Babies, Dogs & Husbands. Oh My!

Florida - Part 2

2012-01-30T21:07:00.001-06:00

So the video in Part 1 is really bad. Sorry about that! Here is a better video that is sure to make you smile - it makes me grin from ear to ear every time I see it. I also threw in a couple of beach pics at sunset. It really was the best time! Coming back to the real world was brutal! Oliver was happy to reunite with his friends at school, though, and settled back into the "routine" pretty easily. If only I could do the same! :)

Florida Vacation - Part 1

2012-01-23T21:18:00.002-06:00

Man, did we just get back from a great vacation - a whole week in sunny Florida! There is lots to talk about and tons of pics, so this is going to be a multi-parter I suspect. Sorry in advance for all of the typing!
To start, let's talk about the airplane(s). Oliver did great! We booked as late of a flight as possible both ways in hopes that he would sleep for most of the time, and our theory sort of worked on the way down and worked great on the way back. We had a layover in Atlanta both ways, and on the way there, Oliver was awake for the whole first leg. We brought out the new DVD player and he was definitely interested in watching Elmo - the only problem was that the DVD player was somehow not charged and the batteries died about 20 minutes in. Oops! The rest of the 1.5 hour flight was spent with lots of imaginative entertaining on Mama and Dada's part. Luckily, he got tired and fell asleep soon after the 2nd leg started and all was well until we landed in Ft. Myers. We didn't get in until 11:30 on Friday night, and boy, once we got to Grammy & Grandpa's house, Oliver was wired! He ran around checking everything out and playing with all of the cool toys that G&G had borrowed from other grandparents on their street, and he didn't end up going to bed until 1:30 a.m.!!!! As Matt & I were leaving to drive up to Orlando the next day, I let the late bedtime slide. After all, I wasn't going to be around much for the grumpiness that was sure to come the next day! ;)
(I'm going to sprinkle some trip pictures here & there so I don't totally lose you.)

Saturday, Matt and I left the boy in the company of his much-elated grandparents and headed to Orlando for Matt's veterinary conference. It was massive!!!! 3 huge hotels (all convention centers in their own right) were used to hold everyone. Utter chaos! I felt more than a bit guilty at Matt having to jet off on Sunday and Monday all day long, but I did have a nice time on my own doing things like getting coffee, going to the gym, getting a pedi, and driving around the Disney area remembering my internship I did there in college. I have definitely been brain-washed as a Disney lover and absolutely cannot wait to take Oliver there in a couple of years. My personal opinion from experience is that age 4 is the minimum a child should be to experience Disney World at maximum enjoyment level (just my 2 cents).

Anyways, Matt & I ate some great food in Orlando (not to toot my own horn, but I am a really good restaurant picker-outer), and had some nice, quiet, kid-free time together, but we both missed Oliver terribly by the end of the 2nd solo day, so on Tuesday morning, we were more than ready to head back down to Ft. Myers. I would like to tell you that Oliver also missed us terribly, but that would be a big, fat lie! He was having so much fun with Grammy & Grandpa, eating out on the lanai for every meal, feeding the ducks at the pond behind the condo, meeting all of G&G's many (many) friends, and enjoying the Florida sunshine. He barely noticed our absence and return.

Wednesday came and we decided to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous day and take Oliver to the beach for the first time. I'm not sure if we have told you before how much Oliver loves water in any form. Well, he loves the "wattee" ALOT, whether he's drinking it, washing his hands, swimming in the pool or taking a bath, and this trip will always hold a special memory of his introduction to the ocean. At first, he wasn't at all sure about the sand, and didn't want to put his feet down, but after a couple of minutes, he decided the sand wasn't so bad, and was rearing to go into the water. The ocean was COLD, but Oliver didn't notice at all. He wanted Dada to dip him in the water over and over and over! Here is a video of O taking a dip. Sorry for the shaky camera work. That water really was COLD!

Okay, so with that lovely beach video, I leave you wanting more, more, more of our fun in the sun. Stay tuned for more beach pics and a video of Oliver getting his groove on to some island tunes. :)

A New Year, A New Word(s)

2012-01-09T20:59:00.001-06:00

OMG,

We have been talking up a storm around our house these days. The words are coming fast and furious! True, Matt and I can only understand 1/4 of them, but still, it is awesome to see how Oliver's little brain is firing away putting together words with meaning. To date, I think his vocabulary has quadrupled within the past two weeks! Some new faves:

Wall - (sounds like wawh)

Elmo - (sounds like Melmo)

Water - an early word with many progressions to date (sounds like wattee right now)

Duck - (hey, we've got a winner - sounds like duck!)

Mine - (sounds like mine)

Nose - (sounds like no)

No - (also sounds like no, and is said ALOT)

Belly - (sounds like beddy)

Fish - (sounds like ish)

Okay, I will stop. I could go on but I realize even the most patient grandma might have limits on the number of almost words that come out of my child's mouth on a daily basis these days!

We are off to Florida on Friday for a week of fun with Grammy, Grandpa, and some quality time for Matt and I in Orlando during his annual vet conference. Woo woo!

Peace! (sounds like peash). :)

Here is a pic of Oliver practicing watching his new DVD payer with headphones. We are crossing our fingers it keeps him at least a little bit occupied on the airplane!

Christmas Fun!

2011-12-31T10:08:00.001-06:00

And just like that, Christmas is over. I have to say, it is way more fun to celebrate Christmas morning as a parent than as a child. And, that's saying alot, because I absolutely loved Chrismas growing up. And Oliver didn't even know what was going on this year, so I can only imagine how much better it's going to get in the coming years.
We had 3 Christmases this year. One with Matt's family the week before Christmas, then our own little family's on the 25th, and then my family came up for this past week right after Christmas. Oliver is so out of his normal routine and I feel for those daycare peeps next week in trying to get all of these kiddos settled down.
Oliver got lots of great presents this year, but the two that stand out most are a slide (which is currently in our living room; thank you Grammy & Grandpa), and a dancing monkey (thank you, Aunt Emmy!). Here are some videos of him trying them out. Oh, and as I type this Oliver is dancing with the monkey, who plays a Ke$ha song. I was not familiar with the song before, but now, well, it plays in my head on repeat at night when trying to sleep. Yay!

A Boy's Best Friend

2011-12-22T10:21:00.000-06:00

Oliver is 18 months old these days! His favorite word to say is "doggie" and he says it alot. Preston provides tons of entertainment for him, and if we could just get a little more consistent with "soft touches", I'm pretty sure Preston would be a big fan of Oliver's as well. As it is, P is getting fed more these days thanks to toddler food-droppings everywhere, and he's getting more exercise due to Oliver's decent throwing arm. Oliver always loves to nestle with his back right up against something, so Preston has become a sort of resting spot for O. Here is a pic of the two of them co-existing in peaceful harmony. (Sorry for the picture quality.)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! May you all enjoy peace and prosperity this holiday season. We are staying put this year, and will miss getting to see friends & family this time around. We hope to get together with those far away but close in our hearts very soon!

Meeting Santa (or not)...

2011-12-15T13:14:00.000-06:00

So, last Friday was my work Holiday Party in Topeka. It was a family thing so I bundled the troops up and we all made the 30 minute drive to show them off to my envious co-workers. (I do have the cutest family).
Santa was there! There were tons of kids and it seemed like the line was forever long so we waited until everyone else had sat on Santa's lap before taking Oliver up. He was very interested in what was going on and who the guy in red was, until we forced him to get up close and personal. Oliver said, "Hmm, I don't think so" (in the form of an ear-splitting yell) and high-tailed it out of there.
The pictures below capture the duck-n-run escape in chronological order. The first pic barely managed to get snapped, and I had to position myself as a solid barricade between O & Santa. There were no major tears shed though, so it could definitely have been worse! There will be another chance this Saturday to meet the big guy, so we'll hope round 2 is a little more successful.

GO POKES!

2011-12-04T15:48:00.001-06:00

You might have been aware of a certain "big game" that was this weekend. Matt and Mick Griffith (fraternity brother and fellow-Lawrencian) took a trip down to Stillwater to watch the OSU/OU game. That left the moms to be home with the kiddos. Stacia and I took Charlie and Oliver over to Noah Clothier's house to watch the game and let the boys entertain themselves. Emily, Stacia and I were really the ones entertained by watching these 3 cuties clown around. Here is a video of the "wavey song" that gets played by the OSU band whenever the Pokes score (it was played ALOT during this game). All of the OSU fans wave their arms back and forth over their head to symbolize waving wheat. We never bothered to learn the actual words to the song, so we just call it the wavey song.
Anyways, here is Oliver's attempt at the wavey song. I think it's pretty hilarious. Don't worry. There were no injuries sustained! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T13:15:00.000-06:00

Ol That's Fall
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We stayed put this year and celebrated our blessings with Grammy & Grandpa and Matt, Emily & Noah Clothier (and soon-to-be-baby-sister). It has been a wonderful fall weather-wise and fun-wise. Below are some pics from a get-together with our friends the Kenkels, where Oliver discovered the joy of things that go vroom. Uh-oh! There is also a video of Oliver going crazy at Alex Kite's 2nd birthday party at the Lawrence Gymnastics Center. He was so wound up!

Halloween Fun!

2011-11-07T20:30:00.001-06:00

Does anyone else find it hard to believe that October has come and gone? Halloween sure snuck up on us this year. As a result, Oliver was forced to wear some spur-of-the-moment "free" costumes that we kind of scrounged up last minute. For the Stepping Stones Halloween Carnival on Sunday, he went as a baseball player, courtesy of a hand-me-down Charlie Griffith baseball uniform. Sidenote, Oliver is developing quite an arm, and is practicing his pitching with pretty much anything that is not nailed down to the floor.
Grammy & Grandpa Coles were on hand to witness the Carnival Fun, but had to leave on Halloween day. Aunt Meghan was also around Halloween weekend. Mommy & Daddy got into the act (half-heartedly) on Saturday night but couldn't quite convince Meghan to join them as a blue-jean super hero.
For Halloween night, we turned Oliver into "Little O", his rapper name. Yes, he was the littlest Beastie Boy, courtesy of a fun Puma tracksuit that was a gift from Grammy & Grandpa. Add some sunglasses, askew ball cap, and some bling, and he was set. And, for some reason, he kept his sunglasses on almost the whole time we trick-or-treated. That in itself was the real Halloween treat! Enjoy some pics of Oliver's fun with his pals Charlie, Noah and little Samantha Whaley to boot!

Oklahoma on my mind

2011-10-27T20:17:00.000-05:00

Oliver and I took a road trip last weekend to Lawton to see my parents. He had a ball. I think he is a country boy at heart. Pa-pa and O had some good bonding time while Nana and I went to a bridal shower. Oliver is obsessed with water and Pa-Pa indulged his fixation with a trip around the house checking out all of the outside faucets. Oliver also enjoyed "helping" the grandparents child-proof their house by finding every breakable/dangerous item within reach to point out the need to move them to higher ground! :)
It was a successful weekend away, but we missed Daddy, and I will definitely not be attempting another solo road trip until DVD's become at least moderately entertaining for a certain little mister.

Indian Summer with a side of Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-09T20:13:00.000-05:00

Howdy,
First off - How 'bout them Pokes! :)
It's October 9th and 82 degrees outside! I'm not complaining. The warmer the weather, the more outside we can be - and that's the only place Oliver wants to be these days. This weekend we went to Schaake's Pumpkin Patch just south of town. We went last year as well, and it was fun to see Oliver so much more "into it", shall we say, this time around. We saw some chickens, goats and cows, picked our pumpkins, saw some good friends, and ate some yummy kettle corn. Doesn't get much better than that for a little boy. Or his parents! Today we had a classic Lawrence Sunday - met Dad downtown at Dogtoberfest, ate some lunch on Mass Street, played in the park, and went home to watch some football. Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Here are some pics to remember this fun, warm autumn weekend.

Movin' on up!

2011-10-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

Monday is Oliver's first day in the Toddler Room at daycare! He is quite the big boy these days. While I am sad to see his time in the Infant Room come to an end, I know he is more than ready to graduate. And, the gals in the Infant Room are probably ready as well, judging from the onryness they bore witness to here in his last few weeks. At fifteen-and-a-half months, he is a constant blur of movement. He never stops. Literally. Never.
Here are some recent pics I managed to get with him in a rare moment of slow(er)-motion.

Summer's End.

2011-09-05T17:50:00.000-05:00

Hello,

I am not at all sure anyone is still checking the blog these days. The summer has flown by and the fall looks to be just as busy. Oliver has had a blast at the pool this summer. Whether it was the South Park wading pool, the big public pool, or the indoor acquatic center, he has been perfecting his belly flop and having so much fun splashing around. Here is a video of our first time at the indoor acquatic center. He was the littlest one out there, but that sure didn't stop him one second.

Olls Wel That Ends Well...

2011-06-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

The Long Pause
Hello, blog world! I apologize for the month-long absence of postings! Life has been outright crazy lately, and it is all I can do to make it through the day most of the time. I value sleep more than blogging, and something had to be put on the backburner, so blah blah blah, here we are in June.
What all has been happening in the last month? Hmm, where to start? Oliver is outright walking and basically, running circles around us all. He is into absolutely everything, and is the most observant little bugger I've ever met! He knows exactly the minute a cabinet door has been left "unbaby-proofed" and thinks the dog's water bowl was created solely for his personal splashing enjoyment.
Also speaking of Preston, Oliver now finds him to be ideal for climbing up, on, and over, as well as for grabbing, pinching, and general pulling-on. Poor Preston! He has been a good sport about it all, but I do not want to find out where the line is in terms of pushing his patience to the limit!

