretend to start to put his arm in, then run away. I say "hey!" and he laughs like crazy. Any time I say "hey!" is hilarious. I'm very funny.

He was sick last week but is feeling much better now :) He is even taking longer naps! And eating a little more! Hurray!

23 Weeks

2011-03-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

How far along? 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +8. Sigh. That's 2 again this week.
Inches gained: +4
Maternity clothes? Yep!
Sleep: Pretty good.
How I'm feeling: Good except my right hip is starting to bother me :/
Best moment this week: Allie and Kelli getting to feel the baby move.
Movement: Lots :) More pushing movement in addition to kicks.
Food cravings: Can't think of any this week.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Out.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Deciding on a name.
Milestones: The beginning of pregnancy hip issues. Hurray...

I was going to post a picture because I thought my belly had grown a lot but when I flipped back and forth between pictures I look EXACTLY the same as I did three weeks ago...?? Huh.

22 Weeks

2011-02-22T15:49:00.002-05:00

This is for the whole month, so no new ones for a while!

How far along? 22 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +6 and change
Inches gained: +3.5
Maternity clothes? Mostly!
Sleep: Pretty good, kinda wishing for one of those memory foam mattress pads :P
How I'm feeling: Good!
Best moment this week: Nothing comes to mind
Movement: Lots :)
Food cravings: Chocolate chip cookies at the moment
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, canned corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Out.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Deciding on a name.
Milestones: Baby should weigh about a pound!

15 Months Old, and the Zoo!

2011-02-21T13:59:00.004-05:00

Orion is a year and a quarter as of two days ago! He's getting so big. And so cute... I thought he was cute when he was a little baby, but he's soooo much cuter now! Is this the pinnacle of cute or is there more to come?!

We went to the doc today... here are the stats:
Height: 2 feet, 6 inches (30 inches... just under 25th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs (25th percentile!! That's great for O!)
Head Circumference: 19 inches (75th percentile. Yep, still has a big noggin)

He did great for the doctor- the doc was amazed how still O sat for the exam and said Orion is seriously the best baby he's ever examined. Go O!

But then he had to get his first MMR shot... which did NOT go so well. I was holding him still but he jerked away (he's strong and I'm not... haha) after he got poked and most of the medicine squirted out, so the nurse had to do it again!! The second time thankfully went ok, but of course it was no fun for any of us, especially Orion! I said something like "that was rough," and the nurse said something like, "yeah, that was probably about the worst it's ever gone for me!" Sooo... Orion's the best patient until it comes to MMR shots, and then he's the worst. :P

Thankfully he always calms down really quickly after shots and has been fine since then. Napping now.

Speaking of, he's finally cut down to one nap a day. It's usually still only an hour, or an hour and a half at the most, but he seems to be doing ok with that. As long as he keeps sleeping well at night I'm happy ;)

He's being a picky eater which is very frustrating, but the doctor didn't seem to be worried about it and doesn't think he needs vitamins or anything so that's encouraging. He'll eat as much fruit as you'll give him, so that should keep him healthy enough, right?? I was shocked that he gained 3 pounds in the last 3 months since he's not eating that much.

New stuff... he just started saying "bye" or "bye bye," and says "baba" for bottle (aka sippy cup- he's off bottles). He can go point to Mama, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, and The Baby if you say "where is ____?" It's sweet :)

He's crazy about going outside and will bring me his shoes and/or run up to the door, knock on it, and say "bye bye?" I'm wishing for a fenced-in yard! It's raining today so no outside :(

On Friday we went to the zoo with our friend Andrew! It was Orion's first trip there. He did mostly ok, but wanted to run the whole time so it really frustrated him when we wouldn't let him, leading to a few tantrums. We're trying to stop the tantrum cycle... wish us luck :/

This was one of Orion's favorite parts, and it was right at the beginning. There were some big turtles swimming around and he loved watching them. His other favorite was the fish... but I'm not sure whether he liked watching them or just that I kept saying "blub blub blub blub!" Haha!

This was so funny! The ravens wanted to eat O! They kept pecking on the glass and flapping their wings at him! Good thing there was glass there I guess!

Aaaand this is Orion getting eaten by an alligator.

Haha, this is a picture from last month, but it's from Orion's first time sledding. He looks like the little boy in "A Christmas Story" when he's so bundled up he can't put his arms down. We had fun... though I think O is so used to being tossed around the sledding wasn't that thrilling for him :P Poor child didn't have snowboots either. Good thing he's a polar bear like his daddy.

