Bday parties!

May 2nd I turned 30 and May 6th Joseph turning 6!  We had a big family BBQ to celebrate both of our birthdays one Saturday and then the next Joseph had a kids bday party.  Lots of fun—though I am still not to sure about the whole turning 30 thing…

Pics from the family BBQ:

Kids playing

My two grandmas and Bob

Brad cooking—he did a lot of the work and cooking!  Yay!

Actual sunshine.  We had a huge string of hot weather and for the first year I didn’t even have to worry about it raining on our party!

Cooking away!

We ended up with about 30 people—a way big party for us!

So fun to see everyone!

Waking each other with pool noodles was a popular activity.  I did not plan that.

Baseball bday cake!  I missed the whole blowing out of the candles (Joseph was throwing a fit about something and we were a bit delayed—but he got over it pretty quickly!).

Awww—love my cousins (and cousin-in-law?)

Presents!

It was a fun party and it feels that every year Brad and I get a bit better at pulling this off.

And pictures from Joseph’s kiddo party at Whirlie’s World (our local family fun place with arcade games, pizza, bouncy houses, laser-tag, etc..).

A little hard to tell, but 5 out of the 6 kids in Joseph’s class came plus some siblings and other friends. 

My cake!  SOOO MUCH WORK.  Since I didn’t have to do much in the way of decorating and preparing I decided to make an elaborate cake Brad and Joseph had seen on Facebook and really liked.  The cake was called “Reese’s Overload.”

Basically, a layer of peanut butter blondies, then chocolate frosting, the chocolate cheese cake, chocolate frosting, another blondie, all covered in peanut butter frosting, with Reese's on top and chocolate and peanut butter chips on the side.  It was the richest, heaviest cake ever.  Seriously.  I could barely lift it!

Pinata!  No where to hang it so we used Brad.

More presents!! 

Another fun party!  And I’m glad it’s all done.  Well, actually we aren’t done celebrating—tomorrow is Brad’s bday!

Weeks 26 & 27

Weeks 26&27 update-5/23/13

How big is baby? The size of a rutabaga. What? No idea how big a rutabaga is, so I checked: 13.6 to 14.8 inches and 1.5 to 2.5 pounds.

Appointment Updates: Just had an appointment today. Dr. said I am on to every two week appointments now which is very exciting for me! I love appointments and the fact that I am getting closer . . .

Best Moment of the week: I am sooo excited to be in the third trimester, seven months along, and to have reached “the age viability.” It just seems unbelievable to me that I am this far along. I still feel surprised that I am even pregnant! A woman in the online “due date club” I sometimes frequent had her baby last week and he is ok! Amazing to think.

Sleep: Sleeping good. Yay! Oh, actually I had a couple nights of not sleeping well because I got a really bad cold, which is kind of weird for me since I don’t usually get sick. It was mostly a bad sore throat, for which I normally would take lot of medicine and cough drops, but I am too nervous for any of that. Anyways, all better now!

Food aversions: Nope.

Food cravings: I realized that lemon is my favorite. I have made homemade lemonade twice and love it, and usually order lemonade for a drink at restaurants. And I treated myself to a can of lemon curd at the store last time I went shopping. Yum!

Symptoms:  Big and hot. Luckily the weather has been a bit cooler. My thermostat seems to be set high. I also just realized I am getting quite large. I think my stomach is probably about where it was at week 33 or 34 last time. And I got pretty huge last time. This time my stomach doesn’t seem as round and symmetrical and I think my belly button might pop out, which never happened last time. I also had two random people tell me I was very big and that they were surprised I wasn’t due until August. Though people say all sorts of different things and some say how close I am getting—which I LOVE. I’m not too worried about the size of my tummy though, I think it’s pretty much going to get huge one way or another and it’s a good cause!