To Tube Or Not To Tube?
As you all are probably aware, my son has not been the healthiest of babies this year. We have had so many ear infections, I think the doctor even has a hard time keeping up with them. So, Matt and I made the decision for Oliver to get tubes. This hasn't happened yet (June 23rd), but just arriving at the decision involved alot of back and forth discussion and general angst. We have only heard good things from other parents who have done it, so we are going for it and crossing our fingers that it will help prevent at least a few ear infections that seem destined to seek out our little guy.
O has actually been ear-infection free for the last several weeks. Although, we did have a nice run in with pink eye last week.

1st Year of Life: Done and Done!
So, now the part you have all been waiting for....Oliver turned 1 year old yesterday! Oliver Welman Coles, born June 11, 2010 at 2:19pm. I can't even remember what happened last week, much less what life was like before he came along. All I can say for certain is that my life is better with him in it, and he has taught me invaluable lessons on love, patience, and the necessity of a comfortable rocking chair. We love him so much and are in constant disbelief at his new achievements that are coming along at an alarmingly fast rate!
We started Oliver's birthday celebrating a couple of weeks ago over Memorial Weekend by driving down to Oklahoma to visit Nana and Pa-Pa, and Aunt Jennifer as well. It was a great time exploring their brand-new, beautiful home! (No downsizing for retirement with those two). ;) We have continued the Oliver-festing through to this weekend, when we had his birthday party with friends in Lawrence. There was lots of fun had at the South Park Wading Pool, where Oliver and his friends splashed around the kiddie pool that was just their size. He got to eat his first cupcake, and go on his first swing! The day was a great success and we feel so blessed to have had so many wonderful friends and family around to help celebrate our little big man.
Here are some pics from Oklahoma and Oliver's birthday. Enjoy!
(Oh, one more note on the blog: I've made it through Oliver's first year attempting to preserve some memories and share our experiences with all of you. I'm not sure how much longer my not-very- disciplined self will be able to blog with any sort of regularity. I will try to keep up with keeping you updated, but please understand if the blog becomes more of a monthly publication from here on out. Thanks for reading!!!) :)

Every Little Step You Take...

2011-05-08T21:27:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day! My first. And best! It was a great day hanging out with the fam and enjoying our downtown. And, Oliver actually had a couple of decent naps today, which is a great gift in itself.
One Small Step For Man
Within the past two weeks, he has started letting go of whatever he's holding onto and taking a few steps all on his own. No fear! I think we are up to 5 being the max so far. So exciting! AND, he can also climb up all of the stairs like it's nobody's business. That achievement is mega scary.
Organized Chaos
One of Oliver's favorite things to right now is to take out of a drawer whatever it is you just put into it. And then to take out every single thing out of every other drawer happens to be within eyesight. The pro of this activity is it entertains him for up to 15 minutes at a time. The con, of course, is putting things back after Hurrican O has left the room.

Here are some pics from this super fun weekend. We had a block party on our street on Saturday night. The Griffiths and the Clothiers came by to help us get friendly with the neighbors. The kiddos had a great time. And then, today we enjoyed lunch at Ingredient before taking a stroll down Mass Street and a pit stop at Sylas & Maddy's Ice Cream Parlor. Great day!

All Our Eggs In One Basket

2011-04-24T20:37:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter! Oliver's 1st! These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of grandparents. Grammy Melanie & Grandpa Jerry visited us last week, and Nana Karen came up this weekend. Everyone is amazed at how aware Oliver is of ALL his surroundings. He can spot a non-child-proofed cabinet door from a mile away!
And, man is he fast! As evident in the pics below, I could not get a moment's pause to get a really perfect shot of him in his super cute Easter outfit (a present from the Youngblood relatives in Nashville. Thank you!). It was chilly this morning, so we had to put on an undershirt and socks for church.
For Oliver's first Easter, we started a new (hopefully annual) tradition. We headed over to the Clothiers house to share some yummy food with Noah's family as well as Charlie Griffiths (Mick & Stacia). It was a fun afternoon of food, friends, and egg hunting. O actually ate some deviled-eggs, greenbean casserole, cheesy potatos, and some ham. This was the most "real" food he's eaten at one sitting!
Oliver just loved watching Noah and Charlie wreak havoc everywhere. These three are definitely going to be keeping us parents on our toes for years to come. Good times!

Big Boy PJ's

2011-04-12T20:57:00.001-05:00

Oliver has pretty much outgrown all of his pajamas, so we got him some new ones a couple of weeks ago. They make him look like a little boy instead of a baby! I have a love/hate relationship with them because of this. He seems to like them alot.

A Swing And A Kiss

2011-04-03T20:32:00.000-05:00

Well, all week it seems it's been "Opening Day" in baseball world. I myself am not particularly a fan of American's Past-time. Sure, actually getting to go to a game in person is fun and healthy entertainment for a day, but as TV sports go, it's right about on par with bowling. One good thing about baseball, though, are the uniforms. I do love me a man in a uniform! :)
Thanks to Grandma Coles, here are some pics of Oliver showing off his athletic good looks. I sense logging some major hours sitting on uncomfortable bleachers and wearing a t-shirt that reads something to the effect of "OC's Mom" are in my future.

Short and Sweet!

2011-03-28T20:17:00.000-05:00

I'm keeping this entry short and to the point. We are getting pretty exhausted trying to keep up with the little man. Preston is now his favorite toy - and Preston is not amused. Here are some action shots from the last week. Oliver loves to laugh at Preston while Preston is outside standing at the back door, wanting to be let in. The more frustrated Preston gets at not being let in, the more Oliver laughs. I see the beginnings of a beautiful friendship....just need to convince Big P of it. :)

Oh How The Mighty Can Crawl!

2011-03-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

So, remember how last week I mentioned that we weren't crawling yet? Yeah, well, forget that! The very next day, (literally, THE VERY NEXT DAY!), Oliver surprised Matt and I after work by crawling from one end of the living to the other. Like he had been doing it forever! Not only that, but he can just about pull himself up on any little thing. It is amazing. And scary. But mostly amazing. Add to that, just yesterday he surprised us again, by not just knocking over the blocks that we stacked up for him, but by actually stacking them up himself. Very carefully. Must have missed the memo from daycare on when he learned to do that one. :) Anyways, it's been a fun week of more firsts for us. Tomorrow we are installing a gate at the top of the stairs. Removing all items from low-lying areas has also been moved to the top of the To Do list. Now, for your viewing pleasure, here is a video of Oliver being introduced to his newest toy: A push toy on wheels to help get the hang of walking. As if he needs help!

9 Months!

2011-03-13T20:36:00.000-05:00

I know it sounds like a big cliche, but I really cannot believe how fast the time flies. Seems like just yesterday I was complaining (again) about morning sickness, fat feet, and how gross chicken is. Now here we are with a beautiful, healthy, ACTIVE 9 month old boy! Oh, and chicken is no longer a mortal enemy.

We go to the doctor for O's 9 month checkup on Tuesday, and Matt and I are very interested to see the stats. I was thinking that O had hit a plateau as he as not seemed any bigger for a month or two to me, but my word, this morning it felt like lugging around a ton of bricks! He has been a really good eater lately, and I think it's paying off.

We are mobile!

Not exactly by crawling, but somehow he does not stay in the same place I left him 1 minute before. He is starting to get the hang of "cruising" when standing and holding onto something. It is both exciting and scary to see him taking such leaps of faith (sometimes literally) and hoping that his feet will do what he wants them to when he wants them to!

Our 7 year wedding anniversay is today. Vegas seems to think the number 7 is lucky, so fingers crossed our run of blessings continues on throughout the year!

Here are some recent pics of Oliver. He finally decided that teethers do have a functional use and are not just for throwing down. Another pic is at our friend Mia Kenkel's 1st birthday party. O loved hanging out with all of our friends.

Paradise Lost (and found)!

2011-02-26T16:03:00.000-06:00

It was back to the grind this week after 5 glorious days in sunny, warm Mexico for a friend's wedding. Matt and I had alot of fun with some of our Lawrence friends as well as other OSU friends. We were all sans-babies and made the most of our "adult" vacation. BUT, it was definitely hard to not see Oliver's smiling little face every day, and at the end of our trip; well, I was ready to be home so I could scoop him up. So, to sum up, the first time away from our little man was a success, but it made Matt and I both realize how much of a fixture Oliver is in our hearts and how happy and complete he makes our family!
We had another winter storm this week, so there is now more snow covering the ground. Someone wake me up when it is flip flop weather. I am so over boots!
Oliver grew up a ton while we were gone, and Grammy and Grandpa were there to see him turn into yet another person (as he seems to do every week). He can now turn himself completely around while in a sitting position, and can pull himself up from sitting to standing on a few occasions. Still no actual crawling but some scooting is beginning to occur....stay tuned for more locomotion updates.
I will leave you with a pic of the beach in front of the resort we stayed at (perfection), as well as a pic of Oliver having fun in front of the mirror.

8 Months!

2011-02-11T20:54:00.000-06:00

Oliver is 8 months old today. Matt and I agree that this is the most fun age yet. He is super smiley and chatty and "into" Mommy and Daddy right now.
No crawling yet. He is lunging at everything, and will go from a sitting position into a crawling position, and then just flops down and cries b/c he is on his tummy. While we are trying to help him learn about crawling, I am not exactly forcing the issue. We have done zero baby-proofing around the house and are so not ready for a mobile boy!
Grammy and Grandpa Coles come on Sunday to stay with Oliver while Matt and I are off to Mexico for 5 days. I am super excited to bask in some warm sunshine for a few days, but am a little apprehensive about leaving O for the first time. Viva los abuelos!
No new pictures this week, so I'll leave you with a family photo from the professional photographer we had come for Oliver's 6 month pics. Hasta la vista, amigos!

The Coles Family Gallery

2011-01-30T20:26:00.000-06:00

Picture pages, picture pages, lots of fun with picture pages...
We just got back Oliver's 6 month photos from the photographer this weekend (well, they were supposed to be 6 month pictures, but by the time we actually got them scheduled, it was 2 days before he turned 7 months). He is the boy of 1,000 faces, so I picked out just a few of his many looks for all of you to enjoy. His cute little personality is really starting to come out these days. Everytime I pick him up from daycare, one of the Stepping Stones gals tells me how smiley he is all the time. It makes me feel good to know he is so happy there.
Oh, and we are supposed to get a foot of snow in two days. Sigh. Two weeks until Matt and I are off to Mexico for a friend's wedding!

A Mad Grab

2011-01-23T13:28:00.003-06:00

We've had three snow days in the past two weeks. I am so sick of this white stuff and it's only January! Of course, b/c of all the snow, I've had more time to spend with Oliver, just hangin' out. What I have learned of late is that we have run out of toys to keep a 7.5 month old entertained for more than two minutes. He is now too big/old for the swing, the bouncy seat, and the activity gym-mat. Yikes! Looks like Babies-R-Us will be getting even more of our money here shortly.
Hanging out has been alot of fun, though, and it's given Oliver a chance to test out the hands-on way to say "hey look, Mom/Dad, what's that?" Coffee cups, computers, oatmeal bowls, green bean containers, eye glasses, socks, diapers, remote controls, lip gloss, etc., etc., etc. You name it, he'll grab it. The good part is that he doesn't get mad at all yet when you take something out of his reach, b/c there is always something else right there to grab at instead! His life is one big game of keep away right now, and he's loving it!
Nana and Pa-Pa got to experience all of this fun first hand when they came up to visit this weekend. They are going to be scheduling a visit to the chiropractor after lugging His Heaviness aound for two days!

Snow Days

2011-01-16T15:43:00.000-06:00

This past week was a long one! It started off with snow. ALOT of snow. So much snow that schools were cancelled for both Monday and Tuesday, which means daycare was cancelled as well. This was actually good timing as Oliver decided to not feel so good when he woke up on Monday. So, we have been battling the sniffles all week. He seems to be on the mend now, although the sniffles are making their way up the family I fear. Par for a winter's work, I suppose.
Anyhoo, this past week also marked 7 months for Oliver. He has been doing tons of growing recently. Here is a rundown of his latest and greatest skills:

Sits up totally by himself - steady 90% of the time
Rolls over both ways - now rolls over to reach for an object
Can pick up anything, and I do mean anything in a split second, using his thumb in addition to fingers
Babbles up a storm
Knows his name
Champion oatmeal eater and has been introduced to pretty much all veggies and fruits now
Has 2 teeth!
Loves to stand - will stand all day if we let him, and can stand unassisted while holding onto something like the ottoman.
Sleeps through the night at a consistent 10 hours straight - has gone 12 hours a few times

There's lots more to add to the list but I don't want to boast about his advancedness too much. :)

Still no crawling. I think he really might just start walking what with all the standing he does.

Okay, that's it for this installment. I leave you with some pics of one of Aunt Meghan's Christmas gifts to Oliver. The cutest, coziest winter outfit ever.