Psuedo Spring

2011-02-17T13:40:00.004-05:00

We have been enjoying the beauuuutiful weather! I want to say spring is here to stay, but we all know that's not true. I'm sure a big snow storm is right around the corner :(

ANYWAY, Orion and I spent a good while outside this morning just walking around the yard, picking up acorns (NOT eating them... oy), playing with sticks, etc. Lately O throws a fit every time we come inside... ugh. I mean, I'm glad he loves it outside, but I do not want to deal with a tantrum every time we head inside, thank you very much.

But... he's so cute... so I guess we'll go out and play with acorns some more.

This video is from a cell phone so sorry about the quality. It's of Orion stomping in a puddle. In his pajamas.

Yes, we are hillbillies.

Orion's First Haircut

2011-02-15T21:31:00.003-05:00

We decided it was finally time for Orion to have his first hair cut. The front didn't bother me so much, but the back was getting really wild... Nathan was constantly making fun of him for his mullet... so it was time for a change.

Baby Mullet!

I hypnotized O with his favorite show, Boz (who, in case you were wondering, a green bear who lives in a tree.) to get him to sit still. It worked! This was probably the easiest haircut I'll ever give :P

During...

After! No more mullet! It really does look nice :)

After the cut. Such a big boy :) Isn't he handsome?

21 Weeks

2011-02-15T16:50:00.004-05:00

How far along? 21 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +6 (see Amanda, I'll catch up ;)
Inches gained: +3.5
Maternity clothes? Mostly!
Sleep: Pretty good
How I'm feeling: Good!
Best moment this week: Having a HYPER baby a couple days.
Movement: A lot more and harder!
Food cravings: Cinnamon bagels with cream cheese
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Out.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Deciding on a name.
Milestones: I think this is where the major weight gain begins. That's how it happened last time too. I gained around two pounds this week...

It's a BOY!!!

2011-02-08T21:14:00.005-05:00

We had our 20 week ultrasound today. That's right, we're having another little boy! I'm really happy- I'm so glad Orion will have a little brother to beat up... I mean love ;)

Here he is- isn't he cute?? I think he looks a lot like O! I'm ok with that.

Teeny feet :) He was all curled up in a ball- there were arms and legs all tangled up everywhere... but don't worry, they're all there :)

Skeletor!

Showing his "secrets" (as his Aunt Emiley would say). I'm glad he wasn't shy. I wouldn't have been surprised if it turned out to be a girl, but I was thinking boy since he looked like a boy at the 12 week ultrasound.

Everything looked great on the ultrasound. He measured exactly average, all systems were working perfectly, and the doctor couldn't find any problems. Hurray!! SO thankful for a healthy baby. The placenta is a bit low again (Had a very low placenta with O, and once you have it once it's more likely to have it again), so we'll have another ultrasound in a couple months, but odds are it'll move up and won't cause any issues.

It was a good visit :) And I got the little guy a new sleeper after the ultrasound to celebrate his boy-ness. Haha. If you can't tell it has little elephants on it and says "I love Mommy" :) It's newborn size... so tiny!!

How far along? 20 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +4
Inches gained: +3
Maternity clothes? Pants 100% (just got some new ones today! Woo!), some shirts
Sleep: Not too bad
How I'm feeling: Good!
Best moment this week: Seeing my healthy baby boy on ultrasound!
Movement: Every day- I actually SAW a kick yesterday
Food cravings: Seafood... we had fish sticks for dinner :P
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Out.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Feeling Baby move even more
Milestones: HALF WAY there. Oh my!!

New post about Orion below if you didn't already see it!

The Cuteness of O

2011-02-08T10:14:00.005-05:00

OK, so I promised you pictures of Orion this week... sorry it took so long, but here they are! These are just some random pics of O being cute over this last month. This first one is actually from the Sanctity of Life Day we had with the youth... there were snacks... and Orion ate a lot of them.

Baby in a box! He was playing alone in his room and I was hearing some strange noises from that direction, and this is what I found. He got the box open and just sat himself in there. Silly.

I put the bag O's blocks go in on his head one day and he thought it was super funny. He kept pulling it off and then bringing it back to me to put it back on. Actually, last night he was doing the same thing but with one of my boots... he wanted me to put it on his foot, then he'd hobble around for a little bit, get it off, and bring it back. I tried to take a pic with my phone but it was too dark :( Sooo funny though!

Gasp! Cheerio disaster! I keep Cheerios in a puffs container, and if O gets ahold of it he likes to pull off the lid... and this is what happens. I felt like a good mom that day though, because instead of scolding him I took a picture :P Haha!

Orion has been crazy about books the last month. He brings them to me one by one from his room so we end up with a big stack in the living room. He likes anything that involves peek-a-boo flaps or animal sounds.

I love this... he likes to climb up on his little push car and watch the turtles. The first day he did it (this picture) he must have stood there for like 15 minutes.

