For the Love of all That is BABY

2011 Catch Up - Part 3

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

I almost completely forgot our trip to Florida in April! We go every year with Kyle's parents and sister's family, and as always, I took a TON of pictures!

Playing cards with my sexy husband on the drive south.

Creepiest East Bunny EVER

Egg Hunt

I did also manage to get a nice smiley pic, but I just love her Elvis face so much more!

Glamour Girl

We had lunch at a dinosaur version of Rainforest Cafe. I can't for the life of me remember what it is called, as I did not particularly enjoy spending $15 on a burger, but the kids LOVED IT!

Logan with his creation from Build-a-Dinosaur

Kyle and I before swimming with the manatees. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the pictures from the actual swim developed yet.

It was SUCH and awesome experience! We spent about an hour with 3 adults and 2 babies.

2011 Catch Up - Part 2

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Labor Day Camping in WV (aka my birthday) - September

We spent Labor Day Weekend (also known around here as BIG BIRTHDAY WEEKEND) camping in West Virginia with my parents, my bff Kati (whose birthday is 3 days before mine) and her guy, Joe. Kati and I spent a good portion of our youth at camp with my parents so we though it would be fun to celebrate our birthdays there again this year just like old times. The kids (and our guys) had a blast and we're hoping to make many more trips up there next summer.

Swimming in the small lake.

Kyle, Logan, and Joe

This picture always makes me laugh because Joe farted right before it was taken so he's smirking, Logan is making a yuck face, and Kyle is cracking up. This was right after they went for a little hike, hence the "walking sticks".

BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!!

Logan caught a frog. We also found a couple of tiny baby mice.

Group picture on our last day.

Visit from my Brother and Sister - September

Halloween

Logan decided to go as Batman this year so I dyed a onesie and some tights and made Viv this Poison Ivy costume. It took a TON of ivy leaves and several hours of cursing but I think it turned out pretty cute.

2011 Catch Up

2012-01-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

Hi! Remember me? Well, it's a new year and I've realized that I have gotten so far behind on my blog, I should probably close out 2011 before I move on to a bigger and hopefully better year. I didn't make any actual resolutions, but staying up to date in these here parts sounds like a good one. A lot has been going down in the Lynch household over the last few months, so here's hoping 2011 took the drama with it and 2012 brings back the laughter and fun. But for now, let's just get caught up on the last year . . . starting with the summer - which is, I'm pretty sure, just about where I left off. I've skipped over a lot of stuff so it's probably going to take several posts to catch up. Just keep in mind that these next few posts are all likely to be EXTREMELY picture heavy.

Viv's 1st Baseball Game - May

Air & Space Museum for Kyle's Birthday - June

My parents work for the company that made our spacesuits (and many other important military products), so Logan was pretty psyched to get his picture taken with this one. He was telling everyone who walked past that his Grandma helped make those gloves.

For his birthday, I bought him a flight lesson, you know, to go along with the whole birthday theme. He was pretty surprised. Lol.

Viv's Snow White 1st Birthday Party - August

Snow White and her Prince

Monthly Pictures

Viv's Smash Cake

Logan's 1st Day of Preschool

We celebrated Logan's 1st Day by taking the kids to a local carnival that evening.

I suppose that's enough for now. More tomorrow . . . maybe . . . hopefully.

So, tell me, how has 2012 been treating you so far?

We Want to Know: Beauty

2011-11-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

This week's focus is on beauty. I wish I had better answers, but I'm not exactly a beauty junkie. I love clothes and makeup and all that, but only if I can buy it for practically nothing. (Like the SUPER cute jacket I got yesterday for $9!)

1. What is your "can't go without it" beauty product/cosmetic?

If I oversleep and need to run out the door in two minutes or am just feeling lazy, I usually smudge on some concealer and mascara.

2. Do you apply make-up before or after doing your hair?

I guess before, but I don't really do my hair. Seriously, I don't even brush it because that makes it poofy. I go to bed with it wet, run some product over it in the morning, and I'm done.

3. How would you describe your personal style?

Lazy/busy mom chic? Even though I work in a somewhat high up office in state government, we have a casual dress code. I'm always in jeans (or my new chorduroys) and flats. On top, it's usually a cardi or some sort of embellished tee and maybe some jewelry to fancy it up a bit. I love clothes, but I love comfort more.

4. How long goes it take you to get ready each day?

I always shower at night because I get up at 6 (or 6:20) and need to be out the door by 6:45. In that time, I dress myself and Logan, put on my makeup, brush three sets of teeth, make sure Logan has his lunch and backpack, get everyone's coats on, and pile all my clowns into our little car. So, I don't know, maybe 10 minutes of that might be spent making myself up. I have it down to a science: concealer, eyeshadow, eyelash curler, mascara, eyebrow pencil, blush, and done. It sounds like a lot but I don't really do anything fancy for work, so I can get through it pretty fast.

5. What is your one pamper, just for you, beauty splurge?

I really don't splurge on beauty products. I never spend more than $8-10 on makeup (hello Covergirl and Maybelline) and rarely even that much because I just wait for sales. I use Pantene Brunette Expressions shampoo and conditioner - usually around $5 each. I've tried more expensive hair products but they always suck and then I'm mad about having wasted the money on them. I DO use Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Relaxing Balm - it was about $16 - but I guess it can't really be considered a splurge since it's lasted me over a year. I don't get manis or pedis. I dye my own hair with Revlon Colorsilk in Medium Auburn - around $3 on sale. Again, I've tried pretty much every brand but nothing else has made my hair as shiny, soft and vibrant as colorsilk. I read some survey in a beauty magazine that named it the #1 home coloring product, so apparently I'm not the only one who knows how awesome it is. Also, I get my hair cut at our local SuperCuts every 4-6 months or so. Right after Viv was born, I was in need of a cut and seriously low on cash, so I went there out of desperation. My stylist was amazing and the cut she gave me was at least equal to if not better than my previous cut from a fancy spa and salon that nearly bankrupted me. I think I only spent $30 at SuperCuts. Needless to say, I've never gone to anyone else since.

I'm probably making myself sound like a hot mess, which may sometimes be true, but I'm generally pretty pulled together. I bathe and shave regularly and never leave the house in pajamas (anymore). I might not be super stylish or trendy, and I certainly don't spend a lot of money on clothes or cosmetics, but I think I look pretty good and my husband has no complaints. In the end, as long as you feel confident - which I do most days - that's all that matters.

This week's questions were fun! Check out Mamarazzi, Crazymama, and Alicia aka Queso to link up your own answers!

WWTK - Late and Wrong

2011-10-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday, but I love this week's questions, so I'm posting my We Want To Know Wednesday a day late. Better late than never, right? As always, I'm linking up with Mamarazzi, Crazymama, and Alicia aka Queso - you should check them out!

1. Do you shop til you drop, or are you in and out as soon as possible?

It depends on whether or not the kids are with me. I LOVE to shop so I can go until my feet hurt if I don't have a cart full of whiners.

2. Are you a price conscious shopper?

Oh, yes! I have rules against paying full price for anything, and sometimes even the sale price isn't low enough to warrant a purchase (like the adorable Missoni for Target baby pea coat I passed on that was still $27 on clearance - we did, however pick up the adorable hat and mittens for $11).

Cute, but not $27 for a baby purchase cute.

3. What store could you spend HOURS in?

Target, Once Upon a Child (our local kids' consignment store that has racks and racks and racks of stuff that take FOREVER to sort through), and - ok I'm being totally honest here - Goodwill. Our Goodwill is awesome and gets a TON of Target overstock, so I stop in at least once a week to see what they have. Today I'm wearing a beautiful kelly green blouse that looks very Banana Republic, but I paid $3.50 for it at Goodwill and it was still brand new with tags. Score!!!! No shame in my bargain shopping game!

4. What is the most frivolous purchase you've ever made?

I don't even know. I usually talk the husband into buying me frivolous things, like the two pairs of $40 chorduroys from Kohl's that I HAD TO HAVE in addition to the $40 cardigan. (Though, do clothes really count as frivolous purchases?) It went something like this when I got home from shopping "Babe, I got some stuff that you can give me for Christmas, ok?" "That's fine." And then he wrote me a check. My husband is the best!

5. What was the last thing you bought for yourself?

Probably the pretty kelly green blouse that I'm wearing today. No, I take that back, I picked up a pretty top at JC Penney's this weekend for $25. It's more than I'd usually spend, but it was on sale and I really liked it. Besides, I really need more fall/winter clothing.

My new shirt - the color is sooo much prettier in person.

WWTK - TMI

2011-10-19T10:38:00.001-07:00

Because I feel totally braindead and I'm having trouble focusing on what I SHOULD be doing, I'm instead linking up with Crazymama, Mamarazzi, and Queso for We Want to Know Wednesdays.

1. When was the last time you lost your temper?

Probably last night on the car ride home when Vivienne was screaming at the top of her lungs just because she can and Logan was joining in because he figured she was doing it so he should be able to as well, right? Oh, and I was on the phone (hands-free, of course, because it's the law).

2. What 3 words best describe you?
Impulsive, passionate, and awkward.

3. What movie could you watch over and over again and never get tired of?
Empire Records - love all of the music and can pretty much quote the entire movie
Across the Universe - I like to sing along and Evan Rachel Wood is breathtaking
The Breakfast Club - again, I can quote pretty much the entire thing and Molly Ringwald is breathtaking

4. If you could do something dangerous, just once, with no risk, what would you do?
I honestly don't know . . . fly a plane? Does that count as dangerous? I feel like it should since I don't actually know how to fly.

5. Which is more important, intelligence or common sense?
Without a doubt, common sense. I know a lot of highly intelligent dummies. Book smarts might serve you well in school, but won't get you far in life.

Buff Mama Monday - My First 5k

2011-09-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, in an effort to get back in shape and knowing that I would need a better motivating force than "getting skinny", I registered for a 5k and started the Couch to 5k program. Unfortuantely, because I'm a slacker and I refuse to run in 90 degree weather, I was only about half-way through the program the week before my race (in other words, no where NEAR ready). Luckily, my amazingly athletic friend Claire, took me out for a few 3 mile runs (except her "3 mile runs" are actually 3.6 miles - she just lies and tells you they're shorter) to help me get ready. The runs were really hard but she is an excellent motivator: extremely positive but also really pushed me. She got me through hell week and ran beside me through the actual race. She tracked our pace to keep us on target and told me repeatedly how great I was doing (apparently I'm a high-maintenance runner). I'm not going to lie and tell you that it was "fun" or that I "had a blast", because in truth, it sucked. My legs hurt, I could hardly breathe, it was hot, and I spent at least an hour afterwards feeling pretty certain that I was going to vomit at any moment. All that aside, 38 minutes and 10 seconds later I finished - something I thought I would never do - and I'm really glad I did it. Once the nausea passed and I started to regain feeling in my lower extremities, I was overwhelmed by such an amazing feeling of accomplishment. In fact, I'm already planning my next race (most likely in October). What made this even better for me was getting to do it with two really great friends who I don't see nearly often enough, so hopefully they're both on board for the next run!

In typical girl fashion, we took pictures pre-race. . .

Claire, Shannon, and me

I swear I am not some kind of giant - I'm only 5'5" - I just have really small friends.

In case all the pink didn't tip you off that this was a breast cancer run . . .

These are our "game faces".

Totally unplanned, we all showed up with gray and pink shoes with pink laces.

I'm linking up with Vanessa at The Crafty Nest for Buff Mama Monday since she's also doing Couch to 5k and we mamas have to stick together! I came across Vanessa's blog through The Bump Birth Month message boards while we were both pregnant with our August babies and I've been hooked ever since. She's mama to handsome little Logan (an amazing name choice) AND she's super crafty, so you should go check her out!

WWTK - Boob Tube Q&A

2011-09-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

Linking up once again with Mamarazzi and Alicia for We Want to Know Wednesday Q&A. This week we're talking about TV!

1. What is your MUST SEE show?

Glee! No question! I freaking love all those little gleeks! This season I'm especially excited to see the winners of The Glee Project. Ok, being totally honest, I'm really just excited to see Samuel Larsen. He's "all the way beautiful" as Jim Carrey would say. I wonder if he likes older women...

2. What shows are you most excited to watch this season?

Glee, Sons of Anarchy, Tosh.0, Awkward, Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls, and New Girl. Mostly, we dvr everything and watch it on the weekends while the kids nap.

3. How many hours a week do you actually watch tv?

I think it depends on the week. We watch all of those above shows plus random stuff whenever we have down time (which is rare). 10 maybe?