Winter Break's Over

2011-01-08T11:52:00.001-06:00

Miss us? Well, we have not had much time to miss anybody the last couple of weeks! Matt and I took our annual Christmas-time trip to Florida to visit Jerry and Melanie. Only this time we had a new relative in tow. Oliver's first time to Ft. Myers could not have gone better.
It was smooth sailing/flying on the way down; the weather was great; Aunt Meghan was there (with some great gifts); and another First in the form of a visit to the swimming pool was made.
Grammy and Granpda were wonderful hosts as always. And made for wonderful babysitters too! I got to sleep in every morning until around 8:00. It was amazing! They had tons of friends swing by to meet the famous but never-before-seen grandbaby. Matt got in a few rounds of golf, although in the end he may have lost money to ol' Grandpa Jerry. Bonus - we got to see some great friends who have moved to Jacksonville, FL as well. Cory and Crystal drove 5 hours to hang out! It was great to see them and definitely has me thinking that there are worse things out there than a move to sunny Florida.
New Year's Eve was low key for us "kids". Matt, Meghan and I (Oliver couldn't make it past 7:30) stayed in and watched a movie, while the grandparents went out to party it up. Quite the reverse situation from just a year before.
The journey back to KS was a little challenging than coming out. Mostly because Oliver was VERY awake and just wanted to play. Playing for him involves lots of high-pitched shrieks of the eardrum-piercing variety, so the last leg was definitely a little tense for us. Luckily, there was what looked to be a 18 month old little girl who was NOT having a good day - thereby removing any passengers' glares from our direction and swinging them over toward hers.
Now we're back to the grind. Oliver has his 6 month pictures tomorrow - only 2 days shy of 7 months!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T14:21:00.000-06:00

Season's Greetings from Oliver & Co!
I hope everyone's holiday has been as blessed as ours. Nana, Pa-Pa and Aunt Jen came up to help us celebrate Oliver's first Christmas in Lawrence. We all attended Christmas Eve service at First United Methodist Church and Oliver was the most well-behaved baby there! We have had a great time eating, drinking and being merry. Well, mostly merry. Oliver has not one, but TWO teeth popping up. And out. At least they are coming in together, so hopefully the tenderness time is reduced, but the poor guy is definitely feeling a little put out by this newest milestone. So many achievements have happened the month of December. We are ending 2010 with a bang!
O came away with a ton of loot this morning. The aftermath of Christmas is one I am gonna have to get used to. Finding enough space to accommodate everything is hard enough. But, the frenzy of unwrapping and the carnage left behind (bows, tissue, wrapping paper, boxes, etc.) is almost enough to turn me Greek and implement some major austerity measures - no more gifts! :)
Here are some pics of Christmas with the Coleses and Harrises (yeah, grammar is hard. I think this is the right spelling but feel free to correct me). See you next year, as we are off to Florida on Tuesday to visit Grammy Melanie, Grandpa Jerry and Aunt Meg!

High & Mighty

2010-12-18T13:45:00.000-06:00

This has been a GREAT week to have Oliver for a son. He has been super-smiley and playful, and has been a really good sleeper, both at home and at daycare.
We broke out the highchair for the first time on Tuesday (we've just been putting him in the Bumbo and setting it on the table up until now). He took to the highchair like a fish to water! I think he likes having his own chair to chow down in. And chowed down he did this week, taking in not just one feeding of solid food, but now two per day! We have to fatten this kid up, as he is trailing in the weight department, according to this week's doctor checkup.
Speaking of the doctor, here are the results of Oliver's 6 month appointment:
Weight = 15lbs. 3 oz. - 10%
Height = 27.5 in. - 70%
Head = 17.something cm - 69%
Basically, he is a lollipop. To quote Mike Myers in So I Married An Axe Murderer: "Look at the size of that boy's head!" I can't believe I ever worried about what percentile he was in, as clearly it can drastically change from one month to the next.
Out & About
Not only did we start the highchair at home, but we also went out to eat as a family for the first time in a long time on Friday night. And, Oliver got to eat sweet potatoes sitting in the restaurant's high chair for the first time. He did extremely well. And hardly any mess. I guess we just have a clean kid. Glad I won't ever have to worry about hosing him and myself down after every meal like some parents have to. ;)

The Ears Have It (and they don't want it) :(

2010-12-12T16:00:00.000-06:00

Six Months

Let's start this week's blog update on a positive note. O is 6 months old! Half a year. He's almost been living outside in the world as long as he was inside! Squash and carrots have both been a hit at our house this week, and he is getting better and better at sitting up by the day. I believe "Dada" has popped out of his mouth a few times this week too. You can say he doesn't know what he's saying all you want. I know he is very advanced. ;)

First Illness

We had another first this week, although it was not a good one to have. Oliver has his first ear infection. Boo. He had a fever off and on for three days and when we took him into the doctor, she took a half second look into his ears and said, "Yep, ear infection. Both ears." So, the poor boy is all drugged up. He has been in surprisingly good spirits, considering. We are just crossing our fingers he (and we) will get some good sleep tonight. Nana Karen came up this weekend, and it was really good timing to have her here to comfort him and share her wisdom in dealing with past earaches and sick babies. Matt and I went to the Griffith's annual Casino Christmas Party on Saturday night, and I definitely would have felt way too guilty to go had Oliver not been in Nana's capable hands.
Hopefully, he is already on the mend and will be good as new quick, quick, quick.
We go back to the doctor on Tuesday for our 6 month checkup, so if he wasn't sick of doctors already, Tuesday's shots will definitely do it!

Thanksgiving Recap!

2010-12-04T10:36:00.000-06:00

Hello Blog World!
So much to write, so little time these days. Does anyone else feel like the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's is one long, crazy sprint??? We must remember to catch our breath and reflect on how special the holidays are, especially when we have SO much to be thankful for. Okay, enough Stewart Smalley rubbish.
Indiana On My Mind
Oliver took his very first plane ride last Wednesday. It was a success! Well, I should say Oliver was a success. The actual plane ride, well, not so much. I am not a good flier and any sort of bump or dip makes my whole body tense. As in, I'm pretty sure at the end of any given flight, you could lift me up and I would stay in the same hunched, sitting position with my hands spread out into claws digging into my thighs. Sooo, the "weather" we experienced while flying to Indie at 9:00p.m. had me a bit jumpy, to say the least. Good thing Matt held on to Oliver the whole time so my stress wouldn't transfer over to him. But, we made it safely, and after a long car ride (yes, not only did Oliver fly for the first time, but he experienced his first rental car), we arrived in Union City, IN/OH to visit with Grammy Melanie's side of the family. It is a LARGE family at that, at least compared to my side, so there were tons and tons of new faces for O to meet. Between all of the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandmas, we parents pretty much had a baby-free holiday! He enjoyed being passed around, and fell in love with all of the Christmas tree lights twinkling at him. Thanks to Matt's cousin, Lori, who had like 6 Christmas trees in her house, I am going to have to really up my decorating this year.
I am skipping over a ton of our trip in Indiana, for which I apologize. I can only fit in so much during naptime. But please know that we had a great time in Union City, and really enjoyed being there for Oliver's first turkey day (he had green beans for his holiday meal, btw; which he devoured).
Indiana x 2
Allright, moving on to the second half of our trip: Back in the rental car to drive a couple of hours down to Columbus, IN to visit Grandpa Jerry's side. We stayed with Oliver's Great Great Aunt Ginny (I think that's right), and again, Oliver was treated to a parade of new faces, and found more Christmas tree lights to get excited about. And, it was during this leg of the trip that Oliver decided it was time for him to start sitting up by himself! He became a different baby from just the start of the trip to the end. It was alot of fun watching him expand his horizons by leaps and bounds over the course of just a few days.
But, I digress. In Columbus, we dropped into a really neat place, straight out of the 1950's. Zaharaco's is a real, live soda shoppe that has been totally refurbished. They were decked out for the holidays, and we had fun taking Oliver's picture there.
Okay, to finish the recap, I will let you in on the most special memory of the trip - seeing four generations of families together in one place! On both sides, we had Great Grandma, Grandparent, Father and Son all together. Something to treasure.
Enough words. To the pictures we go!

A Not-So-Silent Film!

2010-11-21T21:06:00.000-06:00

P to the teradactyl!
This blog entry was originally going to be all about our busy weekend with friends visiting and Oliver's first tailgate, BUT, a fun development happened that moved up on the must share priority list. Little Oliver had a major giggle fit and we happened to capture it on video. Finally! Not only that, we managed to successfully upload it for your viewing pleasure. :) I like to call him our little pteradactyl these days because of all of his shrieking. He is definitely entertained by the sound of his voice.

More Firsts
Okay, now to the not-as-visually thrilling but still pretty interesting stuff:
This weekend, my dear sorority sister, Heidi came to visit and meet Oliver for the first time. Also, the OSU/KU football game was here in Lawrence, and some other old college friends came into town for it. It was quite the mini-reunion. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was a bit under-the-weather, and couldn't quite live it up to the extent the others did (POKES can party!), but still managed to have alot of fun catching up with old friends and showing off Oliver.
So, Oliver not only braved a chilly November Saturday morning for his first OSU tailgate (total domination on the field by the Pokes, btw), but he had his first non-relative baby sitter Saturday night while we parents/adults went out to dinner and drinks to celebrate life, love and loving life in Lawrence! And, if that's not all, he tried his first vegetable. So far, peas have received a less than enthusiastic response. I blame Aunt Heidi, who disclosed to Oliver her life-long dislike for the little green roly polys.
Whew! This week brings us Thanksgiving, with much to be thankful for. Stay tuned to find out how Oliver's first plane ride and visit to Indiana goes....

Rollin' With The Homies

2010-11-14T17:03:00.000-06:00

5 Months!
Thanks to Emily Clothier for this weeks's title. I find there's a Clueless quote that's appropriate for every occasion! :)
The little man turned 5 months this week. And, he marked this event by rolling over! Even better, Nana and Pa-Pa were here to witness this amazing milestone. He surprised us while doing tummy time on Thursday night by just plum rolling over, all on his own. And, he's done it a bunch since then. Now it's going to be almost impossible to keep him on his tummy. There is no video of this achievement, but we are working on it, I promise.
Since the rolling over thing is a pretty big deal in our world, I think a short blog entry is okay today. It's quality, not quantity, right?!

Gadgets, Gizmos and Giggles Galore!

2010-11-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

Thingymajiggys
You might have noticed one of the pics from the last post that had Oliver smiling from a weird position. What exactly is it he's doing?, you might have asked yourself. Well, if you are like me, you are thoroughly confused by all of the baby toys out there today. It seems like the more sophistiated the toy, the quicker the baby is bored by it. I had been wondering what the next big toy for the next stage should be, when one of Oliver's teachers mentioned that he likes the exersaucer type thing at daycare. He is still a bit little to take full advantage of all these cool jumpers/exersaucers have to offer, but he is definitely interested. So, last week I went and got one for him. It is a jungle theme and has a ton of activities to keep him occupied, err, I mean, to develop his motor skills! :)
So, below are some pics of our latest and greatest space taker-upper. Other toys that Oliver is into these days include a sing-along book from Grammy and Grandpa, his swing (still, thank goodness), but he doesn't fall asleep in the swing anymore these days; he just likes to talk to us from it. He is getting more into teethers, but makes a face from the plasticky taste they all have. He will chomp on your finger too, if you let him. He still loves to watch his mobile go around above his bed. And, he still does a bit of floor play on his ocean activity mat, but we use that more for tummy time and working on rolling over nowadays. He is not a fan of rolling over. Well, to be more specific, he is not a fan of being on his tummy, so he will whip himself over onto his back really fast, but only after you get him to a certain point on his side. So, we're working on rolling over quite a bit.
In food news, we have graduated from rice cereal to oatmeal, and he is a champ at eating, so far! Of course, his bibs always look like they've been through a war zone by the time we're done, but more of it goes in him than down him (I think).
Giggles
Oliver has been really "into" Mommy this week. I have gotten TONS of smiles and giggles out of him. Almost without trying sometimes. It is doing really good things for my ego, and I am loving it! Daddy is a little jealous, which is understandable, but gets enough of his own smiles to be a good sport about it. I am definitely not taking this attention for granted, because I know there will come a day when he just wants to hang out with Dad and do man stuff. I would like to point out, though, that just Mommy and son watched football together today for a long time before Daddy joined us. ;) Go Pokes!

Boo!

2010-10-31T12:48:00.000-05:00

October is over. I can't believe it! All of us made it through the first month of daycare! Oliver is now an old pro at the morning routine. He is usually super snuggly and laid back in the mornings when I drop him off and it is extra hard to hand him over when he is being so cute.
Grammy Melanie and Grandpa Jerry are visiting right now. They always seem to bring new toys and clothes for Oliver with them. We are going to run out of room /closet space before too much longer. Oliver is chatting up a storm with them. They are amazed at how much he's changed since they were here just 6 weeks or so ago. He is looking more like a little boy than a baby these days.
Jerry and Melanie have been great at letting Matt and I have a weekend of "Parents' Night Out" - almost too great, in fact. I am out of shape when it comes to partying it up. I will need the grandparents to leave so I can have an excuse to stay home with the baby and get to bed at a decent hour. :)

My Lil Pumpkin

2010-10-22T21:26:00.000-05:00

Dear Diary:
The last couple of weeks have been busy for the Coles household. Our friends, Mike and Evren Kopelman visited us with their son, Ozan. Our O loved their O and followed his every move all weekend. We took the Kopelmans to the Mapleleaf Festival in Baldwin City, KS, where we got to see a parade from the front yard of our friends' Alli and Jenny's parent's house. The weather was beautiful, especially for mid-October. On Sunday, we went to our first ever pumpkin patch. It was so much fun! Hopefully, the Kopelmans got a nice flavor of small-town livin' and will come back when they need a break from NYC!
This week, we went to our friends, Luke and Lisa's house for a farewell dinner, as they are moving to Australia! Oliver is getting to be a pretty good sport at making housecalls, and being transported around everywhere in a car seat. Jeez, is that thing heavy (and only getting heavier).
This weekend is the Halloween Carnival at Stepping Stones (daycare). Oliver is going to be a skeleton for Halloween, and he is going to have plenty of opportunities to wear his costume between now and next Sunday. I know you all want to see lots of pictures of his little bony butt. Don't worry, I can't wait to record this first memory for posterity!
Aside from a runny nose, which I'm told will pretty much be a staple for his first year, Oliver is doing great and entertaining us with a new trick almost every day.
Below are some great pics from our recent outings.

Just the facts, ma'am!