Things he's up to:
-Words- he can say ball, kitty, wow, cheese, mama, dada, Boz (Pronounced "ba," same as ball, except more excited. A video he's obsessed with.)
-Sleep- doing great. He sleeps 11 or 12 hours straight every night. Love it!! His naps haven't been all that awesome, but he pretty much always sleeps 45 minutes+ twice a day.
-Eating- he's getting pickier :/ We feel like all he eats is cheese, pb&j, and fruit. Sometimes he surprises us, and we're always trying to get him to eat different things, but he's into turning his nose up at foods before he even tries them. What happened to my good eater??
-Teeth- he has all four molars. Canines are next... I hear those are killer :(
-Likes- still loves his kitty Charles and will even snuggle him when Charles sits still; balls- he got a huge ball recently and he loves to carry it and throw it around; climbing- he figured out how to get up on a chair upstairs by himself; tv... haha, yeah, I'm a bad mom... he doesn't watch it all day or anything but he does like it; books, as previously mentioned; chapstick. This is kind of an annoying like. He pulls the cap off and puts it on... his eyes. Wha??; making messes... his greatest skill

Orion needs a hair cut pretty soon... the back is getting wild. I'm planning on doing it myself but I'm anxious about it!! At least I know I can just turn on Boz and he won't move a muscle for 45 minutes...

Well I skipped my nap to write this, so I hope you liked it ;) Our big ultrasound is today at 3:45 and I'm SO excited- I can't wait! Will post pictures and hopefully the gender tonight!!!

19 Weeks

2011-02-02T14:25:00.003-05:00

How far along? 19 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3
Inches gained: +3 inches
Maternity clothes? Pants 100%, some regular shirts are too small/short
Sleep: Not too bad
How I'm feeling: Good- finally not sick :)
Best moment this week: Nathan feeling Baby move!
Movement: Every day
Food cravings: Bagels... and finally got some Cheetos after wanting them for a while :P I think it's funny I want something different every week, and I think that's just me and my obsession with food, not so much the baby... haha
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: ??? Ultrasound February 8!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Out. It really hasn't changed in weeks, but I'm not sure it's going to pop out any further. I'll let ya know :P
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Ultrasound!! Can't wait to see if it's a boy or a girl.
Milestones: Baby's feet are supposedly an inch long :)

Sorry this is late- our internet was out for a while. Ice storm knocked down a line.

I promise a post with adorable Orion pics this week too!

18 Weeks

2011-01-25T15:33:00.005-05:00

How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3
Inches gained: +2.5 inches (in the evening... measured earlier and it was no different from last week. Ha! Knew that wasn't right.)
Maternity clothes? Pants 100%
Sleep: Mm, I have been waking up a lot, so not fantastic.
How I'm feeling: Mostly good, except I'm sick again... this time a cough. Ugh.
Best moment this week: "Popping" again... it always amuses me :P
Movement: Every day, still pretty gentle
Food cravings: Oranges
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: ??? Ultrasound February 8!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Half out.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Ultrasound!! Can't wait to see if it's a boy or a girl.
Milestones: Finally feeling pregnant

This cracks me up! Take a peek back at last week's picture. Ha! I looked back at pics from when I was pregnant with O and I look about the same as I did at, oh, 25 weeks? Oh my :P

17 Weeks

2011-01-18T18:16:00.006-05:00

How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3
Inches gained: +2 inches (right after dinner anyway :P)
Maternity clothes? Pants
Sleep: Good- just started sleeping with a body pillow
How I'm feeling: Actually really sore a couple days this week, especially yesterday. Some round ligament pain, hip pain, back pain. Baby doubled in weight in the last two weeks so I'm guessing that's why. I feel A-OK today though, so I'm assuming the body pillow did the trick.
Best moment this week: Feeling Baby move from the OUTSIDE! SO awesome.
Movement: More and more!
Food cravings: Tacos! I think this is so funny since Mexican food was my aversion with O. Nathan made me some last night, so craving satisfied :)
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: ??? Ultrasound February 8!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Half out.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Finding out Baby's gender, others being able to feel it move.
Milestones: Baby is finally accumulating fat.

This is for you, Sadie!

17 Weeks this time vs. 17 weeks pregnant with Orion. What do you think? Looks pretty similar to me...

Sanctity of Life

2011-01-16T20:11:00.003-05:00

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139

Yesterday our youth group had an event celebrating the sanctity of life. They had the opportunity to learn more about what abortion means to us as Christians and how we should respond to it. We had a few speakers with different experiences all relevant to the issue... a woman who's close friend had an abortion when she was in high school, a woman who had an abortion herself when she was 19, and one with a passion for life and babies who's had two miscarriages. They were all such touching and personal stories and I SO hope that the youth learned from them and felt their passion. Mostly the kids were taught that however they are confronted with abortion, they should speak the truth in love, and stand on the Word of God.