4. Do you think tv has gotten too "racy" (vulgar, pushing the limit, etc) ?

I'm not opposed to racy shoes, provided they come on much later. Hello, I watch Sons of Anarchy. I don't like that there are so many adult cartoons that come on earlier in the evening. My husband loves American Dad and Family Guy but it's hard to explain to Logan why he can't watch cartoons with Daddy. Of course, hubs could always just dvr that stuff and watch it later, but I think he's way less concerned about monitoring Logan's tv viewing than I am.

5. How many tvs do you have in your house?

I'm actually embarassed to say. We have 4. Two downstairs, one in our room, and one in Logan's. The 2 downstairs both have the digital cable so we can watch grown-up stuff and the kids can watch all the special kid channesl with Bubble Guppies and Blues Clues. Our room is hooked up to cable but just the basic 60-some channels, which are pretty much all I ever watch anyway. Logan has a tv in his room, but no cable because it's just for movie-watching. He's afraid of the dark so we usually put a movie on for him when he goes to bed and just set the timer for 15 minutes. It's enough light to keep him calm and he's usually passed out before it turns off. Bonus: We never battle at bedtime when he knows he can pick out a movie!

Finally, check Princess Vivienne out over at Rae Gun Ramblings today. I ordered a beautiful custom ruffled diaper cover from Marissa's for Viv's birthday outfit and now she's featuring our princess in her Customer Appreciation post. For the record, I LOVE the diaper cover and everyone at the part commented on how adorable it was. Marissa also makes matching onesies, costumes, and sets for boys too! Check out her Etsy Shop Rae Gun for all kinds of adorable stuff!

IF

2011-09-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

I saw this post over at K. Law Inspired and then read her inspiration post from Life After I "Dew" and felt like joining the party. I've stolen all of their prompts because my brain is barely functional this week.

• If I were to get pregnant again, it would hopefully not be for at least another year, maybe two. We'd like Vivienne and the next baby to be closer in age than our first two but the fewer years we spend paying daycare for two, the better! We're really hoping for another little princess and have already decided on the name Gemma.

• If I had to eat one type of food every day for the rest of my life, it would be home-style, does that count as a type of food? If not, then I say Italian, but really I'd rather have pot roast and mashed potatoes or fried chicken.

• If I could have any job in the world I'd be a stay-at-home mom. Maybe. Or I might want to do something more creative. My problem is that I still really don't know what I want to do with my life which is why I haven't gone back to school yet. I'm really not sure if I'll ever figure that out. It's something that keeps me up at night.

• If I had a day to myself I'd go get a massage, see a movie (if Crazy, Stupid Love is still playing), and then do a little just-for-me shopping. That's actually what I had planned for last weekend but it all fell through. I'm still hoping to make it happen next weekend since this weekend is already booked.

• If I could get married all over again I'd try to step back and take it all in a little more. Planning and hosting your own wedding is really stressful and it's too easy to get caught up in making sure everything is perfect. That's what happened to me and I feel like I missed out on a lot while I was busy organizing everything. I wouldn't change any of the details of our wedding, but I would probably ask people to help out more so I could just relax and enjoy the day.

• If I could live anywhere in the US I'd probably chose somewhere around the Carolinas. Kyle and I talk about this all the time. We want to stay on the east coast, preferably in or near a beach town. Far enough south that it's at least warm-ish year round but not so far south that we fry in the summer. I told him I just want to go far enough south that we can have a palm (or 10) in our yard.

• If Logan had been a girl, his name would have been Leila/Layla - I hadn't decided on which spelling. If Vivienne were a boy her name would have been Tristan if my husband had his way or Dominic if I'd had mine.

• If I could have any talent in the world I would like to be able to dance, sing, or play the guitar. Or really I'd take any combination of the three.

• If money were not an object I'd be one of those stay at home moms who has a housekeeper and maybe an occasional nanny so I could still do things by myself every now and then. Also, I would need a hairdresser because I suck at doing my hair. If it would be possible to find a housekeeper who loves kids and went to beauty school, that would be ideal.

• If I could meet one celebrity I think I would want to meet Angelina Jolie. Don't hate me. I can't help it, I just love her. She's beautiful and elegant, but I love that she has a shady weirdo past. I just kind of think she's amazing in every way and I think our kids would get along great. As babies, Logan and Shiloh were practically twins and since she likes to dress up as a boy and he likes to dress up as a girl, they could just trade clothes and be besties. Oh, and we both have Viviennes so we obviously both have amazing taste.

• If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it'd be Target. They have literally everything and I actually love all of their stuff. Besides, we already do practically all of our shopping there, so it wouldn't really be any different from what we do now.

• If we got a dog I would love to have another pitbull, but no way would hubs allow that, so I'd take a pit/chihuahua mix. Don't laugh, it's a really thing! It's called a pithuahua and it's pretty much the cutest thing on 4 tiny legs. Also, they're so teensy that he wouldn't be able to argue that it might eat our children.

via

• If my husband had his way we'd own a great dane. Ain't happenin' hunny! Our house is way too small! I think he just envisions buying a tiny saddle and letting the kids ride the dog around the house.

• If I could go on a trip, RIGHT NOW, I'd go anywhere tropical as long as there were no kids, no phones, and no scheuled and I could just lay in a hammock with a fruity drink. I want to just be able to do whatever I want to do when I feel like doing it, or just do nothing if that's my preference.

• If I had to chose between a house cleaner and a personal chef, I'd pick the house cleaner, hands down. I don't mind cooking but I sure as hell hate to clean!

• If I had the option of plastic surgery I'd get a boob lift. I think mine are a great size but they've gotten saggy after two babies. I just want them lifted up. I tell Kyle all the time that it's like dumping the contents of a half-full freezer-size ziploc bag into a sandwich bag. Same stuff, smaller bag. Perfect.

In writing this I was surprised by how often my answer was the same as Shannon's and/or Kristen's. Isn't it weird when you find that you have so many similarities to people you've never even met? That's what I love most about blogging. I might not have much in common with a lot of my IRL bffs (most of them are unmarried and childless) but there is a whole community of women at my fingertips if I need advice or a laugh or just a bitch-fest and I know that they'll get where I'm coming from. I took a really long hiatus from blogging after Viv was boern but it's honestly really nice to be back! I've missed you all!

WWTK Q&A - Holiday Style!

2011-09-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

1. What is your favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving and Christmas are a close tie, but I think Christmas wins by a nose. I love the snow, the music, the tree, and just the spirit of the season. It's lovely. Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of the entire year which makes it a very close second.

2. Do you have any fun holiday traditions? What are they?
We always spend Christmas Eve with my parents. First we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible, then we each get to open one present. I'm all for starting new traditions though! I've been trying to buy the kids a new ornament for the tree each year. So far none of my traditions are very exciting.

3. When do you start Christmas shopping?
January? There's no set time, we just buy stuff as we find it on sale and stuff it in the closet or attic. That way the kids get a bunch of cool stuff and we've spread the expense out over the course of the year.

4. What is your favorite holiday food?
Stuffing! I freaking love stuffing!

5. Share a favorite childhood holiday memory.

My mind is totally blanking on this, soooo last year was my favorite Christmas so far. Viv was just a few months old, but old enough to appreciate her presents. Logan had asked for 3 specific toys (from 3 different Santas) and he got SOOOO excited when he opened them. Kyle bought me the camera I wanted but then packaged it up like russian dolls complete with a brick tossed in to make it heavier and throw me off. It was just a great Christmas and I loved experiencing it with my little family. I'm sure this year will be even better!

6. Have you ever actually tried fruitcake??

No. I'm afraid.

Wedding A-Z - Part 2

2011-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

MUSIC
A lovely friend and INCREDIBLY talented musician agreed to perform during our ceremony. She sang "Here Comes the Sun" while everyone took their places, "Sea of Love" (as performed by Cat Power) when I walked down the aisle, and "I'm Yours" while we greeted our guests as husband and wife.

Kyle and I put together a playlist on the ipod of all of our favorite songs to play at the reception.

We did our first dance to "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star. I found this song on his ipod while we were on our 2nd date. It had always been one of my favorite songs but few people I knew had ever heard of it. It was one of the earliest things we bonded over so there was never any doubt that it would be our first dance song.

NEWLYWEDS

OCEAN
We decided to get married on the beach because it holds so many precious memories for us and because it's where we feel most at home (as long as bikinis aren't involved). We briefly considered a destination wedding but settled on a local beach so that all of our important guests would be able to attend.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Our photographers, Gina & Tony were INCREDIBLE! (They're also a really, really, really cute couple!) All of the pictures on this and the previous post were taken by them. I honestly can't say enough good things about their work. If it wouldn't make me seem totally narcissistic, I'd have our pictures plastered all over the house. Hell, I'd give them away as Christmas gifts. They're just gorgeous. I can look at them over and over and over. Tony and Gina were an absolute dream to work with. They totally understood our vision and they kept us laughing the entire time. They even rocked the house when we pulled out Rock Band at our reception! Hands down, best wedding photographers EVER. If you live in the Chicago area and need a photographer for any reason, I highly suggest that you look them up!

Gina & Tony Photographers

QUIET MOMENTS

RINGS

SOMETHING OLD . . . NEW . . . BORROWED . . . BLUE
Something Old - My "bridesmaid" Shannon let me borrow a family heirloom handkerchief. I returned the favor last year at her wedding by lending her a handkerchief that once belonged to my grandmother.
Something New - Kyle surprised me with beautiful blue topaz earrings the morning of our wedding day. He presented them in a silver jewelry box engraved with "I Only See You" which is the title of one of our favorite songs by Benton Paul.
Something Borrowed - I can't remember, but I think I counted the handkerchief as my "something borrowed" as well.
Something Blue - Our guests - all of the most important people in our lives - were my "something blue" since everyone came dressed in our color, as requested.

TRAVELING IN STYLE
Our officiant drove us girls to the ceremony site in his gorgeous motor-home. It was way better than a limo because it had a bathroom and when I get nervous, I pee. Frequently.

UNIQUE
I happen to think we made a lot of unique choices but the most meaningful for me was including Logan in the vows. It was important to us that he feel like it was just as much his day as it was ours - even though he was so young that the significance was completely lost on him. It was a really special moment for us

as it was the beginning of us as a family.

For something fun AND unique, we played Rock Band at the reception. Our photographers even joined in and kicked all of our asses!

VOWS
I pieced our entire ceremony together myself from little bits I found here and there. The end product was so very special to us. I'd like to have excerpts framed to include in a photo wall I'm planning for our living room.

"These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.
These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams.
These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too, feels his child stir within you.
These are the hands that look so large and strong, yet will be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time.
These are the hands that will work long hours for you and your new family
These are that hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy
These are the hands that will comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief wrack your mind.
These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes: eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you. "

WALKING DOWN THE AISLE

Since Logan was the only special man in my life before Kyle came along, I thought it only fitting that he walk me down the aisle. Unfortunately, this involved a reeeeeeally long walk across the sand before we even made it to the ceremony spot. He wasn't even 2 yet so he walked as much as his little legs could handle then I just carried him the rest of the way. We sang the alphabet over and over the whole way there to keep him happy and focused. It's such a wonderful memory for me, it was one of my favorite moments of the whole day.

X-RATED

YOU MAY NOW KISS THE BRIDE!

Zzzzzz . . . THE END.

I really love looking at our wedding photos. Thanks for celebrating with me!

Three. Trois. Drei. Tre. Tres. San. 3.

2011-08-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

It has been 3 years since my wedding day. In reflection, it seems like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle and yet it feels as though Kyle and I have already spent a lifetime together. It's hard to remember a time before him. He has brought so much happiness, stability, and calm into my life, I honestly don't know where I'd be if he hadn't come along when he did. I know I can always count on him to make sure I have clean jeans or dark clothes to wear (because he never washes whites or brights), to say "I told you so" when my crazy schemes don't work out, and to always, always, always try to blame his farts on one of the kids. He's a predictable guy, that husband of mine, and I love him for it. He's everything that I'm not.

I spotted this Wedding A-Z post over on The Juice is Worth the Squeeze (their wedding was SERIOUSLY AMAZING - go check it out) a few weeks ago and thought it would be a great way to celebrate here on the blog. You have to understand, of course, that very little about our engagement and wedding was traditional, so I've had to change up the categories a bit as many of the original headings just don't apply to our wedding. So for now, here are A-L with the rest to follow tomorrow, enjoy!

ATTENDING

We kept it very small and intimate with only about 30 of our very closest friends and immediate family. We also asked everyone to wear blue. Weird, I know, but everyone cooperated without so much as a grumble (to our faces, anyway) and it looked AMAZING in the group pictures. Besides, these are the people who mean the very most to us and we wanted to to feel as if they were all members of the bridal party. Mission accomplished!