2010-10-14T20:47:00.001-05:00

Oliver had his 4 month checkup on Tuesday. He is definitely his daddy's son. Here are his stats:

13lbs. even - 15th% in weight
25.75 inches long - 80th% in height
16 inch head circumference - 40th% (so much for small head worries)

Shots did not go nearly as well this time around. Poor guy gave me the most pathetic look while letting out lots of heartwrenching sobs. It was not a good day to be a working mother. Luckily, he was pretty much back to his old self by the next day.

Rice (cereal), Rice (cereal) Baby!
The doctor told us that it is time to start working toward solid foods. Yikes! I honestly didn't think we would be starting already. So, tonight we tried rice cereal for the first time. It was pretty much a non-event. Oliver just kind of gave us a look like, why are we doing this again? And sort of pushed around the goo with his tongue before letting it dribble back out. At least there was no crying involved. We'll keep at it until he's ready for his first rib-eye!

We have friends coming into town this weekend. Mike and Everen Kopelman are visiting from NYC with their almost-2 year old, Ozan. We are anxious to see if Ozan can point out all of the baby-proofing around our house that we still need to get to!

Ooh look, toes! Ooh, there they are again!

2010-10-09T16:38:00.000-05:00

First week at daycare: Done and done!
Oliver is already an old pro at daycare, it seems. He's flirting with all the Stepping Stones gals, so it looks like his smiles aren't just for Mama anymore.
His newest achievement is of the bendy kind. He loves his toes and can easily get them up to his mouth. It is really funny to watch the monitor in the mornings b/c as soon as he wakes up those legs shoot up in the air. Even in the bathtub, he sticks his legs straight out and wiggles his feet around to make sure they are still working.
With the start of daycare comes the inevitable barrage of germs. Matt and I have already been victims of a stomach bug this week. Luckily, the little man has stayed healthy. It's going to be a long year of sickos in our house with our luck.
O is 4 months on Monday! I know I keep saying this, but it seems like forever and just a blink of an eye all at once.

Bananas for Nana(z)

2010-10-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

All good things must come to an end.
Nana has come and gone. :( This means that daycare must have started.
Yes, that's right, Oliver spent Friday afternoon at Stepping Stones for the first time. We had all just gotten used to the extra pair of hands around and having a full house, and now we're back to learning a whole new routine. Nana was alot of fun and taught Oliver a whole bunch of new life lessons. Probably the most fun thing Oliver learned from her was how to play Patty Cake. I will do my best to be half as good at it as she is.
It was a full week for us, so I didn't have too much time to dwell on the looming daycare deadline.
Pa-Pa Ken came to visit last weekend, and helped Matt with basement stuff. On Sunday, Oliver and I had a playdate with the "girls" at Alli Kenkel's house (her daughter, Mia, is now a classmate of Oliver's). Oliver was not in the best of moods, but did like Mia's cool swing. On Wednesday, we all had a fabulous Italian dinner at Julie and Craig's house, and Oliver was a good sport this time. Then, suddenly, it was Friday.
Matt dropped O off at lunchtime, and I picked him up around 4:30. He was just chilling in a swing when I got there, and the staff told me he had a great first day, which included a field trip outside to watch a parade. Oliver, of course, slept through it. There were no tears from either of us; although, I think that might change on Monday - on my end anyway. There was no recognition of "Mama" from him either, which is probably just as well. Friday evening was spent with the Clothiers and the Kenkels, who were all enjoying a Parents' Night Out, while Nana enjoyed her last night with her grandbaby. She hid her sadness well when leaving. I'm sure it will be nice for her to sleep in her own bed for a change. Hopefully, she will come back with Pa-Pa soon!
Oh, one more note, we are taking some family pictures tomorrow! We are so excited to be subjects for our friend Steve, who is the artist husband of artist Angie, the fabulous artist who did all of the paintings for Oliver's room. There's alot of talent in that family! Stay tuned to find out how the photos turn out.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours...

2010-09-25T20:54:00.000-05:00

Week 1 of Nana's two week stay is done. She now has arm muscles that she likes to show off from hauling Oliver around all the time.
No major milestones were achieved this week and that's okay with me. My friend Alli Kenkel said the other day that there's a fine line between wanting your baby to be healthy and develop quickly, and wanting them to stay a baby. I couldn't agree more!
One note of interest: Oliver's legs are actually looking chubby these days, as opposed to the little bird legs he has been sporting since his arrival.
The new fun game at our house this week is sticking our tongues out at each other. When I stick out my tongue, Oliver goes crazy with smiles and giggles, and then thinks really hard for a minute before remembering that he too can stick out his tongue! It is probably top 5 on my list of most entertaining moments in life. Nana and Oliver, and Oliver and I go on like this for quite awhile, until the ceiling fan catches his eye and then I'm back to playing second fiddle.

And the Grammy goes to....

2010-09-17T21:45:00.000-05:00

Well, the past few weeks have gone by in a blur. Grammy Melanie has spent ALOT of time in Kansas helping us out, and she goes home tomorrow. I'm not sure how Oliver is going to take it (or Mom and Dad). She has the patience of a saint, and a special knack for getting the little guy to calm down, or cheer up, or just talk it out. We so appreciate the extra help from the grandmas until October when we start daycare. I'm sure Grammy is ready to head back to Florida for some sunshine and R&R (stay away hurricanes)! But, she and Grandpa Jerry have already asked if we need them for any weekend in October, so I'm pretty sure we haven't traumatized her to badly. :)
Oliver had a couple of milestones this week. He had his first public meltdown in a restaurant at dinner (it had to happen sometime), and he sat in his Bumbo for the first time (which I missed, b/c I was at work. Sigh.) They grow up so fast.

It's A Bird. It's A Plane. It's...Super Baby!

2010-09-12T17:52:00.000-05:00

3 Months!
Oliver is growing like a weed these days. He is an avid observer of everything, including Preston and Banjo, who up intil this week did not exist to him. He is getting really strong and has a firm grasp (literally!) on how to entertain himself. Just give him a mirror to admire himself and something around to grab at and he's set.
We recently tried out our Baby Bjorn knockoff to see if O would allow us to have two free hands once in awhile. Luckily for us, he likes it! Something about being carried around and able to have life in full view must be appealing to the little guy. I couldn't agree more!

Look Ma! Big smile!

2010-09-06T17:44:00.001-05:00

While my son is probably on the serious side more often than not, he has rewarded us many an occasion with smiles. Unfortunately, I have never been able to capture these gems on film. Until now! Finally, some big toothless grins in print!

To The Left, To The Left

2010-09-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

12 weeks!
Well, we all survived my first full week back to work (by we, I mean me). Just barely. I miss my baby! But, enough wallowing. I will say that finding time to blog is becoming harder and harder. Even harder is remembering all the clever things I want to write down but forget by the time I actually get to sit down at the computer.
Oliver has been one active boy. We have been going to physical therapy the past couple of weeks because he does not like to turn his head to the left. But, he is doing much better and the therapist said we probably don't need to finish out the whole 6 weeks that were initially recommended. He will turn his head just fine on his own - he just doesn't really want to. And REALLY doesn't like it when you turn it for him. So, we've been making his whole world be to his left for the past couple of weeks, and it seems to be working!
He is also doing much better at tummy time - like a turtle out of his shell! And, the biggest change right now is that he likes to face out in order to see what's going on. He is taking the world in and looking around all the time.
We are one week down with Grammy Mel and Grandpa Jer helping out. They have more energy than we do, that's for sure! And, Aunt Meghan comes to visit today. This will be her first introduction to Oliver. Can't wait to see them bond.

Whew! Glad that's over (until Monday).

2010-08-27T21:47:00.001-05:00

Oy
Well, it's been a heck of a week. Oliver got his first shots on Tuesday. Everything was going really well at the doctor's office until...I put his clothes back on after he had been stripped down for the usual measurements. He cried more about the onesie going over his head than he did for the actual needle poke! He is still long and lean, coming in at 11 lbs. 5 oz., and 24 in. He was quite sleepy for the rest of the day and the next, but is back to his usual not quite chipper (but almost) self today.
I started back to work full-time on Wednesday. It was kind of like going to a whole new job, as I switched departments and therefore have a whole new boss, team and product type that I work with now. I was so busy getting adjusted to my new gig that it actually helped me to not be a complete mess with missing my baby!
Nana Karen was Nanny Extraordinaire this week. I think Oliver pretty much had his way with her. She will definitely be ready for that cruise she and Pa-Pa Ken are taking next week.
Finally, I am back to looking forward to the weekends. Saturday is definitely not just another day anymore like it was during maternity leave. You better believe me and the kiddo are having some major quality time for the next two days!
Grammy and Grandpa Coles come on Sunday. Stay tuned for more Oliver shenanigans...

Oh No! Oh No! It's Back To Work I Go!

2010-08-20T21:31:00.000-05:00

This past week was an eventful one. Oliver had a playdate on Sunday with our friends the Roberts and their 8 month-old daughter, Nory. I had a birthday, which is not eventful in and of itself, but the hubby surprised me by lining up a babysitter while we went out to dinner. A big thanks to the Clothiers for watching Oliver for an hour or so while the parents enjoyed a quiet dinner, where I actually got to chew my food for once, instead of inhaling it like I usually have to (in order to keep an eye on the little guy).
Also, sadly, I started work today (Friday). I kind of don't count it as my official start back date, since I am taking off Monday and Tuesday next week. So, there was no breakdown on my part this morning. I'm pretty sure that will happen on Wednesday. Nana Karen came up to watch Oliver for the day, as well as next week, and Aunt Jennifer flew in to meet Oliver for the first time! I think her red hair is a hit with him. He seems quite smitten with her! All in all, it was a good week, with lots of smiles and talking. I just can't seem to actually catch the smiles on camera.

9 1/2 Weeks (G-rated version)

2010-08-15T20:45:00.000-05:00

Here is the rundown of Oliver's achievements/likes/dislikes up until now - A Top 10 if you will:
1. He is not yet a fan of baths.
2. He loves to make out with his animal "blankies". Mr. Bear and Mr. Fox are his faves, with Mr. Elephant currently coming in a distant third.
3. He talks up a storm, at anyone and everything. To call it "cooing" would be an understatement. A mild bellow is more like it!
4. He is starting to be a grabber!
5. He loves Mommy's hair. He loves to touch it and grab it and eat it, and loves it when I tickle his nose with it.
6. He is still a piggy - currently taking down 4 oz. about every 3 hours.
7. He is not a good napper. The boy just doesn't want to miss out on a second of making out with those animals.
8. He still does not know Preston exists. Preston, however, is all too aware of the noisy creature that is turning out to be a permanent fixture after all.
9. He still loves to be on his changing table - he thinks he's king of the world up there.
10. He finally has more than peach fuzz on top!

That's the culmination of Oliver after 9 weeks, in a nutshell. (Help! I'm in a nutshell. Sorry, couldn't resist.) ;)

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!

2010-08-11T16:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Hump Day!

Oliver is 2 months old today! I can't believe it. It seems like only yesterday and forever ago all at the same time. I think I will probably stop referring to his age in weeks now. My mommy brain isn't going to be too quick at counting double digits here before too long.
So, this past weekend we took Oliver on his first road trip. Destination: Lawton, Oklahoma. Time in car without baby: Around 5.5 hours. Time in car with baby: About 7 hours. I blame you, Blackwell, OK! A shack on the edge of town does not a Dairy Queen make.
Anyways, aside from a 25-ish minute meltdown after stopping to eat in Blackwell, Oliver did really well in the car, considering he was strapped down like he was going on a NASA mission to space.
Nana Karen and Pa-Pa Ken were so happy to see us. Well, really happy to see Oliver, and happy we parents brought him there safely.
On Saturday, we had a fun get-together at cousin Prissy's house, and I got to see dear friends and family all at once. The O Man even let strangers hold him and was a perfect angel the whole time!
We then had a yummy birthday dinner for Pa-Pa at the world-famous (and by world, I mean Comanche County) Fisherman's Cove.
Sunday, we were back on the road with nary a meltdown to be heard.
A successful first road trip it was (but probably will not be trying a second one for a long time)! :)

Hooray for grandparents!

2010-08-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

8 Weeks today!
Grammy Melanie and Grandpa Jerry came to visit over the past weekend/week. They were SO helpful! Melanie is patience personified with Oliver, and Jerry is quite the handyman. They helped us get a ton done in the basement (we are slowly trying to finish it), watched Oliver so Matt and I could have an adult night out, and even let me play golf (having a baby has not done good things for my golf game)! We bet they were glad to get back to chilly Florida so they could rest up before their next trip out.

This weekend we are taking O on his first road trip - to Oklahoma to visit my family. I will definitely fill everyone in on how the six hour car ride(s) goes. Fingers crossed!

One lean (not so mean) machine

2010-07-30T17:25:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday Oliver had his 6 week checkup. Let's get straight to the stats.
10 lbs. 5 oz. = 38th % in weight
23 in. = 75th % in height
14.7 in. = 14% in head circumference (The small head trend continues.)

So, now that O is over 10 lbs. we are told he should be sleeping longer at night. That must not just be a wives' tale, because he has slept for 5 + hours a few times in the past week! Hooray!

One other note on the doctor: She gave Oliver a prescription for some baby Zantac, as we think he may have some acid reflux going on. A cute baby he is, but a happy one, well, not so much all of the time. We have everything crossed that one can cross that he will feel better and more content very, very, very soon! I would like to retire the nickname "Spit Up King".

Here are some Week 7-ish pics. Oliver loves his ocean-themed activity mat. He is quite the exerciser, kicking his legs and swinging his arms for close to an hour at a time!

The many faces of Oliver

2010-07-22T14:07:00.000-05:00

Hey look, it's not even Friday yet and here is a new post! Gotta take advantage of a sleeping baby when I can! Happy 6 weeks to the little man. As you can see below, he is quite a character...

Is it Friday yet?