The youth also set up a display on the front lawn of the church. They staked 150 white crosses into the ground (that they made themselves on Winter Retreat) that represent the 150 babies that are killed each hour in the USA alone through abortion. Does that not blow your mind?? That's almost 4,000 babies a day. Far over one million a year. 50 million since abortion was legalized in 1973. Let your heart work on that for a while.

I'm proud of our students showing up on a Saturday afternoon to learn about the sanctity of life and do some important work. We hope that the lawn display catches some eyes and changes some hearts. Even before they were finished setting it up a man pulled in and asked what the crosses were all about- that's pretty awesome.

As a side note... notice how there's nice green grass where the crosses are? Yeah, there's snow everywhere else. It melted in that spot the day before we set them up. We were all worried nobody would get to see the white crosses because of the snow... guess there was nothing to worry about. Wow.

I want to bump you over to my friend Amanda's blog for her story about the day (I swiped her pictures so that's why they're the same ;). She was one of the speakers for the event and has some great things to say, and even a video that we watched yesterday. Today is Sanctity of Life Day... please take some time to pray for the unborn babies of the world who face genocide. For the pregnant women who are faced with a choice. For the women who have already made their choice, have had abortions, and who need to know there's a God who forgives and heals.

16 Weeks, plus O on drugs

2011-01-11T14:59:00.005-05:00

Oh yeah, life is gooood. Here he is with his happy drugs before his surgery. This picture totally cracks me up!

The procedure went perfectly and Orion was a champ. Besides being a bit more sleepy than normal he's acting just like himself today. I'm very thankful that it went so well. If you're curious about what on earth the surgery was for feel free to email me :)

How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3 or a little less
*Inches gained: +1.5 inches
Maternity clothes? I think one pair of regular jeans still fit but besides that it's maternity pants for me.
Sleep: Fine (except last night, anticipating O's surgery of course)
How I'm feeling: Great :) Extra tired and hungry still.
Best moment this week: Hearing Baby's heartbeat Thursday- 150 bpm
Movement: Almost every day! Loving it :)
Food cravings: Still Chinese food, chocolate (probably because there's SO much in the house)
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: ??? Ultrasound February 8!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Half out.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Feeling baby move more, the next ultrasound.
Milestones: Baby can hear me!

The Saturday Afternoon Post

2011-01-08T14:40:00.005-05:00

-Orion is getting his top molars AND has a cold. Nathan has a really bad cold and I think I'm getting it. It's been a rough couple days.

-I forgot to mention a couple of new things he's learned to do. He gives "snuggles" - lays his head on my chest and sometimes even pats me on the back. I'm SO excited he'll finally snuggle me. He also blows kisses sometimes :)

-Orion is having a minor medical procedure done on Tuesday the 11th at 7:30 am, so if you think of him please pray for him (and me ;)

-I have felt the baby move a lot the last few evenings which is super awesome. Heard its heartbeat at the doctor Thursday- 150 bpm.

-Since Nathan's sick I think I'm teaching Sunday School tomorrow... eep! I'm very nervous.

-We're going out with Andrew tonight to Matera (new cafe in Franklin... by New York New York... haha) for brick oven pizza!!

HEAR THE BABY'S HEARTBEAT

Big O Update 2011

2011-01-04T22:46:00.004-05:00

OK, life has been CRAZY the last few weeks and I feel like I really need to update you on Orion! The last time I posted anything about him was on his birthday a month and a half ago and I didn't even get to pics of his party!! So here they finally are...

We just had a little "party" with family... dinner, cake, and presents... so pretty much you just get pictures of O and his cake :) Nathan and I made him a rocket ship cake for the big "1," and I'm pretty happy with how it came out! The frosting we got was kind of hard to work with so it's not as perfect as I wanted, but hey, it's really cute anyway :)

We just let him dig right in. He shoveled it in, of course! My boy loves his sweets.

The aftermath. Bath time immediately followed, of course.

Pretty soon after that (and after thanksgiving... gosh, it has been a long time...) we started gearing up for Christmas. Here's Orion and his daddy in their Christmas best... AWWW...

This is the day we went out with the whole Lambes clan to pick out a Christmas tree. Orion and his cousin, Ellie, rode together in a sled and they both LOVED it. O kept eating snow :P

We got family pictures done while everyone was here, and while we were at it I got some of O for his first birthday. I was so thrilled I actually got him to laugh!!