BRIDESMAIDS

This is one of the major areas where we broke from tradition, I had 5 bridesmaids but none of them walked down the aisle or even stood up at the front with me. They stood in the audience - for lack of a better word - with everyone else. Basically, our bridesmaids and groomsmen were the only friends we invited to the wedding so they got the title with none of the hassle. My "Maid of Honor" was Lauren, my best friend/roommate from college. "Bridesmaids" were Kati - my oldest friend and the best wedding planning helper EVER, Ashley - another friend from middle school, and Shannon - an amazing new friend.

CAKE

We went with cupcakes to stick with our laid back vibe, but also had a small cake to cut for pictures. To surprise my husband, I asked the baker to make a strawberry cake, since that's his favorite. He was so surprised when we finally cut into it and it was BRIGHT PINK. For the cupcakes, we just went with a plain white cake with light blue frosting and decorated with white chocolate shells and starfish. They were beautiful. And delicious!

DRESS

Finding THE dress was a bit of a fiasco. I initially bought a white maxi dress at the BCBG outlet while Kyle and I were visiting my BFF/Maid of Honor in Atlantic City. Kyle even paid for it (as he still reminds me). A few weeks later, I just wasn't happy with it. It's a pretty dress, but it just wasn't "bridal" enough. So, I took to the internets to find THE dress. Luck of all lucks, I found this STUNNING and PERFECT Nicole Miller gown on ebay for something like $40, but it was not to be. I got an email a week later that when the dress had been retreived from the warehouse, it was damaged beyond repair. I was CRUSHED! Honestly, I still dream about that dress. I checked out a few local bridal shops, but everything they had was too dressy for a casual beach wedding, so I headed back to the internets and found a lovely dress in a casual white jersey fabric. It was beautiful even if it wasn't THE dress. (The best picture I have of it is the above shot of my bridesmaids peaking out from behind me.)

ENGAGEMENT PICTURES

Believe it or not, I found our photographers on Craigslist. We were working on a really tight budget but I still wanted amazing pictures. I didn't know where else to look so I headed to Craiglist where I found Gina and Tony. It turns out, Gina and I went to elementary school together. Considering the school was pre-k thru 8th grade and still only housed well under 100 people, it's pretty odd that we would run into each other again. It was fate. They are AMAZING photographers with the exact style that I was looking for. We did our engagement pictures on the beach on a rainy day at the end of May. Luckily the storm cleared literally MOMENTS before we pulled into the parking lot and the hazy sky made for perfect lighting. We even frolicked in the freezing ass ocean! The pictures were totally worth the hypothermia.

FOOD

We kept the reception very casual, more like a family get-together, really. Our guests all brought covered dishes and we ordered some bbq from the best bbq place EVER. The food was amazing - all our favorite things were present - unfortunately, I was too excited and busy talking to everyone to finish my plate but we ate the leftovers for days after, so that was fine.

GROOMSMEN

Kyle's "Groomsmen" - Dwayne, Tony, and Dave - have been his best friends forever. They've been raising hell together since Elementary School or something like that. They took Kyle out to play paintball and eat crabs for his bachelor party.

HONEYMOON

We rented a beautiful home in Fenwick Island for our wedding reception and spent the following week there for our honeymoon. We were a short drive from all the Delaware and Maryland beaches and spent a whole lot of time soaking up the sun, strolling on the boardwalk, and doing cheesy beach tourist things like mini golf and lazer tag. I also had "Mrs. Lynch" airbrushed onto a tank top - easily one of the highlights of my week. It was so relaxing and amazing. AND, we celebrated my birthday during our honeymoon. Best. Birthday. Ever. Given the chance, I wouldn't change a thing. We're thinking about renting the house again for our 5th anniversary.

Celebrating a righteous mini golf victory!

INVITATIONS

Our wedding happened exactly 5 months after our first date so there wasn't really a whole lot of time for invitations. We made a lot of phone calls and sent out a link to our wedding page for more details. It turns out our wedding page still exists. Check it out HERE if you feel so inclined.

JEWELRY

I wanted to give my bridesmaids charm bracelets but couldn't find any that I liked so I made them. I also made myself one as well as a matching necklace. I was really happy with how all the jewelry turned out and the girls loved their bracelets!

KEEPSAKES

We did a photo guestbook instead of the traditional. My amazing "bridesmaid" Kati made sure that everyone got their picture taken with my mom's old polaroid, then stuck the pictures in a scrabook where they could each write us a message next to their picture. Some people wrote us really beautiful notes and the book means so much to me. We gave out champagne flutes with blue stems as our favors. They were a great find at the Dollar Tree and I made these tags to tie onto them to fancy them up a bit.

LADIES NIGHT

For my bachelorette party, we loaded up a car full of girls and headed to Atlantic City to meet up with my "Maid of Honor" Lauren. We stayed at Lauren's Aunt's house in Ventnor because it was super close to everything and free. We started the night out at a GREAT Italian restuarant where we were seated next to a bachelor party. I sent the bachelor a beer and he sent us back a bottle of wine. They ended up following us to a club after dinner and paid for all of our drinks for the rest of the nice and were just generally a whole lot of fun! They really MADE the night.

Come on back tomorrow for M-Z!

August: The Month of Milestones

2011-08-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

August has been a rough month for me as a mommy. First, Vivienne turned 1 and it's been terribly traumatic for me. I know it shouldn't be, but since we're so back and forth on whether or not she'll be our last baby, her birthday means I have to accept that I may never have another teeny tiny baby who will nap in my arms. Those are some of my favorite memories with her and now that she's too big and busy to snooze with mommy, I miss that time so much! There are still rare moments when she snuggles in close and lays her head on my chest, and those moments make me certain that she won't be our last. Of course, an hour later when she screams at me and smacks a spoonfull of green bean puree out of my hand and onto my couch, and I have second thoughts all over again. I feel like we should give it a few years before we decide either way just so we have a better idea of what sort of diva behavior we're going to have to deal with from her.

Logan started preschool last week. I'm still coming to terms with the idea that I have a child old enough to go to school. Sure, it's just preschool, but there are teachers and lessons and I have to pack his lunch! It's serious. He was REALLY excited (and a little nervous) on his first day and hammed it up for the camera for the first time in a while. He's been doing pretty well at school so far. He really enjoys it, but he's still having some of the same issues we have at home with his behavior and aggression. Aggression really isn't the word I want, but it's closest to what's going on. He is so hyper and gets so excited and he just doesn't know what to do with it all, so sometimes it comes out as aggressive behavior. It happens with Viv at home. He gets so excited and wants to play with her so badly, he'll grab her arm and shake it up and down a little too hard. He's never hurt her but she's dramatic and if he so much as looks at her when she's in a bad mood, she screams bloody murder (I'm not at all exaggerating), so you can imagine the fuss she makes if he touches her against her will. At school he's been in trouble for throwing things and not listening. I think it all goes back to the same core problem, which is his boundless energy. Hopefully we can work with the teacher to come up with a solution that works for everyone. I'm extremely grateful that they still seem to adore him despite his behavioral issues. I didn't feel like that was happening at his daycare. His provider just seemed irritated and impatient with him all the time. At least at preschool I know that they see all of his amazing qualities and they want to work with us to harness all that extra energy into something more productive. The teacher got a kick out of him the first day when he told her "those kids don't have very good manners" because he was the only one who said "thank you" when she handed out their papers. He's such a smart little guy and says really unexpected grown-up things all the time and I love that they appreciate all of his amazing qualities. I'm feeling really positive about his school and his teacher and I think he's going to have an awesome experience!

He wanted pictures with each of us. Mommy was first. . .

. . . then Daddy and Viv. I can't believe I got EVERYONE smiling!

Logan and his teacher, Miss Tammy.

Still to come later this week will be pictures from Viv's Enchanted Snow White party!

Hope all my East Coast readers made it through the hurricane unscathed!

We Want to Know Q&A

2011-08-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

One of the best parts of my Wednesday is reading We Want to Know with Mamarazzi and Alicia aka Queso, but I've never participated . . . until today. I haven't posted in a while (I know this because my mom reminds me constantly), so this week I figured I'd join in the fun. Heck, I might even jump on this train permantly. Why not, right? All aboard . . .

1. What is the best advice someone has ever given you?

When I was younger and would go to my mom for relationship advice, she would always tell me something to the effect of "You have to decide what you can live with and what you can't." In other words, no one is going to be perfectly, exactly what you want them to be. You just have to decide if the particular characteristic or habit that's upsetting you is something trivial that you can just learn to ignore or is it a deal breaker? It's pretty basic advice but it helped me make some tough decisions and it's wisdom that I've passed on to nearly all of my friends at some point in time.

2. What is your greatest accomplishment?

My family, without a doubt. Several years ago when it was just me and my little guy, I had moments of complete panic, afraid that no man would ever come along and want to love us. I was fortunate, however. Before long I met my husband and 5 months later we were married. Suddenly, I had my soul mate, Logan had a father, and I could focus all of my efforts on being the best mother and wife I could be. There are always challenges, but I feel good knowing that we take them on as a team. Since our Princess Baby joined the clan, the dynamic has changed, but as always, we take it all in stride. Together. I'm so proud of the parents that we have become. We certainly aren't perfect, but we give it our all and every day we strive to do better, to BE better for them.

3. Who do you admire?

My mom would be the obvious choice, or even my grandmother, but for the sake of being less cliche . . . I've always admired certain skills and characteristics in others and if you look at my group of friends you'll see that I tend to surround myself with people who embody all of those traits that I so desperately wish to possess but probably never will. I admire people who are totally confident and secure in who they are and don't care what others think, because being happy with yourself is more important than being popular. I admire people who literally "dance as if no one's watching". I admire people who are strong and outspoken and refuse to back down when they know they're right. I admire people who are just so likeable and charismatic that everyone loves them and wants to be around them. I admire those parents who are totally laid-back and calm and don't freak out when their kids do ridiculous things or act like heathens in public.

I could probably write an entire post about the amazing people in my life and the qualities I admire most in them . . . maybe I will. But I'll stop here for now.

4. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

Wow. I could go with any of the qualities I just listed above, but I think the most important thing for me is that I wish I had some sort of direction in life. At 26, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Obviously, being a mom and a wife is a dream come true, but I want more. I want to do something with my life, something I enjoy, I just don't know what that is yet. In college, I went through 3 different majors in 3 years and still wasn't satisfied that I was on the right path. I decided to take a year off to stop wasting money while I decided what I wanted to do with my life, and here I am 6 years later no closer to having it all figured out.

5. How do you want to be remembered?

I made my husband promise to outlive me, so mostly I hope that he'll join me soon because I'll be lonely (but not too soon, I want him to live a full, happy life with or without me). I want my kids to remember me as being fun and silly, but also being a ferocious mama bear whenever they needed me. Though it may not be until they become parents themselves, I hope that one day they'll appreciate all of my rules and understand that I just wanted to help them become the best people they could be. I hope that they'll always know that I love them for who they are - NO MATTER WHAT- and I hope that they always feel like their mom supported them in everything. I hope that they remember me as always having time for them and making that a priority over everything else. Our home may be noisy and chaotic and usually a total mess, but it's full of love, laughter, and fun and that trumps being clean any day.

Happy Birthday Vivienne!

2011-08-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

No matter how big you get, you will always be our tiny little princess!

We love you so much!!!

Foto Friday

2011-05-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'm still feeling lazy so I'm going to throw a bunch of random pics at you and call it a post.

That's my girl!

We each have our own mini-me now:

Happy weekend! Be sure to put on clean underwear tonight in case Jesus comes tomorrow! :)

It's been a while!

2011-05-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a month since my last post - according to my mom. So, apparently I'm slacking again. Honestly, there's a LOT going on that I could write about but I'm lazy and I don't feel like typing out the stories. Instead, you get more random pics from my computer, again, because I'm too lazy to upload new pics from my camera.

This is my dream patio. My theory is that if I keep buying things for it and talking about it as if it's a sure thing then eventually my husband will think it was a mutual decision and make it happen. I'll be sure to let you know if (when?) that happens.