2010-07-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week in babyville. Good thing it's Friday. Oh wait. I don't get weekends off! Oliver has us running around like crazy people. Nothing too major to report for the week's big activities. Lots of laundry got done, but not much else!
Here's a rundown of notable events in Oliver's 5th week of life:
1. Won't you be my neighbor? : Our neighbors up the hill (who are from Lawton!) came over and brought us dinner. Actually, they made us a 5-star gourmet meal, complete with dessert, wine, and somehow got our fussy child to fall asleep. This was our first time meeting them. Needless to say, they are welcome here anytime!
2. Baby Blowout! : I thought I was adjusted to cleaning up messy, runny baby poop, but this particular blowout was by far something I had not seen before. Let's just say that baby diarrhea has a shooting range of about 6 feet. Lots of scrubbing of the carpet after that one.
3. First "babysitter": I had a doctor appointment this morning, and instead of taking the baby with me, a girl from Matt's clinic offered to watch him. She is Matt's partner's daughter and happens to live above the clinic. So, I dropped off Oliver with her and everyone at the clinic. This was the first non-relative to watch Oliver. It was only for an hour, but I did have a twinge of guilt for dumping him off already after only 5 weeks! Oh well. I guess he will have to get used to it at some point. Might as well start now. ;)
4. Bowling and babies: We are taking the kiddo with us tonight for bowling and beers (his will only be the 3.2 stuff, promise). I will let you know how it goes!

Coo Coo Ca Choo

2010-07-09T11:34:00.001-05:00

Happy 4 Weeks to Oliver!
Where does the time go? Straight down the Diaper Genie these days. :) Our little guy is changing every day. It truly is entertaining just watching him wake up to the world a little more each day. He started cooing at us this week and it is one of the greatest sounds ever!!!
Here are some of Oliver's current loves:
1. The changing table - Who wouldn't love their own personal hygiene service? (Don't answer that.)
2. His crib - He LOVES LOVES LOVES staring at the blue and white checks on his bumper (Ssh, yes, I have a bumper still on).
3. Outside - This just happened today. He must get this from his father, b/c goodness knows I am not an outdoorsy girl.
4. Milk - Duh.
5. Stretching across your arms with his head hanging back. I try not to let him turn too purple. ;)

Nana is here this weekend to help out (totally had to twist her arm to come). Matt is off to an overnight golf tournament in Manhattan, KS tomorrow (Saturday), and I am getting out of the house for the first "Girls' Night" since Oliver's arrival!

Our Overachiever

2010-07-02T13:21:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was Oliver's 2 week checkup (technically, he was 2 weeks and 4 days old). The pediatrician was most impressed with his growth. He is now 21 inches long (a whole inch longer than his first checkup), and weighs 8 lbs. 10 oz. The doctor was just hoping he would be back to his birthweight of 8 lbs. even. Oh, and his head got a little bigger. He's now 17% in head circumference. Woo hoo!
So, needless to say, our boy likes to eat. Alot. And often, lately. No sooner do we finish a diaper change and a feeding then it's back to doing a diaper change and a feeding. Oy! And the noises he makes when he eats - man, I wish I enjoyed my food that much.
One other important note: Oliver really likes his crib. He sleeps consistently 4 to 5 hours at a time during the night. I have to wake him up around 3am to feed him and then he's right back to sleep until 6:30-7:00. I have probably jinxed us by repeating this feat out loud, but I am most appreciative that he has been letting me get more sleep at night than I thought I would.
We had more friends stop by to visit and bring us dinner this week. Yay Payless girls! Matt's parents left early Wednesday, so we have been on our own again. And I'm not gonna lie, taking care of a baby is hard. Really hard. But, their cuteness just about makes up for it. So, we're hanging in there.
Pics from week 3:

Week 2: More Firsts

2010-06-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

To Blog Or Not To Blog?
You might notice in the blog header that I originally started this blog to keep everyone updated on the pregnancy. Well, the pregnancy is done (yea!), so I am left with the decision on whether to continue the blog now that Oliver is here and kicking our butts (in a good way, of course). Don't worry, I will give everyone fair warning should the blog be discontinued, but for now, I will try to keep on sending out weekly updates with pictures of my cute baby. Because there really can't be too many baby blogs out there, can there? :)
Week 2
This week saw lots of action. For starters, Matt and I were on our own (Nana departed on Sunday) for a few days until Grammy Melanie and Grandpa Jerry arrived on Thursday. I fear the rumors are true: New parents really don't get much sleep in the beginning. But, we are lucky in that Oliver seems to like sleeping in his crib - alot. In fact, sometimes he reminds me of a hibernating bear - wake him up at your own risk!
We took our first family walk, and everyone did great. Preston seemed to be just fine keeping pace with a stroller, and Oliver, well, he got so excited about his first walk that he promptly slept through the whole thing.
We had several friends drop by to bring us dinner a few nights, and we really appreciated the adult company and delicious food. We are so blessed to have a great community of friends here in Lawrence. They are definitely a necessary support group.
We also took Oliver out for his first public appearance. We stopped by Matt's office to show him off to some of the clinic gals, and we weighed him on the doggie scale (okay, it's a cat scale too, but I'm not a cat person so they usually get the snub from me). The scale showed that not only has Oliver gained back his birth weight, but he is actually OVER it already - one reading showed 8.2 lbs and another showed 8.4 lbs. Woo hoo (go Mom)! He is quite the piggy when it comes to eating. Grunts and squeals and all.
Oh, and then we also took him to the Walmart. Yes, Walmart. Hey, we're all about keeping it real here in the Midwest. :)
Onto the fun stuff
Here are some pics of the past week:

It's Been....One Week Since You Looked At Me

2010-06-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

Oliver's First Week
So, 8 days ago I was praying that I would have already had a baby by today - my due date. 7 days later, here we are!
I would say O's first week was an eventful one:
1. Good Pediatrician visit (Stats: 20 inches = 52% height, 7 lbs 7 oz = 32% weight, 13.2 in head circ = 11% - hey, my head was small too, and I'm still smart. :) )
2. Good QT with Nana - who has been a Godsend!
3. REALLY good feedings
4. A couple of diaper explosions - and I do mean explosions!
5. Lots of wetness from head to toe (really need to figure these diaper things out)
6. First, second AND third baths - see items 4 and 5 above
7. Three roll overs by himself (yikes!)
8. And, last but not least, Dad got to give his first (and second) bottle.
Here are some pics to commemorate the past week:

So this is what the fuss is all about!

2010-06-15T21:02:00.001-05:00

One Wild Weekend
Hello blog world! Needless to say, it's been an eventful few days. I don't have alot of wit in me right now due to some sleep-deprivation, so bear with this somewhat jumbled recap!
Showtime!
Friday, June 11th, 5:45 am - Wake up to roll over, and POP! Water breaking. And breaking. And breaking. Niagara falls comes to mind. I wake up Matt. He immediately goes into Operation Roundup Hosptial Necessities mode.
6:45 am - Roll into hospital - get checked into delivery room. Contractions beginning to get a bit uncomfortable. Dilated to a 4.5 at first check.
7:15 am - Ask nurse when she comes in again if I have to specifially tell them that I want my epidural now or do they just automatically know that. Because, you know, pain is becoming a factor preventing me from enjoying this "birth experience".
7:30-9:00 - Best not to relive this part, as it basically just involves me being incoherent and concentrating on breathing and not putting my fist through a window -or someone's face. Making lots of dilation progress though, so that was good.
9:15ish - Anesthesiologist FINALLY makes his appearance. Praise Jesus!
9:30ish - 1:30ish - Life is sooo good. Just hanging out waiting on the little man of the hour/day to arrive.
1:30 - Dr. Mercado checks in and says we are getting close to getting this show on the road!
(BTW, Dr. Minderman, my actual OB, was out of town. Of course.)
2:19 pm - Last push and Oliver is here! He took a big gulp of fluid right before he decided to make his entrance, so they had to work on him for awhile to get his lungs and color right.
And he's been perfect ever since!!!!
Now, this is all from my perspective. I will have to have Matt be a guest blogger sometime to tell you his side of things. I do know that he was pretty excited to get to watch alot of the World Cup all weekend since he didn't have to work! Oliver was born during halftime of the Uruguay/France game, which was respectful of him.
Grandparents R Us
My parents were able to get here literally right as I was delivering. I think the Judge broke a few traffic laws on the way up from Oklahoma, but managed to avoid any tickets (that I know of).
Jerry and Melanie couldn't get a flight until Saturday, and rushed to the hospital about 24 hours after Oliver's birth. And they couldn't get enough of him! All of the Grandparents were super helpful and - thankful? Melanie told me "thank you" a few times I believe! :)
The good stuff
Okay, enough of a recap. Here is what you really want: Pictures!

More to come when I have another spare and lucid moment!

Checklist

2010-06-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

38 Weeks
Yes, that's right. Friday marked 38 weeks of pregnancy. Had I not been so diligent about keeping track of all these weeks, I would believe it if someone told me I have been pregnant for years. Years! The weekly doctor's visit was disappointing - if only b/c Dr. Minderman announced there is no change. No further progression. No good guess on when I will go into labor. It's comforting to know we can send things to space, clone animals, cure horrible diseases, and yet not have a clue about what's going to happen from one day to the next during pregnancy.
I managed to fit in two movies this week. I've received this same piece of advice from several people - to go to the movies as often as possible in the remaining weeks, b/c I will not have the chance to do so for a long time to come after baby!
Check, check
I'm winding up all of the loose ends on the To Do List. There's not much left to finish up now:
1. Attendance to all pre-natal classes offered at hospital - check
2. Car seat installed properly - check
3. Hospital suitcase packed - check
4. Nursery decorated - check
5. Baby books read - check
6. Baby necessities purchased - check
7. Baby clothes, blankets washed - check
8. Fighting with insurance on weekly basis for screwing up pre-natal doctor visits - check
9. Husband with his own pregnancy brain situation going on - double check
10. Having the conversation with your doctor at 38 weeks about the likelihood of inducing after 7 weeks of bed rest for preterm labor - PRICELESS!!!

We Are Fam-ily!

2010-05-31T14:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Memorial Day!
Just got done spending the weekend with my family. We celebrated Mom's 60th birthday with some good food and conversation - and a surprise visit from Sister Jen who flew in to help get the party started. Dad and Matt got in some golf, plus did manly stuff like figuring out electrical outlets and doing some heavy lifting around the house. I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time, although there was probaby some disappointment that Oliver did not listen to everyone's repeated pleas for him to come out and play while they were all here.
37 Weeks
So, on that note, happy 37 weeks to me! Oliver is considered full-term, and still taking his sweet time. Matt and I are now discussing when to ask the doctor about the likelihood of having to induce! I had the weekly doctor appointment on Friday and everything looks totally normal....in fact, it's like all of my pre-term labor symptoms never existed and the pregnancy has been on track the whole time. Mother Nature is so weird! Of course, now that there is no danger of delivering too early, and I am free to move about and go here and there and wherever, I have absolutely no energy! I am feeling every bit of Oliver's 6 lbs 11 oz. weighing me down with every step. You would think with this getting this great workout all the time, we pregnant chicks would come out of childbirth in better shape than before.

Happy Bump Day!

2010-05-26T14:01:00.000-05:00

9 Months
So, you might have noticed I've been a little lazy with the blog lately. Yeah, sorry about that. There's just not alot new to report on these days. It appears as though Oliver may have settled in for a long winter's nap! I do have a new bump pic to display for your viewing pleasure, and in fact, think I will do a recap so we can all see how much Oliver has grown (and me) over the past few months.

You might also be wondering why I do not have the same long-sleeved grey shirt on above that I usually do in the bump pictures. My response to your query is: So sue me. It is really freakin' hot and humid here this week and the thought of trying to squeeze myself into that shirt one more time makes me want to throw something. Oh, and I might be a tad hormonal these days. ;)
Now, here is a moving montage in descending order of size (feel free to play your own background music while perusing):

Well, apparently I only started taking these bump pics at 5 months along. This last pic is from Halloween, where I was pregnant, but no one else knew! Hey, when else am I going to be able to post a photo of our award-winning costumes?!

Put 'er there, Pardner!

2010-05-21T10:24:00.001-05:00

It's been a good week around the Coles house. First off, Matt is officially a partner at his veterinary clinic. Woo hoo! I'm so proud! You'd think this means he's all growed up. Well, you'd be wrong! ;) But, still, being part owner of a practice is quite an accomplishment (and alot of debt) to rack up at the young old age of 33. :)
36 Weeks
In other news, the doctor visit yesterday (Thursday) went well. I am dilated to a "3" (hey, if you're uncomfortable with a little TMI, you are reading the wrong blog), but Baby's head is not "engaged", so Doctor doesn't think Oliver is coming in the "next few days". In fact, he has not dropped at all. I think he is actually trying to come out the other way, as it feels like he is climbing over my ribs. Yeesh!
Anyways, Doctor told me I can feel comfortable moving around about the house more. I am translating this to mean move about more in general! So, look for me at a Baby Gap near you.

We are off to do a car seat check today. Matt installed it a couple of weeks ago, and while he swears he has it in the correct position, I am not so sure. We have even bugged our friends who have come to visit to check it out and weigh in. Opinions are mixed. I will be sure to let you know who the winner is in the great car seat debate (assuming it is me who wins). :)
Hope everyone out there has a great weekend!