OK, now that the pictures are out of the way, here are some more things he's up to:

- He's WALKING!! He started a few weeks ago and he's a pro now. He just learned to stand up without holding on to something on Christmas or maybe the day after. But he's always on the go, running around. Super cute :)

-He has 10 teeth. He got both bottom molars in the week or two before Christmas. No sign of the top two.

-We've determined that he's said his first word... "kitty!" Haha, no kidding. Extra funny: he said it in reference to our friends' bunnies... apparently he thought they were kitties. Ha! He can also say "ball" without the l's, and of course Mama and Dada... but not sure he knows what they mean.

-He's obsessed with drinking anything he can gets his hands on, especially out of a regular cup.

-Nathan says need to mention how obstinate he is... haha! He knows the things he's not supposed to do and does them anyway, and when he gets in trouble he gets mad, of course. He's definitely thrown a couple temper tantrums the last few days which is NOT good. Oh dear...

-New tricks: signing "all done/gone," making the touchdown sign/throwing his hands in the air, gasping, "give it to mama," "come here." Working on "clean up" ;)

Generally he's doing great. He has his grumpy days and his good days, but usually he's happy with just exploring, playing, chasing the cats, dragging things around the house. He usually sleeps great at night, and naps are usually good but the last couple days not so much. You know how it is. But he's a really good, fun baby, so I can't really complain.

Well it's past my bedtime, but I hope you enjoyed the REAL post!! Have a fabulous night... or day :)

15 Weeks

2011-01-04T10:18:00.003-05:00

How far along? 15 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +3 or a little less
*Inches gained: +1.5 inches
Maternity clothes? Haven't worn any yet, but I pulled the box out last night!
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Great :) Extra tired and hungry still.
Best moment this week: People telling me I looked cute in reference to the baby bump
Movement: A very little bit
Food cravings: I finally got some Chinese food!
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: ??? My guess is boy, everyone else is guessing girl. Ultrasound Feb 8.
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Half out. You can see/feel it through my shirt already. Ha!
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Feeling baby move consistently, the next ultrasound.
Milestones: Baby's legs are now longer than its arms :P

14 Weeks

2010-12-30T22:29:00.003-05:00

How far along? 14 weeks 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: +3 (thank you delicious youth retreat food)
*Inches gained: +1.5 inches (I thought it would be fun to track my belly this time. This growth was all in one day!)
Maternity clothes? I think this is my last week in the only pair of jeans I have that fits. Gotta find that box of maternity clothes.
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Great :)
Best moment this week: Feeling the baby move FOR SURE yesterday!!
Movement: Yes, finally! Looking forward to more.
Food cravings: Chinese food (thanks for the gift certificate, Andrew :)
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: ??? My guess is boy, everyone else is guessing girl. Ultrasound Feb 8.
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? Half out. You can kind of see it through my shirt already. Ha!
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Feeling baby move consistently, the next ultrasound.
Milestones: I "popped" this week! In the morning there was no baby bump to speak of, then in the evening... whoa! My sister-in-law even noticed the sudden change immediately, so it's not in my head :P

13 Weeks

2010-12-22T14:24:00.002-05:00

How far along? 13 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +2 (or less)
Maternity clothes? Nope
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Mostly good. Mornings are touchy.
Best moment this week: I'm pretty sure I felt Baby move a couple times :) Also, Nathan's whole family including my niece, Ellie, is in town. It's a blast seeing her and O together.
Movement: A little!
Food cravings: Chinese food, cinnamon rolls
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, corn
Gender: ??? My guess is boy, everyone else is guessing girl. Ultrasound Feb 8.
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In (well, honestly, still half out from being pregnant with O)
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Feeling baby move consistently
Milestones: Second trimester!

12 Weeks

2010-12-14T22:31:00.003-05:00

How far along? 12 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +2
Maternity clothes? Nope
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Mostly good. Mornings are touchy.
Best moment this week: Seeing Baby on ultrasound today!! It was jumping in there! We're pretty sure it also had the hiccups- it was jerking its body like it did :) Baby measured right on track (around 2 inches) and its heartbeat was 167 bpm (O's was 164 at this point). It looked like it was holding onto its ear like Orion does when he's tired :) Even though I've done this before it's just unreal when you see the baby that's growing inside me, doing baby things... SO crazy and awesome. Also worth the hour long wait and random fire alarm.....
Movement: I swear it kicked HARD several times during the ultrasound! I'm sure it didn't like being pushed on like that.
Food cravings: Chinese food (I need to just go get some)
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, any soup with corn or sausage in it
Gender: ??? I swear the doctor mumbled "boy" though. It's really too early to tell, but just sayin...
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Not much
What I am looking forward to: Feeling baby move consistently
Milestones: Baby is healthy, and for that I am so relieved. Also, all body systems are in place and working (the doc said its kidneys and bladder are doing their jobs)... Baby just has a lot of growing to do!