Maternity clothes: No question. Though I continue to try and stretch (literally) my wardrobe by wearing non-maternity shirts (like the one in the picture), but probably a bad idea. I am really hoping to get time to go to Burlington to buy myself some maternity clothes. I told myself that this pregnancy I wouldn’t be as cheap as last time and would buy myself some clothes, but I still haven’t made time to go shopping.

Weight: 21 pounds. At my appointment though my Dr. was very encouraging; she said I am doing fine with my weight. I am trying really hard to be healthy, but I think I just gain a lot pregnant and am also trying not to worry about it too much. Really looking forward to the nursing diet—hopefully it works as well as last time!

Mommy movement: Ok: some walking and one yoga class. Still could do better. Get on it Ruth!

Baby movement: Lots and lots. All over the place. So wish I could know what baby is doing in there!

Gender: ?????

What I miss: Not being humongous.

What I am looking forward to: Healthy baby!!

Getting ready for baby: Not much. A family at work has been giving me all their gender neutral baby clothes. I forgot to mention last time that I did a super awesome deep clean of half the down-stairs and am hoping to continue and do the whole house before baby arrives. I count this as getting ready for baby and for moving! However, I seem to have a lot different concept of what a baby needs then other people. I don’t think a baby really needs much stuff. Though it does need a name eventually I suppose ;-)

Next appointment: Two weeks!

Baseball, new house progress, Gigi visit and more: Early May

We have had  A LOT going on lately.  Mostly good—minus a cold that kicked my butt.  However, with all our busyness my photography definitely takes a back seat.  Plus I am a bit reserved and don’t like getting in front of everyone to get pictures at big events like baseball practices and games. I’m thinking if the weather holds out I will try to get some closer up pics, but for now this is what I have.

More baseball practice.

Riding on the back of the tractor to the new house.

Finishing up the new garage.

Another baseball practice—this time Gigi and grandfather Bob watched a bit.

Opening an early bday present from Gigi after baseball practice at an awesome dinner at the Shoreham Inn.  It was especially awesome because we sat on the deck and the kids ran around! What a way to enjoy dinner.  There aren’t many pictures of Gigi’s visit, but it was just as much fun as always.  Thanks for coming up to Vermont Gigi!!!  Glad we had some nice balmy weather for you.

Love the shine of the brand new leaves.

Starting the new house!  This pictures shows the installation of the radiant heat system.  This is a major difference between our existing house and the new one.  Pretty excited about it!

Visit to a little carnival in Middlebury!  This was a perfect reward for Joseph after putting up with me cleaning for our big party all day.

Another dinner out with Gigi and grandpa Bob.  We like to try out lots of restaurants and return to old favorites when Gigi visits.

New garage, mostly complete!

First baseball game!  They did SUCH A GOOD job.  Seriously.  We played Cornwall and for some reason Shoreham was way more prepared.  Maybe it’s because there are only nine players so they get lots of practice! 

He loves to hit!  He does quite well too, though he definite has a ways to go on understanding the intricacies of the game (of which there are a lot).   Actually his very first at bat he hit the ball, then forgot to run.  Luckily his hit was good enough and their fielding bad enough he still made it to first.  He also much prefers hitting to fielding, but hopefully as he learns about the game he will get more into being in the field. 

House progress.

Things happen FAST with Brad. I wish I had half his motivation.  This was all accomplished while still working his normal 5 or 6 long days a week and almost all by himself.  As of now the house is roofed and papered!

Next I will go through all the Bday party pictures…

April Pictures

Springtime means worms!

An intergenerational fundraising basketball game at the Shoreham school.  Joseph was too young to play so he got to help operate the school board.  Lots of fun!

A 3-D puzzle that Joseph and I had worked on at the library for quite some time.  I would never have worked on this but Joseph begged me and then I got super into it!  We were very proud when we finally finished it!

Springtime also mean baseball!

And collecting water bugs!

“Rookie ball!”  Yay! (They changed up the leagues this year so it goes T-ball, Rookie ball, then Minors and Majors.)