The Baby Blahs

2010-05-16T16:03:00.001-05:00

Blech.
Was this week was the longest week ever on record for anyone else? No? Just me, eh. I know in the grand scheme of things, it's merely a blip on the radar, but my lord, if I watch any more HGTV, I am going to snap and end up rearranging all of the furniture, repainting all the rooms (and ceilings, for a more cozy and intimate feel), and covering our fireplace mantel using the newest trend in faux Venetian plastering!!!
35 Weeks
Good news from the Doctor. If my appointment and check go well this next week (read: No extreme dilation), then I can be downgraded (or would it be upgraded?) from the strictest level of bed rest and I should be able to resume a touch more activity. Like, I may actually get to leave my house every once in a while to go somewhere other than the doctor, such as the grocery store (for when I run out of Blue Bell cookies-n-cream), or the post office. These places never sounded so fun and exotic before! Now don't go thinking such crazy thoughts as I might go back to work. According to Doctor, we are still aiming for "low stress", and right before line review meetings at PSS would not qualify as such. Really. Seriously. I'm not making this up. Doctor's orders.
Who wouldn't want to hang in this crib?
I leave you with a couple of pics of the nursery, which is pretty much done, save for just a couple of wall hangings. Sure hope Oliver likes it, as he will have no say in his room decor for at least the next 5 years. :)

One small step for baby, one giant leap for the parents' checkbook!

2010-05-09T14:21:00.002-05:00

34 Weeks
Yes! We've made it to this milestone. Barring major complications, from here on out, whenever Oliver decides to grace us with his presence, he will do so at our hospital here in Lawrence. Whew! Way to save old Mom and Dad some money there, kiddo!
And, bonus, my friend Jami who just had her daughter at LMH this past week, informed me that we new moms get an ice cream cake when we are discharged. Sweet! (Literally.) I'm sure a little sugar will totally make those labor pains worth it. Well, sugar and being able to bring home that cute little bundle of baby. ;)
Click to "do the ice cream & cake":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaPgaG3z_ks

Happy Mother's Day
I hope all of you moms had a great Sunday today. Thank you for being such strong, positive influences in the lives of everyone you meet, not just your kids!
Love you, Mom.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, back to the Dr. we go!

2010-05-05T17:42:00.001-05:00

Introducing James Cameron's future Avatar VI: Revenge of Pandora's Box star:
Yesterday was our weekly doctor visit. I'm happy to report that, once again, I am no further progressed. I'm beginning to wonder if my body was just playing a practical joke on me the other week to start all this bruhaha. But, regardless, good news all around yesterday. At our sonogram (sadly, yesterday's will probably be the last one we get), I must have looked suitably pathetic, because the tech actually did some 3D pics and gave us a few for FREE! Sshh!
So, below is a cute close-up pic of Oliver's face. (Oh yeah! We have a name. Did I mention that? :) More on that in a bit.) Anyways, So the pic is of his face, and he's actually scowling at us. Also, he has a foot right up there at his face. And I do mean right up there. The image is kind of distorted, so his foot looks like something out of a horror movie, so try not to look at it too closely. Looks like Oliver is quite flexible. Hopefully he gets that foot out of the way when he decides to grace us with his presence!

What's in a name?
As I casually mentioned above, WE HAVE A NAME! Matt and I feel like we exhausted every possibility and combination and kept coming back to one: Oliver. Meaning: Elf Army. Yeah, we try not to dwell on that piece of history. Not that we aren't fans of Lord Of The Rings and all but...Anyways, we just really like the name, and hopefully, he will like it too and grow up to hate us for something other than his title. I kid, I kid.
Anyways, full name: Oliver Welman Coles. Welman comes from my family. It was my Grandpa's middle name (Dad's side), and Grandpa apparently went by Welman over his first name growing up. My oldest cousin on Dad's side, Ben, also has it as a middle name. There was some debate over whether it is spelled with one "L" or two, and lo and behold, it is just the one.
So, now you can all come up with whatever variation you would like to call him. Doesn't matter to us. There are several fun nicknames we have already come up with: "O", "OC", "The OC", "ODub", "Ollie" (bor-ing), "Olls Well" (as in "all's well that ends well" - Thanks, Heidi). I will probably just call him Oliver. Or most likely "Hellion" in a few years.

Shower time!

2010-05-02T14:53:00.003-05:00

First up - Shower Power!

WOW! What a weekend. There was alot of activity at our house the past couple of days. I supervised most of it from the couch. Both Matt's parent and my parents were up, as well as Matt's sister, Meghan. Why? You might ask. Well, there was a little event thrown by my fabulous friends this weekend, and our families didn't want to miss it. We had to cancel the Lawton shower since I can't travel, and I was very diligent about doing as little as possible this week in order to ensure I would be able to attend the Lawrence baby shower.

It was interesting to have such a full house. Poor Preston didn't know what to think. He already needs one of those beepers for when he backs up to give him clearance, and this weekend, there was stuff (and people) everywhere so he had even more difficulty maneuvering around. Of course, his daily breakfast of eggs a la Chef Jerry did alot to make up for his lack of space, I'm sure!

The shower was so much fun and it was soooo nice to get out of the house and socialize! I even put on makeup! Don't worry, I was forced to sit on Emily's couch the entire time, but it was still much more exciting to sit on her couch over mine - which is rapidly showing signs of a permanent dent from the one spot I sit on all the time.

Here are some pics of the shower. This may be the most pictures posted in one blog entry ever, so enjoy!

First up: Here is the cute diaper cake my talented mother made for the Lawton shower. She brought it up and it survived the drive!

And here are pics from the shower. Five wonderful friends hosted it and they were definitely the hostesses with the mostestes!

More exciting news

The nursery is very nearly complete! Our friend Angie, who is an amazing artist, was commissioned to produce some original artwork for the room. We coldn't be more thrilled with the results! Thanks, Angie!

The artist herself at the shower, with some of the other girls from the Animal Hospital Of Lawrence (thanks for coming, everyone!):

And last, but definitely not least...

33 weeks! Woo hoo! One more week and we should feel confident that we can deliver at Lawrence Memorial Hospital (babies born before 34 weeks are transferred to Overland Park's NICU unit - about an hour away). This next week will probably crawl by in anticipation of hitting this next milestone. But, hey, we've already come this far, baby!

No news is good news

2010-04-28T09:03:00.000-05:00

Doctor visit
Had our now weekly scheduled doctor visit yesterday. We had another ultrasound which meant we get to see our sweet boy being lively again! And the best news - I have not progressed any further from last week. Woo hoo! Maintaining is my M.O.! Doctor said a couple more weeks of kicking back and then we can talk about possibly upping the activity factor. Crossing my fingers I don't go crazy before then.
I have never loved the UPS man more than right now. He has been the highlight of my week so far - nicely ringing the doorbell and leaving me lots of fun packages. The hard part is not getting too excited and trying to bring them all in and open them myself!
Here is a great foot shot from yesterday. Dude is not a fan of being poked and prodded by the ultrasound lady.

8 Months

2010-04-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

Bump watch update

Okay, here we are at 8 months. Time for another pregnancy pic. I can't give up the grey shirt just yet, although, it is really getting a tad difficult to get over even my head these days!

These last few days have been fairly relaxing (to say the least), but I did at least get to have a little excitment. My mom and sister drove up on Friday morning to keep me company for the day/night. Jen flew into Lawton from D.C. for the shower that never happened, so I was thinking I was not going to get to see her at all, so it really was a great surprise that she didn't mind jumping in a car for six hours after her plane ride in order to come and see me in KS! And, she got acquainted with BC - he kicked a "hello" at her and she felt it!

32 Weeks

According to the reading, BC really should still be under 4 lbs. this week, about the weight of a "large jicama". However, we know from our sonogram last week, that BC is ahead of the curve, coming in around 4.3 lbs already. Therefore, in honor of his above-average maturity, I am doing away with the food comparisons. BC is now fully a "baby" in my mind, and should he be born today, a handsome little 4.3ish pound baby he would be (see below pic from last blog entry for cuteness factor)!

Ready for my close up, Mom!

2010-04-23T11:58:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture from our sonogram this week. BC was MUCH bigger this time around and wouldn't sit still very well, so all of the pictures were a bit blurry and hard to tell what part was what, if you know what I mean.
Still, here is a pretty good close up of his cute little face. You can clearly see his profile with nose and lips, and his little fingers are waving around up there right by his face. (Hopefully it's not just the middle finger we see there). :)
Some stats: BC is measuring around 4.3lbs this week. He's a week ahead on his growth! That comes out to about 56% in weight for his age. Also, the tech told us she could see that he has hair! I'm taking her word for it b/c I sure couldn't make out any sort of hair-like image, but still, very exciting stuff!

Simmer down now!

2010-04-21T08:44:00.000-05:00

Hey look! It's a Wednesday morning and I'm updating the blog. What up with that? Well, let me fill you in on the latest and greatest of BC's journey into the world.
My "nuisance contractions" (doctor's words) are still keepin' on keepin' on, although the drugs help slow them down. We went in to the doctor yesterday for our regularly scheduled 2 week appointment. We had a sonogram first, and BC is looking good! He's quite a bit bigger than the 20 week sono pictures, so I had a really hard time picking out which body part was which this time. Matt was freakishly good at it. We got a great printout pic of his face close up so I will be sure to post that soon (I now have time to actually learn how our scanner works!).
So, after the sono, we talked to the doctor. Apparently, the ultrasound showed the baby is down into position, and BC's head is maybe a little too close for comfort down there. I believe the word "effacement" was used. Yikes!
That means, effective immediately - as of yesterday - I am on bedrest from work. That also means I am unable to travel. I was supposed to have a baby shower in Lawton this Saturday and am super duper bummed that we have to cancel it. I was so looking forward to catching up with family and friends that I have not seen in a really long time. Sigh. Well, it just goes to show life is what happens when you are busy making plans! If this will help BC take a little more time before getting the party started, then so be it.
Maybe he just isn't a fan of his June birthstone????
And because a blog update really isn't all that interesting without a picture, here is a pic of the beautiful Wichita Mountains, one of the oldest mountain chains in the country, and found just a short drive from lovely Lawton, OK. Go visit today!

The Best Laid Plans

2010-04-18T17:59:00.000-05:00

Oh, so that's what those feel like!
Well, it's been an eventful week in pregnancy-ville. Long story short, I started having contractions last weekend that have lasted throughout the week. I went to the doctor and was monitored, given shots (and a darn bruise from an over-enthusiastic nurse), and examined, several times by several people (guess I was going to have to get over any modesty issues sooner or later from pregnancy). Apparently, I have a "cranky uterus" that is going a little crazy. My doctor says I am not going into actual labor right now, but these "nuisance contractions" just aren't letting up like regular Braxton-Hicks ones, so I'm on some drugs to relax the uterus so all of this movement doesn't trigger something that could lead to labor. So, thanks for all of the prayers and good wishes we've received this past week. Keep 'em coming! Just gotta hold off BC for a few more weeks! The doctor put me on bed rest over this weekend and gave me an oral prescription for the same stuff that was in the shots, and so far things have calmed down quite a bit, so hopefully things are going in the right direction. I just didn't plan on bed rest being part of my third trimester experience! Anyone know any good TV series I should netflix should this become a routine???

I want my mommy (and daddy)!
My parents were super nice and dropped their weekend plans to come up and take care of us. My mom cooked and cooked and cooked and made us lots of yummy and healthy meals to freeze and tide us over for awhile. My dad was game for running errands, walking the dog, and doing general heavy lifting. It was a blessing to have them here as a distraction and a help. I just realized that we never got them to play the Wii for the first time while they were here. THAT would have been some real entertainment for the weekend!

31 Weeks
Every week from now on will be gravy as far as I'm concerned. This week, not much has changed in the way of BC's size. According to the reading, he is starting to fatten up, weighing in around 3.3-3.5 lbs, about the same as carrying four navel oranges. Not sure how many oranges "they" tried before finding just the right number.

The Big 3-0

2010-04-12T18:50:00.000-05:00

30 Weeks
Yippee! We've made it to the three's. Even though it's still too early for BC to make his appearance, I feel like now is the time to hit the books hard in order to learn as much as possible about the first few weeks/months of his life and what we are in store for. Matt and I went to childbirth classes this weekend. We learned WAY more than we really wanted to know. And, I cried after one of the birthing videos. Hey, I saw one of the other dads in the room wipe his eyes too, so I know it wasn't just me being hormonal. Hopefully, they just make you overprepared at these classes so you will know all of the what if's even though they claim most of us will have a "normal" delivery. I am now smarter, and more scared! Of course, as soon as that first sleep-deprived day hits, I'm sure all of my newfound knowledge will go right out the window!
This week, I'm changing up the measurements. Instead of focusing on BC's length or weight (he's still around the size of a head of cabbage), let's see how much amniotic fluid we've got going on inside. Turns out it's about a pint and a half. Cheers!

That right there is a very fine chair.

2010-04-10T16:48:00.001-05:00

So, bit by bit the nursery is coming together. Here is a pic of the rocking chair that got delivered this past week. The little side table is the work of my talented Mother-In-Law who we keep telling should go into business selling her fabulous painted furniture creations.

Doctor Update
We went to our monthly checkup with Dr. Minderman on Tuesday. Everything is pretty much on schedule. I do start the two week checkups now so we will go back on the 20th of this month. And, we got some exciting news. We get to have another sonogram this next visit! Matt is really excited to be able to check out BC's progress since the 20 week ultrasound. And I hope to relieve a little of my paranoia about what is really going on inside that growing belly of mine!

Furniture pics!

2010-04-04T13:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!
It was so much fun to see all of the little ones in their Easter finest today at church. I'm already planning BC's Easter outfit for next year! I'm thinking a little driving cap could be the finishing touch. ;) And yes, I might have just a touch of baby-on-the-brain syndrome.

We've Been Set Up!
The furniture has arrived! The baby's room is looking like, well, a baby's room, finally. Here are some pics of our progress so far. The 1st picture shows the closest representation of the actual color of yellow.

Safety First
This past week Matt and I went to the first of several baby classes we signed up for at the hospital (because we need all the help we can get). This class was over infant safety and CPR. We learned quite a bit and are now even more freaked out about all of the injuries and accidents waiting to befall BC than we ever could have imagined! Next weekend is childbirth class. I am sure our eyes will be as big as saucers when that one is over.