Our house is a big white box with black shutters and a gray concrete porch. Blah. I've done my best to add some color to spruce it up but you can't see our pretty red door through the storm door, I have a black thumb and inevitably kill all of my flowers, and my last resort bright red crepe myrtle for some reason refuses to grow any taller than 3' high. Fail, fail, and fail again. So, I've given up. The front of my house sucks, whatever, but there's still hope for the back yard! This is where my dream patio plan comes in. We really need a place to hang out and make use of the yard and if we're going to do it, why not make it super fun and colorful, right? Right. So far I've secured the black stool/side table pictured above and about 20 brightly colored plants in equally colorful pots. All of my attempts to buy furniture have been failures (people who sell on Craigslist should respond to emails or at least take the posting down if the item is sold), but I'm not giving up. I really NEED a turquoise table and chairs . . . and a bench with pretty pillows . . . and something to build fires in. So I definitely have a long way to go, but I'll keep you all posted.

Moving on . . .

Viv's birthday is still a few months away but being completely obsessive, I already threw together this little idea board. The plan right now is to do a Snow White/woodland themed party. Pointy dwarf hats, red bows, acorns, polka dotted toadstools, woodland creatures and other details in red, blue, aqua, yellow, and white make up my party plan.

Mom, it's probably best of you stop reading here but I should warn you that if you chose to read on, you forfeight any right to give me a hard time. Deal?

Ok, so I'm thinking about getting another tattoo. A rather large back piece to be exact. I'm really not thrilled with the tattoo I got in college and I'd like to cover it up with something bigger and more artistic. I saw this dress today (on the Kohl's website) and as weird as it sounds, this is basically what I've been picturing in my head but with slight modifications.

The roses will stretch from hip to hip and then the sprigs will shoot up diagonally across to one shoulder like this:

Via

I want to have a gardenia added in with the roses to represent my Gram. So, thoughts? Should I do it? I remember how bad my first tattoo hurt and it's just a "tramp stamp". I can't imagine what a piece this size would feel like or how many hours I'd have to sit still and try not to cry. Odds are, I'll probably never go through with it, but this is an idea I've been tossing around for several years now, so maybe . . .

Sorry, mom!

Domestic Life

2011-04-20T07:08:00.001-07:00

Just a few random photos from this week:

Viv and Daddy watching Yo Gabba Gabba

and snuggling.

Our pretty, pretty princess.

And finally . . .

. . . a rare photo op with Logan (and proof that we didn't sell him to the circus).

Spring Break!!!

2011-04-19T09:47:00.001-07:00

On Friday morning we leave for our annual family trip to Orlando! I really hadn't been able to get excited about this year's trip until about a week ago. But now how do you not get excited when you're just a few days (and a crazy long drive) away from sunshine and 90 degree weather? So, I give up. I'm in. And I AM PSYCHED! Why, you ask (aside from the afore-mentioned sun and heat)? Because I just booked a snorkel with the manatees tour!!!

This will be me on Wednesday morning!

Via

Clearly, this is going to be our best Florida trip yet, as long as we don't get attacked or eaten by crocodiles. We aren't going to any of the parks this year, but we do have a few other day trips planned. We're going to head over to Tampa/Clearwater one day to explore the Glazer Children's Museum and frolick in the surf at Sand Key Park.

Via

We're also hoping to be able to stop at the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum on our way down to Orlando on Saturday. It looks pretty awesome and I think Logan would love it!

Via

Otherwise, we're pretty much free-styling this trip. We may play some mini golf or we may just spend a lot of time laying around the pool. It's vacation people, I refuse to plan out every minute. So to my Florida residents or frequent Florida vacationers, any recommendations? Things we must do? Places we must see? I'm open to suggestions.

AND I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

Is this what they mean by "attachment parenting"?

2011-04-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that my family and friends on facebook have probably been wondering if we gave Logan away after Viv was born. I rarely post pictures of him anymore, yet have new pictures of Viv going up all the time. Sadly, my sweet Logan has entered that phase of never wanting to be in pictures. OR he'll let me take approximately 2 pictures before he's over it and off playing somewhere. Usually of the 2 pictures, one is blurry because he never stops moving and the other features Logan with a finger up his nose or a hand down his pants. Not exactly facebook-worthy. And so I continue to post new pictures of my sweet princess who lights up when she sees the camera. It also helps that she's pretty much always attached to me...

Please ignore my creepy bug-eyes. After several picture attempts, I start forcing the smile and this is what you get.

"The only advantage to glasses . . .

2011-03-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

. . . is that you can do that dramatic removal." - Jim Gaffigan

As of Monday, I officially became a glasses-wearer. Ok, so I don't actually possess any glasses yet, but they have been ordered. And then I ordered 2 more pairs. And there's one more pair that I really, REALLY, really want, but I'm not sure even I can justify owning 5 pairs of glasses. For now anyway. So here are the pretties that will soon be arriving in my mailbox:

Anna Sui AS506

Nicole Miller "Georgette Teal"

Candies "Jolie"

Lucky "Cooper Tobacco Horn"

So what do you think? Looks like I'll have glasses for every outfit! Now I just have to wait, wait, wait for them to come in! I'm very impatient.

In the meantime, I'll just continue to drool over these glasses that I LOOOOOVE and want so bad . . .

Uhm . . . and these . . .

. . . ok, and these too.

Do you guys remember Lisa Loeb?

Lisa wearing my favorite pair: Everyday

These last 3 frames are from the new Lisa Loeb eyewear collection! There are 13 different styles and each style comes in several different color options. There is a lot of tortoise shell, aqua, lavendar, pink, red, and pistachio. Let me tell you, they are ALL gorgeous! Honestly, it was hard to pick favorites. I'm IN LOVE with several of them but especially the Everyday frame! So in love, in fact, that I called my optometrist this morning to see if it was too late to cancel my order and get the Lisa Loeb frames instead. Sadly, the lenses have already been cut for the glasses I ordered and I'd be charged a 30% restocking fee if I chose to cancel anyway (which would be almost $200!!!) so the beautiful Lisa Loeb frames will not be mine. Maybe I can talk Kyle into buying them for me for my birthday . . . Does wanting new glasses as a gift make me an old lady?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

The kids and Grandma Nina

And a few more just because my Princess is a total ham...

Vivy's 15 Minutes

2011-02-08T08:01:00.001-08:00

Miss Viv is featured in the Photo of the Day over at Spearmint Baby (one of my FAVORITE blogs) today! Go check her out!!!

Vivy is SIX MONTHS!!!!

2011-02-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Vivienne turned 6 months old yesterday! It's so hard to believe . . . I just don't know where the time has gone. I was planning on writing some big list about all of the things she's doing now, but honestly, it would be a short list. Vivy is what we lovingly refer to as a lazy baby. Lazy but adorable!

Rolling front to back - CHECK! Pretty much the only time she does this is when she's fighting sleep. She's a tummy sleeper (You can save your "Back to Sleep" comments. We had a bad experience when Logan was a day old and none of my babies will ever sleep on their back. Period.) so she'll roll onto her back so she has a reason to throw a fit. That's about it.

Rolling back to front - Nope.

Sitting - Nope.

Tri-podding (is that a word?) - Not exactly. She starts off strong but quickly (within seconds) ends up folded over in half and gets pretty grumpy about it.

Sleeping through the night - CHECK! (most nights anyway)

Eating - DOUBLE CHECK! Ok, here's where she really excels! My little piggy takes 15oz of milk at daycare plus about 4oz of oatmeal with bananas twice a day, throw in all the breastfeeding she does in the morning and evening and you've got one healthy little eater! She has her 6 month check-up tomorrow and we're planning to start her on fruits and veggies if they give us the go ahead.

Babbles - CHECK! Miss Viv is a chatterbox! This month she discovered a new, loud screechy voice. Now she and Logan lay on the floor and screech back and forth at each other. It's cute for about a second . . . then the headache kicks in. She coos, giggles, screeches, and babbles. There's almost always some sort of sound coming out of her and they're (almost) all adorable!

Teeth - Lots of drool but no teeth yet.

Chewing - CHECK! She chews on everything and nothing. It's especially hilarious when she gets her mouth going like she has some big wad of chewing gum in there.

She's a happy little girl, that's for sure, but she does have a temper too. I suppose she might get that from me. But all in all, it's been a pretty easy six months. Really, crazy busy, but easy. She's the kind of baby that makes you want to have lots more babies. Of course, Logan was that kind of baby too. It's just been years 3 and 4 that have made me consider getting my tubes tied, so we'll see . . . .

Happy 6 Months to my sweet princess!

December Wrap-up

2011-02-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

At the last possible minute, Kyle and I decided to make calendars of the kids for our parents. Unfortunately, as I was putting them together, I realized that I was short pictures for 2 or 3 months. I pulled together a few different outfit changes and staged a couple of mini photo shoots of the kids to fill the voids. Here are a few of my favorites:

Viv is turning into quite the ham. I guess when you shove a camera in a baby's face enough, they start to get used to it. She actually likes the flash, but unfortunately, doesn't usually smile until after the picture is taken. I just set my camera to take about a million pictures at a time and viola...one gorgeous smile shot.

I cropped this one down to use on the cover. It's definitely my favorite of the bunch!

How freaking sweet are they? They almost look innocent...

And here is just a random assortment of pics from December:

Viv absolutely LOVES to listen to Daddy play the guitar. She can be screaming her pretty little head off, but as soon as Daddy pulls out the guitar....silence. It's like magic.

I call this her "You have GOT to be shitting me" face.

She enjoys all the things you aren't supposed to do to a baby: shaking, tossing, etc.

First bite of cereal. Not exactly thrilled...

Ugh. What is this garbage? Where's my boobie?

Ok, not so bad.

Vivy loves her Grandma!!!

Viv's 1st Snowfall

2011-01-31T13:22:00.000-08:00

Yay! Snoooowww! Wait, what's snow?

Why am I the only one who looks happy to be out in the snow?

My snow angel

Chunky cheeks was not impressed.

Viv was definitely happy to be in out of the cold!

Christmas 2010.....Part 3

2011-01-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

Viv and my niece Katelin

Logan on his brand new bike

Viv in her Christmas outfit

My brother was home from Connecticut for a few days so he and my sis came down to visit.

And finally, I am done with Christmas posts!

Christmas 2010...Part 2

2011-01-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Our pretty tree jam-packed with gifts for our spoiled kiddos (and cookies for Santa/Mommy)!

Santa's elves - can't even get a shirt on the man in December.

He wanted this game soooo very badly that he asked his 3rd Santa for it.

The Princess got a princess. :)

Yeeaahhhh....Daddy went a teensy bit overboard this year. This was taken only about 3/4 of the way through his unwrapping.

Christmas 2010.....Part 1

2011-01-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

Now that I've married into a LARGE family, it seems like Christmas is never-ending. We have more holiday parties and get-togethers than you could ever imagine. Hell, the kids see Santa at least 3 times. I don't know how many more years we have before Logan starts to notice that Santa looks different every time he sees him. Lol! In all seriousness though, it was a really nice Christmas. Viv was just old enough to enjoy seeing all her new things - she even liked her clothes! She liked chewing on them anyway. I split all the pictures up into 3 posts because there are so very many! Here are our pictures leading up to Christmas - through Christmas Eve. Tomorrow I'll post the 1st half of our Christmas day.

Logan, Viv, and the BEST Santa!

Viv and Mrs. Claus

Quick story: The above pictures were taken at a Breakfast with Santa at the fire hall in my mom's town. It was immediately after that breakfast last year that I finally got a positive pregnancy test and we found out Miss Viv was on her way!

The best gift I received this year!

Logan and Grandma reading on Christmas Eve.

Viv and Grandma Nina

Making cookies for Santa.

Mom and me

My Santa Baby in her carseat

Logans 4th Birthday

2011-01-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

So I'm back. I think. Again, I want to apologize for abandoning my poor blog for so long. To be honest, I guess I didn't realize just how busy I'd be as a working mom of 2. Here's my average day:

Alarm goes off at 5am - time to nurse the baby.

Alarm goes off at 6am - time to get up.

Wake up Logan, get him dressed/ready, and get myself dressed/ready.

Get Viv out of bed and usher everyone downstairs.

Toss the kids and bags into car and try to be pulling out of the driveway before 7am.

Hour long commute to work with a quick stop to drop off the kids at daycare.

Work. 8-4:30.

Half hour drive to Mom's to pick up the kids.

Usually spend about an hour at Mom's chatting and nursing Viv.

Toss the kids and bags into car - again - and head home.

Another half hour drive.

Kyle usually has dinner ready when I get home = time to eat.

Unpack/re-pack bags: wash breast pump parts for next day, fill bottles, pack milk for daycare, pack lunch.

Make Viv's cereal and feed her while Daddy gets Logan ready for bed.

Shower time for Mommy and Viv.

Lay out everyone's clothes for next day.

Crawl into bed and let Viv nurse herself into a little milk coma.

Veeeeery carefully, transfer sleeping baby to her crib.