11 Weeks

2010-12-07T19:32:00.003-05:00

How far along? 11 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +2
Maternity clothes? Nope
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Sick all day today. Blegh. :(
Best moment this week: Having my first real doctor's appointment. We didn't get to hear the baby's heartbeat yet (Baby was still a bit too little), BUT, even better, we get to have an ultrasound in a week!! I'm SO excited.
Movement: Not yet...
Food cravings: Mashed potatoes, Chinese food
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, any soup with corn or sausage in it, lots of things today
Gender: ???
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Not feeling sick? Haha.
What I am looking forward to: Seeing Baby on ultrasound in a week!! Feeling Baby move.
Milestones: Baby has fingernails :) It's also about two inches long!

In other news, Orion is working on getting his molars. Oh my goodness. I hope they hurry up. I'm dying here.

10 Weeks

2010-11-30T10:27:00.002-05:00

Poor Baby is a prune this week....

How far along? 10 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +2
Maternity clothes? Nope
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Alright. I've had a headache for the past 4 days and have been tired.
Best moment this week: Every time I turn to the page in Your Pregnancy Week by Week that has the "actual size" illustration of the baby it melts my heart.
Movement: Waiting not-so-patiently. It's amazing how many little pops, twitches, and shifts your body makes when you reeeeally pay attention...
Food cravings: Not sure if I'd call it cravings, but I've been wanting cheese, fruit, and Chinese food a lot.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup, any soup with corn or sausage in it
Gender: ???
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing
What I am looking forward to: Hearing baby's heartbeat TOMORROW!
Milestones: Baby is no longer an "embryo," but is now a "fetus." I prefer to just call it a baby, thanks :)

9 Weeks

2010-11-23T12:03:00.002-05:00

How far along? 9 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +1
Maternity clothes? Nope- just the belly band
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Mostly good. It kind of depends on the day. And time of day.
Best moment this week: Orion turning 1 year old!
Movement: Don't think so
Food cravings: None
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup
Gender: ???
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing
What I am looking forward to: Hearing baby's heartbeat on December 1
Milestones: Baby is over an inch long!

One Year Old!!

2010-11-19T12:01:00.006-05:00

Cheeeese!

I can't believe it, but today is Orion's first birthday! In a way it went by SO quickly, but in another it feels like he's been around forever. He has changed so much in the last year!

Orion a few minutes after he was born

It's so strange looking at our old pictures and videos from when he was first born... he was such a funny little creature! He has learned and grown so much.

Let's compare!

At birth:
Length: 21 inches
Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz

At one year:
Length: 29 inches
Weight: 20 lbs

He was even weighed on the big kid scale at his appointment yesterday! His weight has jumped up on the chart- he's doing great :)

Rare snuggle time with Daddy

Lately O has been sleeping like a champ! I don't know if we ever posted about it on here, but we took his pacifier away probably a month ago and I think it's helped his sleep a ton! He usually sleeps from about 8:30-7:30 and rarely wakes up during the night. He's learning to go to sleep for naps by himself (as in we put him in the crib awake and leave the room and he goes to sleep) and is doing very well most times. He's in a good schedule and usually naps twice a day. It's so nice to have a good sleeper :)

Bath time at Aunt Rachel's

Orion is cruising around furniture constantly and loves to climb. He's not walking (or standing unassisted much) yet, but we're guessing it'll be soon-ish... maybe. He crawls so fast there's no reason to walk :P

KITTY!

O still LOVES cats and chases them all over the house. Charles is so good with him and even lets O catch him occasionally. I wouldn't be surprised if his first real word was "kitty." He already makes sounds sort of like "kitty" when he sees Charles.

In birthday clothes from Grandpa and Nana Jones

Birthday lunch at Wendy's

We went out to Wendy's today for lunch for O's birthday and he loved it, of course. He wouldn't share my baked potato because it had broccoli in it... ha! He's a little pickier than he used to be but he still eats OK.

We're having his birthday party/cake next week when his aunts are here for Thanksgiving, so we'll have pictures of that up later!

Happy birthday, Orion!!