29 Weeks
Almost to the 30's! I don't know why, but I will feel more like BC is almost here once we hit the 30 mark. We go to our monthly dr. checkup on Tuesday. Starting next month, I think the visits will be every two weeks.
According to the reading, BC is still in the 2.5-3.0 lb range, and his weight this week is similar to that of a butternut squash - not to be mistaken with Week 22's produce selection - a spaghetti squash. Butternuts are the kings of the squash world!

Uh-oh! Look who learned to use video.

2010-03-28T17:01:00.000-05:00

Get out! A video on the blog?
Ha! Take that stupid computer! Score: Technology 530, Ashley 1. I don't think everyone out there understands how big of a deal this breakthrough is for me. I finally figured out how to upload videos from our camera. Turns out we have videos that go WAY back - like from our honeymoon, that we've never seen on anything other than the tiny camera screen. Anyways, I figure the video feature on our camera will come in handy once BC finally makes his appearance (let me clarify: AFTER he makes his appearance, not DURING!). :) So, here is my film debut for you eager theater fans out there. I have entitled this short piece: How to Drive An OCD Dog Crazy. (It might be hard to see, but Preston is chasing a red laser beam around.) Enjoy!

The beginning of the end of the beginning...

2010-03-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

7 Months
We've come so far! The third trimester is officially underway. Either time will fly or drag from this point. We've got lots of activities on the calendar for the next three-ish months to occupy ourselves, from childbirth and care classes to showers to preparing for BC's arrival.
For those of you interested in the progress of "bump watch" 2010, here is another pic. This grey t-shirt that was super comfy around 4 months along is growing rather snug!

28 Weeks
According to the reading this week, BC is being measured by weight these days instead of height. He should be between 2.5-3lbs, which is roughly the weight of a Chinese cabbage. He is still between 14-15 inches long, and judging by the feel of him, he is all elbows and legs right now!

This was a busy weekend, and there's alot more to post, but the blog site is acting
up and it's driving me crazy, so I'll stop now until I figure out what's going on. It's really hard to be your own IT guy when you know nothing about IT!

The Master Plan

2010-03-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

So far, so good.

Everything is coming together nicely for the nursery. The bedding has been purchased (and is being shipped as we speak); all of the furniture is now in stock at USA Baby and will be delivered a week from Monday; and the paint color has been selected. Matt's parents are coming to visit next weekend and have been "volunteered" to assist in the actual painting of the room. Oh, and a rocker/glider is in the works as well (although, Matt may not necessarily know about this purchase until he reads this week's blog!). Just a few more details and I think the fabulous nursery I picture in my head will indeed become a reality! Of course, this means I now have to switch from thinking about a plan for the baby's room to an actual birth plan. Yikes!

27 Weeks

Depending on which pregnancy book you believe, this week marks either the last week of the 2nd trimester or the 1st week of the last trimester. I'm going to go with the former, in hopes my mental state will continue to believe that I am still in the "comfortable" stage of pregnancy for a wee bit longer.
This week marks another milestone of sorts. It's the first week of my "maternity leave" from teaching Zumba, the cardio-dance class I've been teaching non-stop for almost 3 years! I am both excited to have a break (and I know BC is too), and sad to leave this great workout that has kept me in the best shape of my adult life for the past few years. The future is up in the air, so who knows if I will go back to teaching after BC becomes the main focal point of life (I will refrain from using the abbreviation A.D. to reference post-baby life)! ;)
According to the reading, BC is the size of a head of cauliflower, which is actually kind of pretty, especially compared to Week 25's produce selection!

The twilight of a "childless couple"

2010-03-14T15:48:00.001-05:00

Feels like just yesterday...

Matt and I celebrated our six year wedding anniversary this weekend. I think we've had a pretty smooth and bump-free journey together thus far. Especially considering all that has happened in the past six years: We've made it through a move to Chicago, a bar exam, high-stress professions, a first house, a move to Kansas, a second house, the death of our treasured Bob, a second bar exam, the transition to a slower-paced occupational and personal life, the addition of our adorable Preston, a hernia surgery (someone's getting old!), and now, a baby on the way. Whew! Hopefully, we took the time to smell the roses along the way (I think we did our best), because our relationship is definitely about to turn in a whole new direction. And I'm told it's all for the better, which means we're in store for so much happiness we might be those people oozing with such joy it makes others sick. Fingers crossed!

26 Weeks
About 98 days left, give or take a few. According to the reading, BC (no, still no name) is the size of an English hot-house cucumber. As opposed to a cold-house one - those are the runts of the cucumber family. ;)

You are now entering the "family-friendly" zone

2010-03-07T19:53:00.001-06:00

We just enjoyed a packed weekend full of good friend time. A weekend gathering is definitely different these days from even just a year ago. Take Friday night: Matt & I went over to our friends, the Clothiers, to visit with some other friends, Bob and Candy Sittig, who were in town for a visit with their adorable baby, Bobby. Several other friends came over and I think by the time all was said and done, the same room was inhabited by a four-week old, a 3 month old, a 14 month old, and a 2 year old (not to mention a T-minus 3 month old). Needless to say, our Friday night wound down around 10pm.

25 Weeks
BC is gaining steadily these days, coming in at the size of a rutabaga, according to the reading. I have to ask, couldn't they have compared him to something just a bit more attractive???

Just For Kicks

2010-03-03T20:39:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was our monthly doctor's visit. I am happy to say I have nothing really to report. The heartbeat was a solid 150. I have been feeling much more movement lately, and even Matt is able to feel the action these days. In fact, BC gave the stethoscope a nice little kick for the doctor's benefit! Dr. Minderman said that BC must be pretty strong already if Matt is able to feel his "love taps". My uterus is supposed to be about the size of a soccer ball here in the next couple of weeks, which is fitting, as apparently I need to get used to being kicked around for the next few months!!!!

Funny

A pregnant lady was in an accident and she woke up in the hospital. She noticed she was not pregnant anymore and asked the nurse what happened to her baby.

The nurse said, "You have two healthy babies, a boy and a girl !" The lady said thankfully, "Oh, I must name them." But the nurse said, "You have been unconscious, so we called your brother and he has named them!"

The lady cried, "But he is as dumb as a box of rocks! So what did he name them?!?"

The nurse reassured her and said, "The girl is called 'Denise'". The woman replied, "Well, that is a pretty name, so what did he name my son?"

The nurse reluctantly replied, "Denephew".

Spanx For The Memories

2010-02-28T13:54:00.001-06:00

6 Months!
I can't believe it. I've been pregnant for half a year. Where does the time go? I thought I would mark this occasion by looking back on one of the funnier moments of pregnancy. But, first things first. Here is another installment of the oh-so-sought-after Bump Watch.

You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks
So, I don't think this story has officially been re-told blog-style, and it's definitely a good one, so here goes: Back around 8-ish weeks along, Matt & I decided it was finally time to break the good news to the parents. We had this marvelous idea of taking a picture of Preston with a sign around his neck that read "I'm going to be a big brother in about 7 months." We thought we'd email it to our parents, and then call them and tell them to check their emails.
Jerry and Melanie were the first to be called. Not only had Matt emailed Preston's picture to them, he
also sent it to their cell phones. Anyways, he called and talked to Jerry, and told him we sent a funny picture of Preston to their phones as well as email and they should check it out. After some chit chat about the weather, Matt hung up with Jerry, and it was my turn to call Ken & Karen. I talked to my mom and repeated the instructions that we sent them a funny email picture of Preston and they should check it out right away. She said "okay", and that was that.

Now, it's 30 minutes later and Matt and I are sitting on the couch staring at our phones and wondering why NO ONE has called us back yet! NOBODY! What else did they have going on on a Thursday night anyway? Finally, after maybe another 7 minutes, Melanie calls Matt and the hoopla commences. Turns out the picture via cell phone still hadn't made it to them (it might still be floating around in space to this day), and Jerry decided to take their dog out for a walk before getting around to sitting down at the old computer. Anywhoo, Matt's parents tell us how Melanie screamed so loud you could hear her down the street when they finally opened our email. So, they are thrilled, needless to say, and we eventually hang up with them. And yet, NOTHING still from my parents. What on earth is taking them so long? So, I call Mom back. She answers, sounding very sleepy. Below, I have provided a reenactment of our exchange, and also the infamous picture of Preston, our unwitting accomplice:

Me: "Mom? Were you asleep?"
Mom: "Hmm? Oh, I guess I dozed off for a minute?" (Mind you this is around 9:30 pm at this point in the night.)
Me: "So did you open the email we sent you guys?
Mom: "Um, well, I told your father to..."
Me: "Well, did he?"
Mom: "I don't know. I'll check. Kenny?"(shouting at the other room)
Dad: (from other room) "Yeah?"
Mom: "Did you open Ashley's email?"
Dad: "Yeah."
Mom: "And?"
Dad: "It says they're getting another dog."
Say what????!!!! Oh my poor father. It's a good thing he doesn't have to, like, solve problems and piece together bits and pieces of evidence for a living. Oh, wait....
Now, to be fair to Mom & Dad, they figured out the news pretty quickly after that little bit of confusion and there was lots of excitement and joy (and perhaps still disbelief) to go around!
Anyways, it was a pretty funny evening, looking back on it. Or, maybe you had to be there.

24 Weeks
If you're still reading, this week BC weighs just over a pound, and is the size of a...wait for it, wait for it....an ear of corn. That's just about a foot long. It's very odd to hear about something growing inside of you that can now be measured by feet!
And ears, so it seems. :)

Who's up for some curling?

2010-02-21T13:04:00.001-06:00

Super-Moms
Matt and I have been trying to watch as much of the Winter Olympics as we can (are we the only ones?) this past week. One note of interest is the "sport" of curling. There's a pregnant competitor this year! Now, granted, curling is not exactly strenuous activity; however, it got me thinking about the myth of our delicate condition, and how tough we mommas-to-be really are. Here are some other notable sport feats accomplished by some preggos:
Margaret Court - reached finals of Wimbledon in 1971
Michelle Granger - pitched two games for the 1996 U.S. Olympic softball team
Alison Hargreaves - in 1989, climbed the 5,000 ft. North Wall of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps
Jenny Potter - U.S. hockey player, played regularly for the Minnesota-Duluth ream in 2000 while pregnant.
While these women are very inspiring, mostly they just make me tired. I think I'll take a nap after this entry.

23 Weeks
This week was a quiet one on the baby front. Of course, gone are the early days where a few hours would go by and I would realize that I had forgotten I was pregnant for just a little while. No longer. Stairs are harder to climb, bending over is a pain, and my husband had to pull off my boots for me the other night, because it just seemed like an impossible task to accomplish at that moment. BC is making his presence known night and day, and I am having fun thinking about what kind of person I am growing inside. Is this what they call "baby on the brain" syndrome?
According to the reading, BC is the size of a large mango. De-lish! Also, he should be around 11 inches long. Crazy to think he's already half of what his birth length will be (well, assuming he's long like his dad)!

Where did I put that one thing I had in my hand?

2010-02-14T20:16:00.003-06:00

Pregnancy brain strikes! I was already prone to frequent bouts of forgetfulness pre-pregnancy, but these days it is out of control! My poor husband (who is not much better than I am) is about at his wit's end. This morning I put a plate in the silverware drawer. Sigh. Ironically, pregnant women are advised against taking gingko biloba.

22 Weeks

BC is the size of a spaghetti squash this week. He also weighs just about 1 lb. now. So, thus far it seems to take 17 lbs. of weight gain per 1 lb. of baby. But who's counting??? :)

Time to pack it in

2010-02-11T20:12:00.000-06:00

Funny how you can live in a house for 3.5 years and still have boxes sitting in a room that you have never unpacked. Well, luckily for us, that just makes clearing out the office to make way for the nursery that much easier. Matt is diligently working away at packing up all of our stuff and moving it either to the basement, or to a new owner - via craigslist. Man, we have some pretty desirable junk it seems. Here is a "before" pic of the baby's room.

I have switched fixations for the time being. I am leaving the name hunt be for now, and moving onto finding the theme for the nursery. It's much more fun to think about what type of bedding to buy and pictures to hang than to think about labor and delivery! :) Turns out Pottery Barn Kids does actually have sales on good stuff every once in awhile. So, the crib bedding has been purchased! Next step is painting and furniture shopping. This kid will have something I never have experienced: New bedroom furniture that actually matches! Stay tuned for pics on the progress of the nursery.

It's All Fun & Games Until It's Time To Pick A Name

2010-02-07T09:44:00.002-06:00

The Wacky World Of Baby Names
The quest of finding a name for BC has begun. I pay much more attention to any name I come across in a book, magazine, tv show or movie these days. Matt and I have made a list and are in the midst of checking it twice. The latest dilemna: To tell or not to tell? I find the pros of telling are to call "dibs" and let everyone know that this name is MINE! Of course, I've had others tell me that this is also a con, as once you let the world know, someone else who would never have thought of that name now will steal it and unveil it as their name too. All of the sneakiness and mystery gives me a headache. Rest assured, whatever we decide, the name will not be among those below. Seriously, celebrities are NOT like us!

Pilot Inspektor   (at least spell it right for crying out loud)
Audio Science   (hope he's good at math)
Tu Morrow   (they wanted to go with Yes Terday but it just wasn't catchy enough)
Jermajesty (Jer joking, right?)
Kal-El   (err, I've got nothing for this one)
Blanket   (he tries to stay out of the rain most days)
Moxie Crimefighter (b/c who doesn't love a comic book hero in their life?)
http://www.cracked.com/article_15765_the-20-most-bizarre-celebrity-baby-names_p2.html

21 Weeks
Quick! Quick! There's some quickening going on in here. I am starting to feel BC move around. It's exciting and disturbing at the same time. I know we've all seen Aliens with Sigourney Weaver and I think you can find the similarity pretty easily. Still, it's nice to be able to answer all of the questions with a "Yes! I am finally feeling the baby move!" :)
Also, BC is the lenth of a carrot this week. I just hope he's a little fatter around than one.