And my trip to NYC.  I was very impressed by the shopping choices!  I didn’t take many pictures, but had a wonderful time with Jordyn, Tom, and Carol.  We enjoyed lots of great food, fun times, some clothes shopping, and night out at a comedy club (a first for me), some jewelry making, a little sleeping in, walking around the city, our WMF Foundation meeting at a country club and more.  It was so much fun and I am very grateful to the Wells!

Central park—about a 20 minute walk from Tom and Carol’s apartment.

My train ride home

Granpa Bernie and Joseph picked me up and we enjoyed our first creeme of the year!!!

While I was gone Brad started the new garage! 

Weeks 24 & 25

Weeks 24&25 update-5/9/13

How big is baby? The size of a cauliflower. (Kind of weird—the week before said cantaloupe).

Appointment Updates: We had an appointment about two weeks ago, but nothing much happens at appointment right now. Weight, blood pressure, answer questions, measure the tummy, and listen to the heartbeat. The Dr. was pretty awesome with Joseph and let him operate the doopler to listen to the heartbeat which was very touching. He loved it—so much so he forgot to complain about not knowing the gender. I think the heartbeat was 154, but not exactly sure.

Best Moment of the week: Probably our family birthday party! It was beautiful weather, a lot of family made it, and I loved having everyone together

Sleep: Mostly sleeping well, though if I am stressed about something (some work stress and a little about putting on parties) I end of having trouble sleeping, which is not normal for me. A couple of times I have awoke at about three and not been able to go back to sleep. It is very frustrating when it happens!

Food aversions: Not a one. Funny how that changed! My gag reflex is totally back to normal (which means I don’t really have one). This is good for my life since I deal with lots grossness (compost, cat puke, baby poop, spit-up, etc. . .).

Food cravings: All food! I eat a ton of fruit because I am always hungry. ehhh

Symptoms:  Getting big, and using the bathroom a lot. I feel like I have to pee all the time. Also acne. Major boo. Oh and I think I am extra hot all the time. We have had extremely hot weather (for May in Vermont—70s and 80s with intense sun) and I was not a fan at all. I don’t really like super hot weather to begin with and I have hardly any summery clothes that fit. Not fun. Oh, and my feet even got a little swollen, which never happened last time. L

Maternity clothes: Definitely. I actually have kept wearing non-maternity clothes, especially lately because it has been so hot and I don’t have very many summery maternity clothes. But I think it is time to give up on most non-maternity clothes. I wore a shirt yesterday that I see now did not fit. Mistake.

Weight: Not good. Up about 18 pounds. I was so good in the beginning and now it is just booming.

Mommy movement: Not as good. I got really busy with all the birthday stuff going on and haven’t made it a priority. Also it was so hot I bailed on walks at work, though I still snuck in a few.

Baby movement: Still comes and goes, but very busy today! Like hours of movement today. It is really funny sometimes trying to put kids to sleep at work and this baby is kick, kick, kicking away. There is one little girl at work who obsesses with my baby and will do pretty much anything to be able to be with me (which is useful since she can be very challenging). I can also watch my tummy move now!

Gender: Still a mystery. I’ve gotten some carrying high comments lately (traditionally carrying higher is thought to indicate a girl), but there is also no question that many things about this pregnancy are very similar to last time (might indicate boy) such as my humongous-ness and acne. I don’t have any strong intuition as to what it is.

What I miss: EATING THE DOUGH WHILE BAKING. So frustrating to bake and not be able to indulge. Seriously, it’s torture!

What I am looking forward to: Bigger, stronger, healthier baby. Another appointment. Getting closer to the end.

Getting ready for baby: Haven’t done much more lately. I did attend one childbirth class and am talking with a potential doula. I did start a list of what I am looking for. But it only has two things: moby wrap and co-sleeper. And I’ve already found a friend who is passing on their moby. No real name progress. This child will be lucky if we ever decide on a name!

Six!

I guess I should have posted this on Monday, but my boy has now reached six!!

(The weird stuff on his hands is some kind of caulking because he was helping dad with the new house.)