Sleeeeeeep.

Repeat.

It's a long ass day. So anyway, I have about 7 blogs in my queue right now so I'm going to try to get caught up on all the happenings from December and January. We've been busy little bees so I have a TON of pictures to share! Logan's pirate party was in the beginning of December so we'll start there because it was awesome. There were tattoos, a pinata, cupcakes, and enough goldfish crackers to fill up a swimming pool. He was a VERY happy little birthday boy!

Piratey cupcakes

Viv's ready to party!

Arrrrrghhhh!

I put together little treasure boxes for the kids with eyepatches, necklaces, pirate rubber duckies, tattoos, chocolate gold coins, and skull and crossbone lollipops. They were a big hit!

I drew a treasure map on a white plastic tablecloth.

It was WAY too cold outside so we rigged the pinata to hang from our living room ceiling.

It seemed like a good idea until they finally busted it open and I was reminded that I filled it with glitter.

Happy 4th to my handsome boy!

Daddy paid no attention to our navy and white color scheme.

Miracle Jeans Giveaway at Undomestic Momma

2010-12-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

Like most new moms, I'm still carrying around a hefty chunk of my baby weight. Hell, if I'm being totally honest, I'm still carrying around about 20 lbs from my 1st pregnancy 4 years ago! So what am I getting at? I NEED to win these jeans! If you're a new mom too - or if you've just had a few too many holiday cookies - you should head over to Undomestic Momma and enter her Miracle Jeans giveaway. Apparently, they are so miraculous, they will make you look 10 lbs thinner and you know how I know it's true? Oprah said so. So go check it out, enter, and then let me borrow them if you win!

Merry Christmas from the Lynch Family!

2010-12-19T05:58:00.001-08:00

Williamsburg 2010

2010-11-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

I don't have much time to write today, but I wanted to share a few pictures from our Thanksgiving in Williamsburg.

My Birthday Boy opening a few of his presents Friday morning.

Catching snowflakes inside!

Logan with his cousins: Khloe, Koby, and Kaden.

Momma's eyes and lips and Daddy's eyebrows, nose, and chin.

On the Jamestown Ferry - Logan's 1st boat ride

So in love.

Last year...

This year. Where did my baby boy go?

Giving thanks.

2010-11-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

Well, friends, my weekend officially starts in 3.5 hours and I couldn't be more excited! My in-laws started a new tradition last year of us all spending Thanksgiving at their timeshare in Williamsburg, VA and we're heading out this afternoon. I haven't completely finished packing yet, but it's mostly done. I gave it up around 12:30 last night because I was just too exhausted to do anymore. I also overslept this morning. I guess that's bound to happen when you're up so late 2 nights in a row. Anyway, we're super excited for the weekend! Last year we did some Black Friday shopping, spent a LOT of time in the hot tub in our unit, went to Busch Gardens, and walked all over historic Williamsburg. The city was beautiful, the weather was beautiful, and we couldn't have had a better time! This year, we're definitely going to be braving all the crazy shoppers again on Black Friday. We have a few people left to buy Christmas presents for and momma wants new coffee tables! Time will be spent in the hot tub and we may even check out the indoor pool this year. Other than that, who knows what we might get into!

Here are some pics from last year:

Logan trying on his Spiderman roller skates that he used all of 3 times befor he grew out of them.

Logan met Elmo at Busch Gardens.

I was pregnant on this trip, but it was another week or two before we found out.

To add to our excitement, Friday is Logan's birthday! It's so hard to believe that my sweet little boy is already 4! When you have your first child, everyone tells you to enjoy it because they grow up so fast, and it's true, but I don't think you can really appreciate just how fast until you have a second child. With the first, I think you tend to take more for granted, not because you don't love every second with them but because you just can't wait for them to reach the next milestone. "I can't wait until he smiles... says 'mama'... sleeps through the night... learns to walk... gets potty-trained." You get so excited for each next thing. But with the second, you already know how fast it all goes, so in some ways you dread each next thing. I look at my little boy - who not so long ago was so small - as he holds his tiny baby sister, and I realize that in what seems like the blink of an eye, we'll be celebrating her 4th birthday too. Obviously, I'm beyond grateful for healthy children and for every birthday we get to celebrate with them, but watching them grow up is kind of a bittersweet thing.

Eating his 1st birthday cake with both hands. Seems like yesterday...

But moving on before I start to cry....this year Logan wants to have a pirate-themed party complete with pirate costume and pinata. I don't know why he thinks he needs a pinata - watching a little too much Dora and Diego, I guess - but if my baby wants a pinata, he's damn well going to have one. I even made up little goody boxes for all the other kids. They're little treasure chests with piratey things inside. Super cute. I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to decorate his cupcakes this year. I was thinking of dipping frosted vanilla cupcakes in graham cracker crumbs and piping on big x's like an "x marks the spot" in the sand. I need a different deisgn for the chocolate cupcakes though and I'm coming up blank. Suggestions? We're going to serve fish sticks, meatballs (canon balls), and goldfish crackers. What can I say, I take these themes seriously. I'm even considering making some sort of blue ocean punch. We'll see.

Needless to say, we're going to be very busy with Williamsburg this weekend and his party the next, but a fun kind of busy. Still, thank goodness I'll have a few weeks to rest before all the Christmas festivities!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!!

Beach Baby

2010-11-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

Remember when I promised you pictures on Monday? Yeah...sorry about that.

I still haven't been able to access the bounty of photos on my backup camera, so I'll distract you with these quick shots from Viv's first trip to the beach....3 months ago....and you'll forgive me because she's so tiny and precious.

She still seems small until I look at pictures like these that we took just a few months ago. I can't believe how very tiny she was. Judging by the way her clothes fit (or don't fit), I'd guess that she's still a little small for her age, but maybe longer than average. Much of her 0-3 month clothing is too big or extra baggy through the middle, but pulls at the shoulders because of her length. She certainly doesn't have super-model length legs in her future, but from the looks of it she'll at least inherit her daddy's pretty athletic legs rather than my chunky little stumps. Good for her. Pretty legs were on my wish lists for both kids, so we'll see.

But anyway, back to our beach trip.... Kyle and I pushed the stroller up and down the boardwalk, ate some delicious Thrasher's fries, and played some video games in the super noisy arcade. Through it all, the Princess slept, with the exception of a quick feeding on one of the benches along the boardwalk. I wanted to get a proper "1st Trip to the Beach" picture with her feet in the surf, but Kyle was opposed to waking her up, stripping off her clothes, and sticking her precious toesies in the freezing ocean. He's such a fun-sucker. Logan missed out on that trip because he was with my parents for the weekend, but we went to the beach one last time a few weeks later with both kids in tow. I still wasn't allowed to stick Viv's feet in the water, but we did at least make it onto the sand that time. Logan, who can apparently run faster than the speed of light if it means he has a chance to get into some trouble, jumped into the ocean still fully clothed about 2 seconds into our "Baby's 1st Time on the Sand" photo shoot, so at least one of my kids got the full beach experience. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait to see those pictures until I'm able to get them off my camera. Stupid camera.

My triumphant return to blogging!

2010-11-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm baaaaaack!!!! And I've missed you all! I really appreciate all the emails and comments telling me how much you've missed me too. Thank you! It's been very good for my ego. :)

I've actually been back to work for 3 whole weeks now and they've been 3 painful weeks. I miss my babies! I miss my Princess and her coos and smiles and our snuggly naps on the couch. I miss my Monster and his jokes (when he totally screws up the punchline but doesn't even notice) and our movies in bed. Knowing that someone else gets to enjoy those special moments with them that 3 weeks ago were mine hurts my heart, but I'm grateful to have had that time with them. I'm especially grateful for my wonderful husband who took on the added financial burden to allow me to remain home even after I had depleted my savings. He's an angel.

So what's new? I'm not even sure where to start! So much has happened while I've been gone. I have at least a few weeks worth of posts stored up in my chaotic little head. And I have pictures! Lots and lots of pictures! Unfortunately, I left my primary camera in a friend's car a few weeks ago and I can't find the usb cable to upload the pics I've taken with my backup camera, so I have 2 cameras full of pictures but no way to access them. I'm hoping to get my primary camera back when I meet my friend for lunch this afternoon and another friend has a similar camera to my backup so I'm hoping to borrow her usb cable this weekend. Needless to say, if all goes as planned, you can expect to be bombarded with pictures of the kiddos next week!

The Princess decided against sleeping last night and I'm fighting to stay awake, so I'm going to end this here but I'll be back with much more on Monday. I hope you all have a lovely Friday and weekend!

I take way too many pictures!

2010-09-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

I got these shots of V the other night during her daily giggly time. She really makes us work for the smiles but they are sooooo worth it!

And here are a few from our photoshoot in the living room this afternoon...

Nice face.

Grump.

I took these pics of Logan last week while we were out shopping with my friend Karen and her baby. Isn't he just gorgeous? I just can't get over how grown-up he looks all of a sudden!

I am really loving all this time at home with my kiddos! Unfortunately we only have 5 weeks of maternity leave left and I'm getting kind of depressed about it. I'm so not ready to spend my days away from them. I really wish we were one of those families who could work it out so that I could stay home, but sadly I carry our health insurance so I kind of have to keep my job. Oh well.

A post with no pictures of baby

2010-09-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

I got my hair cut! It was so long that I got a headache every time I put it up, so I knew it was time. I ended up having more than 6" taken off, so it's a pretty big change. I really like it though. What do you think?

The Many Faces of Princess Vivienne

2010-09-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

Vivienne is becoming a LOT more entertaining, but also fairly high-maintentance, which is why I haven't been around in a while. Sorry for that. I have a ton of pictures and a few stories to share with you all, it's just a matter of finding the time to post. It's not that I'm sleep-deprived - our Princess sleeps about 8 hours a night - I'm just busy with keeping her happy (she thinks she needs to be held all day), trying not to neglect Logan, and maybe fitting in a meal or a shower now and then. I'll try to post whenever I can, but know that it may just be a ton of pictures and maybe a few quick sentences (like this one) because I'm really enjoying all the cuddling and it's hard to do in front of the computer.

I hope you're all doing well! I miss you!!!

Family Pictures

2010-08-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

We took a little tript o JC Penneys when Vivienne was just over a week old to have some family pictures taken. One of Kyle's aunts signed us up for the portrait club and gave us a gift card at my baby shower, so we figured we'd make use of it. I'm probably spoiled because I'm used to working with a photographer over going to a studio, but honestly, they're just eh. V is gorgeous, so any monkey could take good pictures of her, but these really aren't very impressive. Oh well. I'm really just grateful to have pictures taken of her now while she's so tiny, because before we know it she'll be all grown up. *tear*

We hate all the pictures that we're in, but we ordered this one for our parents.

His pictures turned out way better than mine.

She was "kissing" me back. This is one of our favorite games to play with her, but she gets mad pretty quick when she realizes it's not booby rubbing up against her mouth.

Kisses for his sister!

This is my favorite picture of the day. I'm so blessed to have such beautiful babies!

2 weeks....already?

2010-08-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

We've had another busy week! Lots of visitors, a few doctor's appointments, and more naps than I can count. Vivienne is still an angel....but an angel who now has her days and nights confused. Honestly, it would be fine with me except that Kyle is back to work now and I can't exactly sleep all day and leave my 3 yr old unattended. So far he's been good about entertaining himself for an hour or two so I can sleep in a little. He gets into the pantry and finds himself some "breakfast" - usually pretzels or peanuts - then turns on his cartoons and plays quietly until I get up. I always feel awful when I roll out of bed around 9 and wonder how long he's been up, but I know if he needed something, he'd come get me. He's not one to suffer in silence.

Vivienne still hasn't grown into most of her newborn clothing and I have to tie a little knot in her headbands to make them small enough for her. She's a tiny little thing. Speaking of headbands, I ordered her a set of 41 - every different color you can imagine - so she'll have a headband to match any outfit! I can't wait for them to come in!!!

I don't really have much else to report. Things are going pretty well. My brain just isn't totally with it. Probably due to lack of sleep the last few days. So here are some new pictures from her 2nd week of life...

This is what we do most of the day.

Please pardon my husband's nudity in every picture - he's against shirt-wearing at home.

I play dress up and stage photo shoots while she takes her afternoon naps.

skinny little arms and legs

This is me 2 weeks after delivery. Definitely not back to my pre-baby self yet, but I wanted to share this so the 1st time mothers-to-be can see that normal people don't walk out of the hospital in their pre-baby size nothing jeans like Heidi Klum. I bought a pair of regular jeans this weekend and had to go up a size bigger than before, but that's still not too bad for only 2 weeks post-partum. I refuse to let myself feel bad about it. My body just grew an entire little person and now it's working hard to feed that person, so I'm focusing on being grateful for that instead of worrying about how jiggly my tummy is right now.