Drumroll, please....

2010-02-02T18:12:00.001-06:00

We are happy to announce, we are having a healthy......baby! :) More specifically, a healthy baby BOY!!! So, all you losers who guessed a girl, well, don't quit your day job! Ha! Okay, so here's the low-down from the appointment today: BC appears to be healthy in every way. He weighs 13 oz. which is just where he should be, and the due date has not changed (June 18th). Looks like he's going to be cutie, if I do say so myself. And I do!

In other less exciting news:
I don't want to be remiss in letting you in on the type of produce we're dealing with this week. According to the reading, BC is the length of a banana. Yes, folks, we've officially moved from measuring from crown to rump, to measuring full length, head to toe.
Look for the slideshow to see the progression of fruits and vegetables so far. Quite the cornucopia!

Bump Watch redux

2010-01-31T15:59:00.001-06:00

5 months
I can't believe we're at the halfway point. Week 20 is here and I feel like I've just started getting used to the idea of carrying around a living being inside of me. The changes will be coming fast and furious now. This weekend I co-hostessed my good friend Stacia's baby shower, and it is absolutely overwhelming the amount of STUFF needed to manage a tiny, 8-ish pound helpless baby. Stacia and Emily (another fab Lawrence friend) are kind enough to be my mentors as I register next week for all of these as of yet foreign things that I'm sure I will soon not be able to live without.
So, below left is 4 months and right is 5 months. I do believe there's something going on inside of there!

Get Lost!

2010-01-28T20:33:00.000-06:00

Seriously! Lost is back in 4 days. I'm almost as excited about this as finding out whether BC is a boy or girl! And, I'm a little sad that BC will not be able to have a true Lost experience except via re-runs. Sigh. Hmm, I wonder how Matt feels about the name Locke... for a boy, of course. Maybe Juliet for a girl? :)

19 Weeks

2010-01-25T19:47:00.002-06:00

Almost 5 months!
According to the reading, BC (Baby Coles will now be referenced by initials only until a proper name has been picked!) is now the size of a large heirloom tomato. Now I must not have come into contact with many heirloom tomatoes in my life b/c I would think a bell pepper (Week 18) is bigger than a tomato. But what do I know? See, this blog is educating all of us on the wide varieties of produce the world has to offer. Pick some up at your local farmers' market today!

Eyes up here, buddy! (but not really)
Just in the last few days, I have noticed that people are often-times looking at my belly first when I see them instead of the usual eye contact before a "hello". Anyone else notice this habit of others when you were pregnant? I don't mind it. In my head at least, it means people realize I am truly pregnant, instead of just letting myself go a little. :) Now I can sort of relate to how women who are blessed with certain larger-than-average, um, "assets", go through life dealing with attention.

Daily Soapbox Time!
It wouldn't be a true blog entry if I didn't put on my preacher hat for a minute. I ran across this interesting article about the high expectations in today's society/media about the length of time (or lack thereof) losing the "baby weight" should take a new mother. Case in point: Kourtney Kardashian's recent picture in a magazine was airbrushed to make it look as though she has already shed her pregnancy pounds - a mere 5 weeks after giving birth! Now, I secretly love all things Kardashian, and I pity poor Kourtney for clearly not living up to the outrageous standard we are all setting for ourselves. Anyways, give it a read if you're bored.
/http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-01-23/the-post-pregnancy-weight-loss-

It's a Bird. It's a Plane. It's a....
Okay, not long now. Next Tuesday we have our sonogram to hopefully find out whether BC is a he or a she. Cross your fingers BC is not shy!

Deep(ish) Thoughts

2010-01-23T14:20:00.002-06:00

It's a puke-free world
Woohoo! It's been over two weeks since I was cursed with a bout of morning sickness. I think it's safe to say I've turned a corner, onto a new street filled with lovely things like heartburn, hip pain, and a trip an hour to the ladies' room! :) Seriously, though, I am feeling good, and hate to complain (although I'm getting pretty good at it).

Proud to be an American?
You know how sometimes you have absolutely no interest in certain topics or social issues until they become relevant to your own situation - What? There was an earthquake? (Sorry, terrible example.) Anyways, now that I am forced to learn about things like how much maternity leave I get, and how much of it will be paid and at what %, etc., I am suddenly finding myself a little incensed at the insensitivity our country has toward working mothers - and fathers. I mean, even Russia, RUSSIA!, has a longer leave policy than we do. Rocky didn't beat Ivan Drago to represent a country that would have Adrian treated in such a rude manner after her pregnancy!
Below is a list of a few countries who make the U.S. look like a backwards, barbaric nation of women-hating workaholics. Yeah, totally not bitter or anything.
Family Leave around the World

Maternity Leave Policies*
UK	26 weeks. Most mothers will usually qualify to be paid Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance during ordinary maternity leave. Additional maternity leave available for up to 26 weeks, usually unpaid. A recent amendment makes it mandatory for women to take a minimum of two weeks’ maternity leave immediately after childbirth (four weeks’ minimum for factory workers). Pregnant employees may also be eligible for a Sure Start Maternity Grant,⁹ a one-time, tax-free payment offered to low income mothers to buy supplies for the baby which does not have to be paid back.¹⁰
Netherlands	16 weeks, 100% salary, under the Sickness Benefits Act, "with pregnancy treated as an illness for purposes of the act." If pregnancy or childbirth gives rise “incapacity for work,” the employee is eligible for 100% of her salary for up to an entire year during her illness.¹¹ Also offers parental leave for each parent for 13 weeks, 100% salary and unpaid leave for 26 weeks before the child’s 8th birthday as long as the person has been employed one year.¹²
Norway	3 weeks prior to the birth and 6 weeks after, 100% salary.¹³ May also take parental leave for 44 weeks at 100% salary or 54 weeks at 80% salary, shared with the father.¹⁴
Italy	5 months, 100% salary. Mothers may optionally abstain from work for an additional 6 months at 30% pay, and unpaid if the child is ill and under three years of age.¹²
Russia	10 weeks prior to the birth of the child plus 10 weeks after, “with social payments in the amount specified by the law.”¹⁵
Sweden	14 weeks, 7 prior and 7 after delivery, 100% salary.¹⁶ Parental leave follows for 76 weeks; 56 weeks at 100% (if 20% is covered by the employer) or 80% salary, 12 weeks at “a low flat rate,” and 12 weeks unpaid. 8 weeks of this is lost if not taken by the father.²⁰
Iceland	12 weeks, 4 weeks of which may be taken prior to childbirth. After, 24 weeks may be taken, or 12 weeks if shared with the father. 80% salary.²⁰
Australia	52 weeks, unpaid.¹⁷

www.catalyst.org/publication/240/family-leave-us-canada-and-global

Before I lose you completely...
Here's a fun pic of Preston and Matt from the other week. Because blogs are really only worth reading for the pictures, right? :)

Back To The Grind

2010-01-17T17:50:00.002-06:00

We just got back from spending a few relaxing days with Jerry & Melanie in Florida. Boy was it great timing to get away from the Kansas cold! Most of the time the temps were in the 70's, with a couple of nice, sunny days. Matt got in his share of golf (but didn't beat Jerry too badly this time around), and I survived 9 holes. Melanie was patient enough to take me around to some maternity stores, where I found some pants that actually work for me! Yea! (Tip: Gap Maternity is awesome!!!!) One thing I won't be repeating for awhile...do not attempt to play tennis for the first time in two years while pregnant. I am still sore. Although, Matt did say that he thought I played better pregnant. Wish I could say the same for my golf game!

The Word Is Out
Jerry and Melanie are so excited to become grandparents, that whenever we were introduced to friends of theirs who live in their golf community, the first words the introducees usually said to us were, "Congratulations!" It appears as though the good news spread even before our arrival. I wonder if Banjo knows his days as Grammy's #1 baby are numbered... :)

18 Weeks

So here I am at the 4 1/2 month stage, where, according to the reading, Baby Coles is the size of a bell pepper. I should start to feel some movements here and there around now, although I haven't felt anything yet. At least, not anything I can put a finger on that is for sure "baby". I am continuing to categorize all motions as indigestion, which I know for a fact has been going on in there since Day 1. :) Sorry, TMI!

The Name Game

We have started compiling a list of baby names, both girl and boy at this point, and welcome any suggestions. I know my mom is good about texting me whenever she runs across an interesting prospect! I'm sure there will be a poll soon, so be on the lookout.

Things That Go Bump

2010-01-10T10:35:00.001-06:00

Bump Watch 2010
Another week down! Time for the first installment of "Bump Watch 2010". Here I am at 4 months. Let's see how far this comfy grey shirt will stretch through the coming months.

17 Weeks
Baby Coles is now the size of a turnip. A turnip, you ask? Well, yes. Because a turnip is not at all an obscure piece of produce and anyone can easily conjure up an image of a turnip with its approximate length and width, right?

Say It Ain't Snow
This week, Matt and I are excited to visit Jerry & Melanie. We are looking forward to leaving the frozen, hilly plains of Eastern Kansas for the sunny warmth of Ft. Myers, Florida. Only this trip, Jerry, better make my bloody mary a virgin! I hope to be able to golf at least one round - maybe Baby Coles will actually improve my swing!

Doctor, Doctor, give me the news...

2010-01-05T18:36:00.000-06:00

Today we went to the doctor for my monthly checkup. Quite the boring appointment! I guess no news is good news. Matt finally got to hear the heatbeat. (I could have done with a little more enthusiasm, but that's for a different type of rant, err, post. ;)) The heartbeat was a healthy 163. For more on that see below.

A Weighty Matter
From day one of my pregnancy until now, I have gained 14 pounds. I was almost at peace with that, reasoning that if it took 4 months to gain 14 pounds, another 4 months at another 14 pounds would be right in line with what is a healthy pregnancy weight gain. Then Matt burst my bubble by commenting that everything he has read states that the bulk of weight gain happens in the last couple of months. So there we go.

Reasons why I think we are having a girl:

1. The Chinese birth calendar, which claims to be 93% correct, says we are having a boy.
2. I am craving orange juice more than I ever have in my life.
3. The heartbeat is 163 - and as the wives' tale goes, a heartbeat over 140 means girl.
4. Most of the people we know are having or recently have had boys, meaning our little universe is due for some evening out.

4 Months!

2010-01-03T09:52:00.001-06:00

I am starting Week 16 this week, and still waiting for that magical switch to flip and make my morning sickness disappear. This baby sure likes to remind me throughout the day that he/she is in charge!

Holy Guacamole
According to the various baby books I'm reading, Baby Coles is the size of an avacado this week. And suddenly, I have a craving for some spicy guacamole. It's actually kind of disturbing, associating food with babies to pregnant women, with our increased appetites and all. :)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T12:33:00.001-06:00

And Happy Birthday to Grammy-to-be, Melanie! I see 2010 as a year of change, promise, and hopefully a better economy! Here's to everyone's health, wealth, and dirty diapers. I really only have one resolution for this new year, and that is to be more organized....at least until the baby comes. Then, it's really just about survival, right??? :)

Awww...

2009-12-31T12:17:00.005-06:00

Here's a fun story I ran across today. Panda moms can't reproduce every year because birthing and raising a little panda is just too exhausting. The Duggards should take a note!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2788816/Exhausted-panda-mums-too-tired-to-have-cubs.html?OTC-RSS

In the beginning...

2009-12-30T15:53:00.001-06:00

Howdy

Well, here we are. The inaugural blog entry! I'm such a follower - a firm believer of the "everyone else is doing it" philosophy. Hey, it's gotten me where I am today: law school survivor, married, corporate job, and recently, a baby on the way!

What's in it for you?
I thought I would use this blog to document the trials and joys of my pregnancy. Hopefully some or all of you out there can relate to this life journey of mine. I'm a little late to the game, sitting here typing with my pre-pregnancy jeans unbuttoned at 15 weeks along, so I'll just give a brief recap of the previous 14 weeks of my "condition".

Pregnancy Weeks 1-14:

Week 1: Checked out a new super-trendy bar in KC - free drinks!
Week 2: Beerfest in Milwaukee
Week 3: Beerfest in Kansas
Week 4: The red dot never came. Peed on stick. Holy crap! Now what???
Week 5: Denial
Week 6: Denial
Week 7: Doctor. Yep, I'm pregnant! Regretting activities in weeks 1,2 and 3.
Week 8: Throw up. Halloween. How to attend costume party and not drink so that no one knows I'm not drinking? Easier than I thought.
Week 9: Throw up. Hmm, maybe I drank more than I thought I did in my pre-pregnancy life.
Week 10: Throw up. Told the parents: Jubilation, joy, and the requesting of the names Nana and Grammy within 5 minutes of knowledge!
Week 11: Throw up. Told friends. Lots of hugs and "I knew its!" to go around. Starting to get excited. At least I'm in good company.
Week 12: Throw up. Told work. Doctor. Heard the heartbeat! Oh my gosh, it's so real! Told husband not to come to this appointment as surely nothing interesting would happen. Oops! Sorry, Hon.
Week 13: Throw up. Clothes not fitting. Not mentally ready to shop in the maternity dept. Considering wearing only sweater dresses from now until June.
Week 14: Throw up. Christmas! Lots of food and family. Wore only sweatpants for approximately 6 days.

Is this blog entry ever going to end?

Made it to Week 15! New Year's Eve is tomorrow and I can't wait to break open this bottle of Welch's Sparkling White Grape juice I've been holding onto for the last week. Cheers!