8 Weeks

2010-11-16T23:24:00.004-05:00

How far along? 8 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 1.5 (and so it begins)
Maternity clothes? No, but I have been wearing a "belly band" with some of my jeans.
Sleep: Fine
How I'm feeling: Good! No real nausea for about a week :) **Edit: I actually lost my breakfast this morning. Not sure if it was some freak morning sickness thing or actual sickness (that's going around), but I'm hoping for the first one!!**
Best moment this week: Getting a positive pregnancy test at the doctor? Haha.
Movement: Mmm... I keep thinking I feel tapping but I guess it's probably in my head... this would be crazy early to feel movement...
Food cravings: None.
Food aversions: Chicken tortilla soup
Gender: ???
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing
What I am looking forward to: Hearing baby's heartbeat on December 1
Milestones: Umm... I've been sitting here for a few minutes and can't think of anything :P

7 Weeks

2010-11-09T16:06:00.003-05:00

How far along? 7 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 1 (hoping that's just water weight :P)
Maternity clothes? Not yet!
Sleep: Had some trouble this week, but it's not either baby's fault.
How I'm feeling: I've been mildly nauseous all day the last few days :(
Best moment this week: As sucky as "morning sickness" is, it's a good sign.
Movement: Nothing yet.
Food cravings: None.
Food aversions: Whatever soup Robin made last night. I just couldn't stomach it.
Gender: ???
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Gotta admit, starting to miss lunchmeat already.
What I am looking forward to: First doctor's appointment tomorrow, hearing Baby's heartbeat in a few weeks, feeling Baby move (I'm jealous, Amanda!!).
Milestones: Baby's eyes are getting pigment this week. Wow.

Catch up!

2010-11-03T21:02:00.006-04:00

I ran two 5Ks in October and never posted about them! The first was on October 16 in Germantown. I ran with Kaylee, a buddy from our youth group. I was able to run the whole way! I finished in 35:30 which is... really slow... but hey, as long as I didn't stop to walk I'm happy! That's actually pretty close to my time from my first 5K.

The second race was the Raptor Run at the Creation Museum in Cincinnati. Allie and Rachel ran with me! Actually, Rachel smoked us, but Allie stuck with me :P I ended up having to walk a couple times which stunk, but I was actually wheezing/gasping for air so I'm glad I did! It seemed weird that I had just run the same distance the week before so much more easily... but this course was a lot more hilly and I think the baby is hogging my energy. Oh well!

I realized that I never really posted the "end results" and "after" pictures from my weight loss journey! I never reached my actual goal, but I'm very happy with where I ended up anyway. I'm 8 lbs less than I was before I was pregnant with Orion, so I call that a victory in itself!

Here are the stats:
Current weight: 120ish
Starting weight: 140
Goal weight: 115
Total weight lost: 20 lbs

Aaaand...drumroll please... the before and after pictures!!

Hurraaaay! :D

(let's just ignore the fact that I'm going to have to do it all again in less than a year... ;)

I swallowed a pumpkin seed

2010-11-02T21:53:00.005-04:00

But that's not a pumpkin growing in there. Nope, something much better! That's right, we're expecting baby number two!! We're super excited and have enjoyed telling our families and friends. Nathan carved this pumpkin at our Hallogivingmas party this past weekend (post to follow) to reveal the news to our college friends :)

And here's Orion sharing the news with our family! This is the shirt that Nathan wore when his mom was pregnant with his little brother, so it takes the t-shirt reveal from being corny to special ;)

The baby is due June 28, 2011. And now we get to start the weekly updates!
How far along? 6 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 0
Maternity clothes? Not yet!
Sleep: Great. Thank you Orion!
How I'm feeling: Pretty much normal.
Best moment this week: Sharing our good news with our friends. They were SO excited :)
Movement: Nothing yet.
Food cravings: None.
Food aversions: None.
Gender: ???
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing yet.
What I am looking forward to: Hearing Baby's heartbeat in a few weeks.
Milestones: Baby's heart has begun to beat!!

11 Months

2010-10-20T08:59:00.003-04:00

Wow. Orion turned 11 months old yesterday! In less than a month he will be 1!

He's continuing to learn new things... he's pointing all the time (like in the picture above!). Sometimes he points at things he wants, and sometimes he points at seemingly nothing... although who knows, maybe he sees something he wants us to see!

He still thinks clapping is so fun. He waves when someone says "hi" or "bye bye" ...when he feels like it.

^This is how you can tell he's tired- he grabs his ears. He reminds me of Prince John in the animated version of Robin Hood. Hehe.

Overall Orion has been sleeping a lot better. He's been sleeping straight through the night most nights, but he's been waking up between 6 and 6:30 and wanting to stay up. I'm thinking I'm going to try to work on getting him to sleep later next week. Maybe.

He hasn't been fighting so hard against naps lately which has been amazing. The way his schedule works out he gets to have a bottle and a nap around the same time both morning and afternoon, so he often falls asleep drinking it. And sometimes he'll even fall asleep sitting next to me on the couch! That's super nice. We usually take a morning nap together :)

He's standing and cruising like crazy, but no walking/steps yet. He does great when you hold his hands, and he even took a couple steps beside Nathan holding only one hand, but none by himself yet. We think it will be pretty soon though!