As a side note, look how TINY Vivienne is compared to my boobs! When you see pictures of her by herself, it's hard to tell just how small she is, but wow. I always laugh when I nurse her because my boob is at least 3 times bigger than her little head! She's not intimidated though, she's tears into those things like a vicious little shark!

Vivienne's 1st Week

2010-08-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been a week! It's been a whirlwind of a week too, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised by how quickly it's flown by. V had her 1st doctor's appointment (where they pronounced her "perfect"), saw her 1st movie (she joined Team Jasper with Mommy - we could do without Edward and Jacob), and we've had a TON of visitors! I hope time slows down a little over the next 11 weeks, because I am in no hurry to get back to work and be away from my babies!

Last night my angel darling princess girl only woke up ONCE! She went down for the night at 10 after her bath, was up from 3-4am for some boobies and snuggle time with mommy, was back out until around 7, had another booby, then out again until 10:30. Our girl is a sleeper! Let's hope this keeps up!

The only problem we've had - if you can even call it a problem - is that she's so tiny even her newborn clothing is too big! She has probably 6 outfits that actually fit and don't fall off her shoulders or down below her butt. I had the opposite problem with Logan so I definitely wasn't prepared for this. If anything, I thought she'd outgrow the newborn clothing before she even had a chance to wear all of it, now I'm afraid that it will be cold out before she even grows into all the cute summery 0-3 mos stuff we bought her. We're taking her out for her newborn pictures on Tuesday and I think we'll stop by my favorite kids' consignment shop to try to find her some more tiny stuff to hold us over until she puts on a little more weight. I'm so grateful that this is the biggest problem we have. We're so blessed!

Logan is a very affectionate big brother. I think he kisses her more than we do, which is really hard to top. Sometimes when he gets really excited, he gets a little rough, so we do have to keep a close eye on him. But he's calmed down a lot over the last few days so we don't have to tell him to back off quite so much.

All in all, things are going really well. We're starting to settle into a little routine now and everyone is getting adjusted to our new addition.

She's here!!!!

2010-08-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'll post the whole story later, but the short version is, SHE'S HERE! Everything went perfectly. She was born 8/6/10 @ 2:05pm - 6lbs 14oz and 20" long. Vivienne is an angel....a very impatient little angel. Daddy is completely obsessed with her and it's going to be tough to talk him into going back to work this week...or ever. She's spoiled rotten already!

Going home - 8/8/10!

August 6, 2010

2010-08-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow. She's finally coming tomorrow! It's so hard to believe. In retrospect, I can say that the last 9 months have flown by but I know that in the moment, each and every day felt painfully long. Today is the very last of those 9 months of long days. For some reason, I decided to work right on up to the very end, so I'm sitting at my desk typing this after having made it clear to everyone in my office that though I may be here physically, mentally she's already in my arms. I spent the last 2 weeks busting my ass and tying up all my loose ends, so I've sat here with nothing to do for the last few days. It's definitely not helping the days pass any faster. At this very moment, it's 10:44am. That means I have exactly 5 hours and 46 minutes left until my maternity leave begins - assuming my brain is functioning well enough to do that calculation correctly. I had to re-do my leave slips 5 or 6 times before I finally got them right, so I'm not putting much faith in my brain right now.

Tonight Logan will be staying with my parents and Kyle is taking me out for our "last meal". I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight so we're planning on a big dinner at one of our very favorite restaurants. I then intend to eat my leftovers - because I always have leftovers when we eat there- at about 11:30 before I go to bed. I MIGHT decide to bring home a piece of tiramisu to have with my late night meal as well. I've become pretty accustomed to eating 2 breakfasts every day, so not being allowed to eat anything before my 1:30pm c-section is really going to make me grouchy. Super grouchy. That's 2 whole meals that I'll have to skip! It would not be an exaggeration to say that I might actually be dreading that more than the spinal.

Aside from my fear of startving to death before my child is born, we're so ready for this! Vivienne's room is perfect, her laundry has been washed and put away, her carseat is installed, and our bag is packed. The last few days I've tried to write a letter for her to read when she's older, but I just can't find the words. I don't want it to be generic or cliche and that's all I seem to come up with. Hopefully I'll feel more inspired tomorrow night after all our hospital visitors have gone home and it's just the 3 of us enjoying a quiet moment together. I think that's when it will all finally hit us...she's here and our family is truly complete. I can't wait to see her in my husband's arms. That's the moment that he'll find out what it feels like to love someone unconditionally. It's a life changing moment and I'm so grateful to be the one to give him that gift.

So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow - especially around lunch time. As common as c-sections have become, they are still major surgery and I'm a little nervous about it all, even though I made it through the first one perfectly fine. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm able, but it may take me about a week. Climbing up and down stairs is apparently a no-no which means I'll be confined to our 2nd floor while I recover because that's where our only bathroom is. Unfortunately, our computer resides on the 1st floor, so I won't have access until I can manage the stairs, but maybe I can talk my sister into logging in here for me to post some pics. We'll see.

Enjoy your weekend ladies! The next time you see me, I'll be skinnier! :)

PS. I now have 5 hours and 10 minutes left until maternity leave!

Zulily

2010-08-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've been on a teensy bit of a spending spree lately and Miss Vivienne's wardrobe is getting so huge that she may only get to wear each outfit once before she moves on to the next size. I really need to ease off, but sitting at my computer all day with little to do and a million great online stores makes it really hard.

Speaking of which, I'm sure most of you have heard of Gilt Group and other similar sites, but you may not be familiar with Zulily yet. It's just like the other members only sites with new sales daily, except with a focus on children's items and maternity. They get some really great brands at super low prices, so if you have a child or need to buy for friends, this is totally the way to go.

I've been drooling over this site for weeks, but have been holding out...until this week. I got V two cardigans and a tee by Baby Creationz which is an infant line that features cute tattoo designs.

Adorable, right? It kind of reminds me of early Ed Hardy stuff before it got really tacky and douchebag-y. I can't wait to see it on her!

Zulily has 5 or so new sales every day, so definitely check them out!

Shop! Shop! Shop!

Baby Bump @ 38 Weeks

2010-08-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

My very LAST bump picture!!!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long. The last bits of vernix caseosa (the white goo keeping baby's skin moist) and lanugo (downy hair) are slowly shedding into your amniotic fluid. Baby's head is about the same circumference as her abdomen, and her head could be covered in an inch or so of hair. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

How far along? 38 Weeks - only 3 more days until she's in my arms!

Weight gain? I only gained one lb last week. That was really good news.

Maternity clothes? I have a growing collection of super comfy (non-maternity) jammies to wear during our first few weeks home while I'm still recovering. It will be a nice little break from maternity clothes, though I know I'll have to keep them around for probably a few more months.

Sleep? Hardly! I'm way too excited. And nervous. And excited. I feel like we're going to Disney World on Friday or something. This is way better....and scarier....than Christmas!

Best moment this week? It was actually kind of a rough week. I'd say the highlight was probably buying a functioning vacuum Sunday so I can get rid of the TWO we have at home that don't work. Pretty sad highlight, right? Hopefully these last few days of pregnancy will go better.

Movement? Feeling movement a lot lower these days. My cervix is getting a lot of action which is pretty unpleasant. Hopefully this means we'll be getting this show on the road sometime soon!

Food cravings? Gatorade. I currently have over a dozen 32oz jugs in my fridge because every time I go to the grocery store I give into the 10/$10 deal and buy more.

Labor signs? I'd like to say yes, but it could just be wishful thinking. I had a contraction around 4am that was enough to wake me up, but they aren't all like that. Sometimes it feels like she's flipped head down now, but I can't be sure anymore. All her parts are starting to feel the same to me. There is definitely a lot more action in my lower region now, so that seems promising. I wake up every morning and tell Kyle "Maybe today!"

Belly button in or out? This turkey is DONE!

What I miss? Bras with underwire. I don't actually miss wearing them, I just miss how much better my boobs looked in them.

What I am looking forward to? I can't wait to see the look on my husband's face when he lays eyes on his daughter for the 1st time. I'm hoping I have a camera handy to catch all the emotion. And, of course, touching her, staring at her for hours on end, kissing her....just finally having an outside baby!

Emotions? Excited, nervous, generally freaking out in every possible way.

Milestones: She's coming for sure this week! I think that definitely counts as a milestone! This weekend I cleaned out my car, installed her carseat, and washed, folded, and put away all her laundry. Our hospital bag is packed and we are basically ready whenever she is!

This weekend we attended the wedding of the 3rd couple in our happy little triad. Kyle has been friends with Tony and Dave since elementary school. Dave met his wife, Karen, on Match.com and they are the ones who signed Kyle up. We actually got married just 3 months after they did. Then Karen signed Tony up for Match too and he eventually met Diana. Now all the boys are becoming daddies at the same time. For a few weeks, we were even all pregnant together. Karen was 10 weeks ahead of me (you've all met Baby Jackson) and Diana is about 13 weeks behind me. It's pretty crazy how it has all worked out. Anyway, here are a few more pictures from the wedding:

I absolutely LOVE that the bride's daughter is covering her eyes. She also yelled "Ewwww!"

The happy family!

Dave, Karen, and Jackson

Maternity Pictures!!

2010-08-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Here are my favorites from the pictures my friend Shannon took a couple of weeks ago. I LOVE the pictures of Logan and the belly!

Logan picked out this little train for his sister when he was out shopping with my parents. He even bought it with his own money.

Etsy Finds - All that is Baby Girl!!!

2010-07-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

I have a new obsession.....

Small Ranunculus Flower on a Skinny Elastic Headband

$7 - from Misty Days Boutique

Rolled Rose Flower with Feathers on a Skinny Elastic Headband

$12 - from Misty Days Boutique

I just ordered these adorable headbands for the Princess and I fear this is just the beginning of what will become a huge collection. I find myself browsing Etsy trying to remember what the most prominent colors are in her wardrobe so I can order more to match. This is so not good for my bank account. Here are a few other things that I've added to my "Favorites" list lately...

LOLA - Purple DUPIONI Silk Rosettes on an Eggplant Stretch Headband

$17.95 - from Polka Dot Bungalow

LAYLA - Orange and PINK Dupioni Silk Rosette Headband

$18.95 - from Polka Dot Bungalow

Chartreuse Dupioni Silk Floret Duet Peacock Plumage Headband

$25.50 - from Her Royal Fatness

Baby Pink Satin Fabric Floret Infant Headband with Guinea Feather Accent

$12.75 - from Her Royal Fatness

Vintage Style Headband

$10.50 - from The Olive Tree Boutique

Felt Headband

$4 - from The Olive Tree Boutique

Baby Onesie - They also have Onesie/Headband Sets!

$8.50 - from The Olive Tree Boutique

LISA - Mary Jane Crochet Baby Shoes

$23.00 - from Curly Birdie

Purple Shell Beanie with Yellow Flower

$10 - from HuggaBeans

Making progress and a new birth date!

2010-07-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

We had our weekly check-up yesterday. I'm a little over 1cm dilated and we have been officially scheduled for our c-section on 8/6 - that's NEXT FRIDAY!!! We were initially a little bummed to lose out on 8/9/10 (our doctor is over-booked and I could potentially end up waiting around until 7pm for the c-section, meaning I'd be all day without food and that is NOT acceptable), but then I realized that my husband's birthday is 6/8, so that makes 8/6 almost as awesome as 8/9/10. I mean, if we couldn't get the date we really wanted, this is really the next best thing AND it puts her in our arms a few days sooner.

We did a little shopping last night and realized that there really isn't anything else that we need for V. I want to pick up a few more little hats and mittens but I hate that all the packs come with stupid fabrics. What's wrong with just solid colors? All those tacky prints are going to clash with her cute outfits. I'm going to hit the local consignment shop this week to see if I can find any cute, plain hats on the cheap. I remember getting a few there for Logan.

I still have a lot of cleaning to do around the house before I'll consider us truly "ready". My To Do List only has about half of the tasks checked off so it looks like I'm in for a busy weekend. So much for spending our last infant-free weekend relaxing and resting up. We also have a wedding to go to, so it's not like we'd have just been laying around anyway. Aaaaand I have to find something cute to wear that I can fit this belly into.

So that's where we stand as of right now. Like I said, I'm starting to dilate which could mean absolutely nothing OR we could continue to progress and meet our little girl even sooner than planned. That's the magic of childbirth folks - it's all totally unpredictable. You can plot and plan out every minute detail but the baby really doesn't give a damn about your plans. She'll come when she's good and ready.

In not even a little bit awesome news, I discovered tiny little stretchmarks on the underside of my belly last night. Somehow I held myself together and didn't freak out or even cry, but I am truly heartbroken. My belly was at least twice this size when I had my son and I have not a single belly stretchmark to show for it. This time around I'm "tiny" as everyone tells me, and yet my belly can't take the strain. Are you freaking kidding me? So screw you, belly skin! I guess I'll be retiring my 2-piece bathing suit along with my maternity clothes.

This was me @ only about 6/7 months w/ Logan. I was at LEAST twice this size by the end. This time around, I'm only a little bigger than this @ full term, and yet somehow my belly can't take it.

Oh, and I think I have a sinus infection. Not cool.

Baby Logan

2010-07-27T10:13:00.001-07:00

I've been clearing all my pictures and whatnot off my work computer in preparation for maternity leave. It took me a few days and 3 already half-full thumb drives, but I'm finally done. In the process, I came across some adorable baby pics of Logan that I thought I'd share. He was such a sweet little thing. It's helpful to remember this when he's destroying my house.

Me, my parents, and a brand new Logan.

Logan's 1st bloody lip - of course I had to take a picture.

His 1st haircut.

He completely emptied that cabinet and thought it was the greatest thing EVER.

Christmas 2007

This was the day he learned how to take his diaper off.

The 1st time my boys met.

Swimming under the stars

2010-07-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

It's official, my new favorite thing is a nighttime swim. I've been passing up a lot of pool trips these last few weeks because I simply can't stand all the sun and heat even once I'm in the pool, so this is the perfect solution! There's just something about floating around in a pool under the stars. It's kind of romantic....even when the shallow end is full of screeching preschoolers. Also, I look damn sexy in moonlight. The only downside is that I practically need help hauling my huge self out of the pool when it's time to go. I swear, after an hour or two of near weightlessness, once I hit dry land again, it feels like I've gained a whole extra person and not the 35 or so lbs that I've actually put on. So to all my fellow mommas, if you have access to a pool, give it a try and tell me if you're in love too. Just make sure hubby is on hand to help pull you out of the pool!

A few more post-swim pics from Sunday night:

Logan now swims underwater. And by "swim" I mean that he goes under and flails his limbs around for a few seconds before popping back up to the surface in nearly the exact same spot he went under. He does, however, perform this maneuver with his eyes open, which I think makes him a pretty advanced "swimmer" for his age.

My poor baby's eyes were still red and puffy this morning.

You really can't tell from this picture but he is about 4 shades tanner than I am. He may be fair-haired and a huge chunk of Irish, but apparently he has enough Native American blood from my side of the family to bronze instead of burn.

Baby Bump @ 37 Weeks

2010-07-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Taken last night after our night-time swim.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. She's also brushing up on skills for the outside world: blinking, sucking, inhaling, exhaling, and gripping (it's getting strong!). (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

How far along? 37 Weeks!

Weight gain? I'm honestly not sure. Last week at our appointment I was too busy making sure Kyle didn't peek to look myself. I go back tomorrow, so we'll see if I'm brave enough to look.

Maternity clothes? Some of my tops are a little short now and my below-the-belly maternity jeans are starting to dig into my sides from where my stomach is stretching them out more. I'm still wearing mostly non-maternity dresses but a few of them are even getting a little tight through the middle.

Sleep? I get 1-2 hours on a side before my hips/ribs/groin start to throb and I have to flip over to the other side. I thought this would keep my husband up at night, but apparently he sleeps like a freaking rock.

Best moment this week? Our night-time swim last night. The water was super, super warm and it was sooo nice to not have the sun beating down on us. I swam all over - which is a big change from my usual floating in my special floaty chair.

Movement? Wow. The stretching and pushing can get pretty intense. I won't be surprised if she comes out with a big bruise on the top of her head from pushing against the bottom of my rib cage.

Food cravings? Marshmallows. There is some commercial on tv where a country band roasts marshmallows on the side of the road to make smores and it's got my DYING for a smore. I was trying to convince myself that I could make them in the oven over the weekend but settled for making rice crispy treats instead. Logan helped and we actually made 2 whole batches - one original and one cocoa crispies with nutella mixed into the marshmallow. They're both really, really delicious. I think I probably ate 10 of them this weekend. It's not looking good for my weigh-in tomorrow.

Labor signs? The Braxton-Hicks contractions are picking up in frequency, duration, and intensity, but still no real signs of labor. I've noticed that they hurt way more if I'm standing.

Belly button in or out? Way, way out.

What I miss? Painting my toe nails without smashing the baby and all my insides.

What I am looking forward to? Getting her OUT! We're so close now, that's all I can really think about. That and only having 10 days left of work before I start my 3 glorious months of maternity leave! I haven't been without work for 3 months since college. I'm REALLY looking forward to that.

Emotions? Short-tempered, weepy, sentimental, etc.

Milestones: We're officially full term today!

2.5 Hours to Freedom!

2010-07-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

I just have a few random tidbits for you today, because it's Friday afternoon and I've got major weekend tunnel vision.

I discovered a few weeks ago that I could do this:

I swear I'm not eating I Can't Believe It's Not Butter straight out of the tub with a fork. I may be pregnant, but I'm not a freak. It's leftover corn. And, yes, we eat in the living room off of tv trays, otherwise we'd miss Wheel of Fortune.

The belly holds drinks nicely as well, as long as V doesn't go too crazy in there.

And in case you're wondering how my son managed to get kicked out of Vacation Bible School, not once but twice....apparently, on both occasions he locked himself in a bathroom stall and screeched at the top of his lungs because he liked the echo. The 1st time it happened, he was there by himself and the VBS staff couldn't get him to come out until my Mom got there to pick him up. The 2nd time was a few nights later and my Mom actually WAS there, but he made his move when she stepped outside for a few minutes. I really wish it was a more entertaining story, but I guess he's not quite the heathen I try to make him out to be. Lol. Honestly, when my mom called me the first night to tell me he had been kicked out, I thought the story would involve nudity or booby touching (the boy loves himself some boobies) or something along those lines. I was actually relieved when she told me what happened. The fact that it happened a second time - and with my mom there - is not cool, but our state fair is in town this week (and he has been waiting impatiently for MONTHS) so I suspect now he'll be on his best behavior at least for the next few days.

Logan @ about 1yr old

Proof that he really is an angel....or was.

Have a great weekend ladies! Try to stay cool!

Baby Bump @ 36 Weeks!

2010-07-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

How your baby's growing:

Baby's now the size of a honeydew! She is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. Baby's skin is getting smooth and soft, her gums are rigid, her liver and kidneys are in working order, and her circulation and immune system are basically good to go. Her lungs are the only organs that still need to fully mature, but every day she gets a little closer to breathing on her own.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Do I look as tired as I feel? Because I am freaking exhausted! And sore. And soooo over this. I know my belly is still really small for someone who is only a few days away from being "full term" but trust me, there's a full-term-sized baby in there and she likes to stretch out. She likes to wedge her precious little head right up against the bottom of my sternum....you know, right about where my lungs should be. I guess I should be grateful that she's not kicking me in the ribs like her brother did, but honestly, right now I'm not sure which is worse. Not being able to breathe is kind of awful.

Kyle is almost visibly excited about the baby now. This is HUGE considering he really doesn't get excited about things. He even picked out an adorable outfit for her (all on his own) when we were at the mall earlier this week. I think it's finally starting to hit him that we'll have our tiny, perfect, baby girl in our arms very soon. He's constantly touching and kissing my belly and gets a huge laugh out of watching her treat my uterus like a moonbounce. (For the record, I find it significantly less entertaining.) I think she already has him thoroughly wrapped around her itty-bitty finger.

Logan has been really well-behaved lately (except for getting kicked out of Vacation Bible School not once, but twice - but that's a story for another time), but has been kind of clingy, which is REALLY unlike him. I think he's probably getting nervous about having to share Mommy and Daddy with his new baby sister. Ordinarily, he tends to ignore us once we get home, but lately he's been all over us. He's even been doing a lot of snuggling and hugging and kissing with Daddy and that's just bizarre. Kyle teases and torments him a lot so Logan like to tease him back by refusing to hug or kiss him at night before bed or before we leave in the morning. Except for recently. Anyway, I've got his "big brother present" from Vivienne all wrapped and ready to go in our hospital bag (whenever I get around to finishing up packing it). I tried to pick up some things to entertain him quietly while I'm tending to the new baby or that we can do together while she's napping. He got some movies (Yo Gabba Gabba), a paint with water book, dominoes (my mom taught him how to play and he LOVES it), a tea set (I know it's super girly but he has one at my mom's house that was mine and he always asks if we can have tea parties at home but we don't have a set, so I caved and bought him one), one of those Zhu Zhu pets for boys (his is blue and black - very manly for a stuffed hampster that giggles like a baby), a new play cell phone because he got his wet and it died, and some reading flashcards. Originally, I was just going to get him one larger gift, but I thought a bag of smaller things would buy me more quiet time....and quiet time will be a veeeeery good thing.

I'm feeling pretty ready now...for the most part. V's room is done except for a little cleaning and putting away that I still need to do. We toured the maternity ward where I'll be delivering and it seems nice. I still have some questions, but the maternity nurse didn't have the answers so I'll have to wait until I talk to my doctor. I have 11 days left of work but a ton of stuff to try to wrap up before I go, so I may not be doing much commenting on your blogs over the next few weeks. I'm still reading, just trying to do it quickly, so I can get back to work. I have a crazy long "to do" list hanging on my refrigerator at home, but I doubt I'll get it all done before Baby Time. I got our dining room and kitchen floors swept and mopped last weekend and even got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the baseboards. I even ended up painting all the lower cabinets in our kitchen, but again, I'll save that story of "nesting insanity" for another day. I'm finding myself torn between working my ass off the next few weeks to "get ready" and trying to spend what little time I have left relaxing. Lately, relaxing has been winning over cleaning, but I have my moments.

It's really hot here. What are you guys doing to stay cool?

You remind me of the baby...the baby with the power...

2010-07-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Since Baby Jackson was so popular with you ladies, I thought I'd share a couple pics I took of him this weekend. I swear he gets cuter every day! We went out to dinner on Saturday night with Jackson and his parents and he was such a good little guy! Hopefully Vivienne will be as well-behaved!

Those huge eyes remind me of this cute little guy:

"Allo!"

Labyrinth Worm Photo via http://labyrinthfilm.com

Last Weekend

2010-07-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Some of my friends - who weren't able to make it to my big shower - got together last weekend to throw me a surprise mini-shower. My friend Sara had just moved back from a few years in Texas, so I was told that we were taking her out for a Girls' Day to celebrate her return. When we walked into the restaurant and I saw some of my other friends - who had never met the Texas friend - I knew that they had tricked me. It was a wonderful surprise though and really nice to be able to spend some time with the girls. We had girl talk, which I've missed desperately, and enjoyed a really delicious lunch. The girls gave me some cash to gamble with (we went to a restaurant in one of our local casinos) and I ended up doubling my money. Time to go! I wish I had taken more pictures, but this is all I got:

Sara, Kati, Me, Shannon, and Ashley

I'm still trying to figure out how I ended up being the tannest one at the table.

After lunch I went to pick up Logan from my parents (who were in on the whole surprise shower plan from the very beginning) and got to meet their newest addition.

This is Ziva. She's a long-haired chihuahua/poodle/yorkie mix.

I think my mom was a little jealous that I'm getting a brand new baby, so she decided that she needed one of her own. It actually works out nicely because the new puppy is sort of giving Logan a crash course in baby handling and responsibility. He loves Ziva and loves helping my mom take care of her. I'll try to get some pictures of them up soon. They are soooo cute together!

So that's what I was up to last weekend. I had been hoping to keep the next few weekends open for cleaning and relaxing before Vivienne comes, but the days keep filling up anyway. Tomorrow we're going to try to fit in a swim before my parents pick up Logan. They're keeping him for most of the week so they can take him to Vacation Bible School up near their house. Saturday evening we're finally going to go see Baby Jackson and his parents again. We haven't seen them since Memorial Day and I am itching to get my hands on little Jax (his parents call him Jack but I insist on calling him Jax because it's way more bad-ass). On Sunday we have our tour of the maternity ward where Vivienne will be making her grand entrance, and afterwards I'm going to try to get our hospital bag packed. And that's it for our weekend. As always, it will fly by and then the week will draaaaag along. I just keep telling myself that her birthday is only 3 weeks away and I shouldn't rush it, but it's really hard to think that way when we're DYING to finally meet her!