Orion has suddenly become a picky eater. Grooooan... he would always eat anything you put in front of him, and now he'll hardly eat anything! Even the things he does like he'll chew up and spit out. He did a bit better yesterday and this morning, so we'll see if he starts eating better again.

Family picture! We went to our church's annual "hot dog and hike" on Sunday afternoon. There was a picnic then a short walk to a really cool nature center. Orion slept through the whole thing (in the car with Robin). We put a big boy car seat in the Suburban and we'll probably put them in our cars soon too. His feet are hanging out of his infant seat!

Well hopefully it'll be nap time soon, so TTFN!

Hocking Hills Vacation!

2010-10-13T10:20:00.005-04:00

We had a wonderful time this past weekend on our "mini vacation" to Hocking Hills! Robin and Larry kept Orion so this was our first time being away from him for an extended period of time! We missed him, but we had a great time and he got to have his own adventures with his grandparents :)

We stayed at "Caveman Retreats" right down the road from all the caves/attractions. Our campsite was gorgeous! The bathrooms... not so much. Kinda scary, actually. But hey, we didn't let that ruin our fun!

We just set up camp and relaxed when we got there Thursday night, and then on Friday we spent the day hiking! We went to Old Man's cave and did a little Geocaching- we found 2 out of 3 :)

While Geocaching we met a beautiful (but grumpy) Great horned owl and a friendly red tailed hawk with one wing! We didn't find the geocache that was supposed to be nearby but we loved just hanging out so close to these beautiful birds.

Next we went to the Rock House which was soooo cool. It's the only true cave in Hocking Hills and it's awesome. It was dark in there so most of my pictures didn't turn out... you'll just have to go and see it for yourself :)

On Saturday we went into downtown Logan first thing in the morning. We got hot drinks and did some wandering. One store that was closing had everything 50% off and I got a pair of Ugg style boots made of real sheepskin for an awesome price! They are SOOO warm and cozy- can't wait to wear them this winter!

We also stopped at an antique store and had fun looking around at the treasures.

Next we went to a glass bead making class!! It was super cool. I was so nervous at the beginning (um, working with a blowtorch and molten glass!!), but once I got the hang of it I had a lot of fun. All those sticks you see on the table are rods of glass that you melt and use to make beads.

Nathan went next- he wasn't as nervous as me because he'd gotten to watch both our teacher and me do it ;) I think he also did a better job than I did!

Our finished beads! Nathan's are on the left, mine on the right. We made a dot pattern, a heart pattern, and a wavy line pattern. So cool!

That night we had dinner... at a castle. Yes, really. This is Ravenwood Castle near Hocking Hills. We came early to wander the grounds (they have a little village of tiny houses that you can rent... and even a couple gypsy wagons!). We were going to play on the giant chess board, but it was taken, so we played normal sized checkers and a game called Rapunzel's Revenge... just because it sounded ridiculous.

The grand dining room. There was a big stone fireplace and a cool storybook mural. We sat at a table with 3 other couples...I didn't know how to feel about that at first but it ended up being really nice! And the food was delicious :)

On Sunday morning we went horseback riding!! It's something I've always wanted to do but never gotten to. It was really fun... we actually rode up and down a mountain which was kind of scary at times (my horse tripped pretty bad a couple times!). Nathan's horse, Cherokee, was a one-eyed, slow, stubborn horse. Mine was named Tabasco and was very good. I would definitely like to try riding again someday!

We agreed that this was our best vacation yet :)

This week in videos

2010-09-29T09:37:00.002-04:00

Orion has had a very busy week!! This week he got his 7th tooth, learned to wave, learned to clap, and is working on learning to point! Go O!

He LOVES to clap along with people... it's so cute! Here's my favorite video of the week- Orion clapping with his daddy.

This video was taken immediately after Orion waved for the first time prompted by the words "bye-bye!" Now he'll even wave on his own when someone is leaving the room sometimes... smart boy! Super cute :)

Orion has had the stairs mastered for a while, but I hadn't posted a video yet! He can go both up and down the two stairs in the living room comfortably by himself, and he can go up any staircase easily (closely supervised of course). Larry even said he went down a big staircase at church. He's definitely daring!!

Orion did a great job camping Friday night- he slept great! Rachel also camped with us and we had a great time seeing her. Allie is going to visit in October so we're looking forward to that too :)

SonFest (a music festival) is Saturday and we're taking a bunch of the youth so that should be fun! We're also going to start doing music before youth group tonight and I'm really hoping it goes over well.

Alright, O wants some mama time so I'm gotta go! Have a great week :)