So what are your plans for the weekend?

Nursery Virtual Tour

2010-07-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Vivienne's room isn't TOTALLY done yet, but I have been super-duper productive over the past few days, so I thought I'd share some pictures. Remember, there are still some boxes and junk laying around that I haven't found a place for yet, so obviously those won't be there much longer. Otherwise, enjoy and tell me how nice it looks so I feel better about how much my back hurts.

Viviene's Crib - obviously.

I moved the poms back into the corner so I could use the wall space to hang up some more pictures.

Left: a colorized picture of my mom when she was maybe 4

Middle: the V that I cut out from one of Logan's finger paintings

Right: a picture of my Gram holding the back of her dress up behind her head to show off the full skirt

My Mom's old rocking chair in front of my pretty new curtains and refinished dresser.

My labor of love dresser. It took about 4 days, but it was soooo worth it! Look how pretty it is - even if it is still missing a handle.

Top Left: Colorized photo of my Gram at 18

Top Center: Fabric cut from one of my baby dresses

Top Right: Vivienne's 3d ultrasound picture

Center: A very small picture of my husband on his 6th birthday

Bottom Left: Me (3 yrs old) and my Gram

Bottom Right: Colorized photo of my Gram's younger brother

This is the antique dresser that I bought a few months ago. On top are Vivienne's piggy bank, a green antique vase that we found in Kyle's mommom's basement, an antique mirrored tray, my bronzed baby booties, and a beautiful antique frame that holds 2 pictures of my cousin as a baby. On the floor to the right is an antique victorian hat box where all of Vivienne's blankets are currently residing.

The striped curtain is hiding Kyle's closet. I'm going to change it out for a plain white curtain to match the others in the room. Vivienne's swing is missing the part that we need to hang the mobile so whenever that arrives, it will be ready to go. Please ignore the gift bags full of trash. Kyle finally took it all out to the curb last night so this area is a lot nicer looking now.

So that's her room...so far. There are still some little details to work out, but I at least feel like we'd be ready if she came tomorrow.

What do you think? Did we accomplish the vintage look that we were going for? Is it too much? Be honest!

Baby Bump @ 35 Weeks!

2010-07-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

15 Weeks

25 Weeks

35 Weeks

Holy growth spurt, Batman! And I'm not just talking about my belly...look at those chunky arms! Damn. I guess that's where this past month's weight gain went. Mystery solved. Looks like I have a whole lot of push-ups in my future!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete. From now on, baby's growth is mostly in the plumping up department -- though she won't get much longer, she'll put on a pound or more of baby fat before birth. (She's about 15 percent right now and will be about 30 percent by full-term.) Her hearing is now totally developed (tip: baby responds best to higher pitches).

Apparently my baby doesn't pay attention when I read these weekly reports to her, or maybe her hearing isn't as developed as they say, because she has definitely not laid off on the somersaults. She is the moving-est, flipping-est baby ever. I swear, sometimes it feels like she's in there spinning herself around like a propeller. I get punches and kicks all around. She hasn't really settled on a position yet. Some days she's transverse, others breach. I have yet to catch a foot in the ribs so she doesn't seem to be at all interested in turning head down LIKE SHE'S SUPPOSED TO. Hopefully she'll get on board with the idea during the next few days, but even breach would be preferable to transverse for the c-section. So we'll see.

Weight gain? 34 lbs and determined to keep it under 40.

Maternity clothes? My current focus is on picking up a few nightgowns/jammies for post-delivery. I need things that I can wear around the house that will allow me to be super comfy and give the baby easy access to the boobies, but will be conservative enough that I won't feel like I have to get dressed when we have company. I've found a few good ones and I think I'll pick up a nice comfy robe to throw on over what I have already that may not be quite so in-law friendly.

Sleep? Humph!

Best moment this week? Definitely my surprise shower on Saturday. My friends are AMAZING! Also, I wish I could say my maternity pictures yesterday were a really great experience, but if I'm being honest, they were exhausting. I'll be surprised if we end up with even 5 good ones. It got so hot, I'm sure I'm sweaty and bright red in almost all of them. Crossing my fingers to at least have a few that are acceptable.

Movement? Still pretty much constant. She's a mover and shaker, that's for sure!

Food cravings? Low fat vanilla yogurt with granola and blueberries or pineapple

Food adversions? Nothing new here.

Labor signs? Braxton-Hicks is my constant companion. I go through periods where I'll have contractions 10-15 mins apart for a few hours, then nothing the rest of the day. Other days I'll have 7 or 8 of them just spread out.

Belly button in or out? Definitely out and visible through my clothes.

What I miss? Breathing, sleeping, eating/drinking without suffering from heartburn, and doing anything physical without becoming totally exhausted and out of breath.

What I am looking forward to? Getting this baby out of me!!!

Emotions? Mostly too tired to be anything....though Logan would probably say that Mommy has been "Grumpy Gus" lately.

Milestones? Technically today marks my 35/35 milestone, meaning that I'm 35 weeks along and have 35 days left....except our munchkin will be coming a week early so we really only have 29 days left. Or less!

Mini-He

2010-07-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I put up my weekly Bump post without including the baby info! So here it is:

How your baby's growing:

Baby's now the size of a honeydew! She now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. Also, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs...time to start practicing your lullabies! In fact, baby will recognize frequently sung tunes after birth and probably find them soothing. Less cute news: She now urinates about one pint per day. Get the diapers ready!

And since Hubs hasn't made an appearance on the blog in a while, here we are after dinner and our marathon mall walk on Tuesday night...

And here is my proof that Vivienne looks just like her Daddy:

Daddy's Girl!

Baby Bump @ 34 Weeks!

2010-07-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

My girl and I floating around on the 4th of July

Yesterday I left our 34 week appointment feeling totally defeated. I've been so great about keeping my weight gain low all this time...until this last month. Apparently I've DOUBLED my total gain since my last appointment. It's hard to believe considering that aside from the belly, I still look exactly the same. My clothes even fit exactly the same except for being tighter through the middle. I'll be damned if Kyle or I can figure out where I'm hiding the 15 or so newly acquired lbs, but the scale doesn't lie so they must be hanging around here somewhere. My husband was so sweet about the whole situation. He told me repeatedly that I look amazing and even gave in to my demand that we follow up our dinner with a 2 hour walk around the mall. We walked until my back nearly gave out and the ouchy contractions started before he convinced me that I had reached my limit and we went home. Today I'm planning out circuits I can walk through my building a few times a day when I need to stretch my legs. We have 4 floors so I can get in some good stair climbing AND all but the top floor stays nice and cool so I won't overheat like I would outside. (It's been over 100 degrees here the last few days.) I know it probably sounds silly to worry so much about my weight when the important thing is that my little princess is doing well, and that's totally true. But the thing is, I gained nearly half an extra person with my first pregnancy and I'm still carrying about 20 of those lbs. I've been pretty determined to not let that happen this time around. Our plan for the next 5 weeks is to fit in light exercise as often as possible and to really focus on fixing healthy meals and snacks. No more fast food at lunch time because I didn't have time to pack something. I'm just going to have to make time.

We haven't set our official date for the c-section yet - and probably won't until our 36 or 38 week appointment - but our doc did pencil us in for 8/9/10 while we were there yesterday (and wrote a little note in our folder). Needless to say, we're pretty excited about that. Of course, this is all assuming that Vivienne doesn't have her own plan and decide to come early, though honestly that would be totally cool with us too. I'm tired of being uncomfortable and extra hot.

A friend of mine is going to take some maternity pictures for me this weekend. Kyle begged out because he hates having his picture taken, but I think I'll still take Logan along and get some cute sibling/belly shots if he'll cooperate. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to wear. I spent almost two hours last night trying on outfits and staging my own little photo shoot. I've learned that sometimes things that look cute in person do not translate well in pictures, so now I always do test shots of my outfits beforehand. I have one dress picked out but I'll need some cute, bright shoes to pull it off because it's black and dark gray argyle and that's not going to work so well for summer pictures without a nice pop of color. I also ordered a pair of black smocked waist lounge pants from Destination Maternity that I think I'll wear with either a bright pink tank or a yellow tank with blue jewelry. Any thoughts?

Baby Bump @ 33 Weeks!

2010-06-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can see in the background, Vivienne's room is finally starting to come together. Her bed is made, her tissue poms are hung, and I've been working really hard to go through all of the goodies from our baby shower. I separated out all her newborn clothes and have folded and waiting in one of her drawers, but they actually still need to be washed. I should probably get on that. I have the rest of her clothes separated out by size into labeled boxes. I did the same with Logan and found it to be really convenient and cut down on the clutter. I mean, do I really need her 6-9 month stuff hanging in the closet already? Nah.

So anyway, I'm starting to feel pretty prepared for her arrival. I think I've picked out her coming home outfit and I started packing our bag. I've been having some anxiety lately just thinking about the c-section and recovery. I almost think it was easier the 1st time around, not knowing what to expect. Instead, I suspect I'll spend the next 6 weeks remembering how much pain I'm going to be in afterwards, plus this time I'll also have a 3 yr old to take care of when we get home. On the positive side, you can't imagine what a comfort it is to know that I'm not going to be doing it all alone this time. Kyle is going to take off work for the 1st week - I told him he might as well take the whole week since he'll be using 3 days while we're in the hospital. What's another 2 days, right? And I'm EXTRA lucky because my Mom is going to take vacation the next week and come down to spend the days with me, so I'll have 2 weeks of help while I get back on my feet. Then I'm on my own. Eeek!!!

Soooo...yeah....let's get to the baby stats before I freak myself out. I'm going to skip the survey this week because nothing much has changed in the last 7 days. Maybe switch to bi-weekly...

How your baby's growing:

You are one hot mama -- literally. A 20 percent metabolic rate increase throughout pregnancy can leave you begging for a cool breeze no matter what the weather is like. Things are heating up inside as well: Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and her brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, she'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, she's started to keep her eyes open when she's awake. This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (about the size of a pineapple or canteloupe) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Vivienne Jane in 3d!!!

2010-06-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

Our 3d ultrasound was last night. I wish I could say it was an amazing experience and Vivienne was cooperative and we got beautiful pictures....but I'd be lying. My little booger planted her pretty little head face down in my placenta and decided to take a nap, giving us a really nice view of her spine and the back of her head. We spent about 20 minutes flopping side to side on the table, standing, sitting, flopping some more...just trying to get her to move. I finally resorted to poking and we got her to wake up and roll over for us. Awesome! Until she pulled both her legs up in front of her face to play with her toes. I poked at one of her little feet until she put it down and we were able to get these shots. It was amazing to see her, don't get me wrong, but I guess my expectations were a little high. I mean, for what we spent, I had hoped for more pictures. Anyway, now I'm even more anxious to finally see her face to face. These next 7 weeks are just going to DRAG by, I'm sure of it!

Vivienne was pouting because we were poking her to try to wake her up.

She looks EXACTLY like my husband in this picture.

Snuggled up against my placenta with her little foot up by her head (on the left).

Pretty in Pink and Oh-So-Sweet Baby Shower

2010-06-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm going to share my pics from the shower, but just be warned, there are probably a ton more to come. I mostly just took pics of the food and decorations, so I'll have to go through my sister's pictures to see if she got any good people shots. So let's just focus on the food and crafts for now, shall we?

The candy buffet! Mmmmm! I printed out those cute little labels and tied them on with pink and red ribbons and also added ribbons to the ends of the tongs just to make them a little cuter.

Strawberry filled cupcakes AND strawberry pies.

Baby carriage watermelon (made by an amazing family friend) and super fancy fruit tray. I think I ate about 6 slices of that pineapple!

This is the "food" table....obviously we were more focused on the sweets.

Dessert table with cupcakes, pies, candy buffet, and a chocolate fountain. The bunting hanging on the wall was super easy to make. I just cut scrapbook paper into triangles, folded over the top to make a pocket and then taped it closed over the ribbon. The whole project took about 2 hours.

Gift table + drink station. The strawberry lemonade was a HUGE hit! I suspect I'll be making that again at home a lot this summer.

One last close up of the candy buffet because I'm so pleased with how it turned out. We had wax soda bottles, salt water taffy, spice jelly beans, rock candy, candy buttons, caramels, and swirly lollipops.

Our centerpieces were really simple but cute. I taped lengths of red and pink ribbons around these vases then sprinkled metallic glitter and gumdrops on the tables.

Admiring the fruits of my labor.

PS. Overhead lighting is REALLY unflattering. :(