The Brooks Family

2009 Was a Great Year

2010-01-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that 2009 has come and gone and Davey is 18 months old! Time really does fly when you're having fun... If that is the right word for it. :) Thank you to all of the people who made this year so much better for the 3 of us. We've definitely had our ups and downs (as most do), but our friends and family have made it an enjoyable ride!

Davey is getting bigger and smarter every day... learning all kinds of new tricks to impress us. His words are becoming much more clear and he's repeating almost everything that we say to him. I guess I need to start watching my potty mouth before he embarrasses me by repeating something naughty! He's still running and jumping and climbing and driving mommy up the wall with his constant energy. I am still grateful for a happy and healthy baby, even if he is "spirited"!

I will start my new job at Crossroads Chiropractic on January 4th and I am excited, but a little nervous too. I was very disappointed to have to leave Linda at Precious Memories, but I was going crazy trying to support my family without full-time pay or benefits. Davey loves Ms.Geneva, his care-giver while I'm at work, and he has adjusted well to seeing her everyday. It also makes my time with him more special. (And easier for both of us too!)

Mark has just a few more months of law school and he will start prepping for the Bar Exam this summer. We will not receive his results back from the Bar until about October or November of next year. I can't wait to have it all behind us! He's ready to enjoy being home for a while too, although with his friend/neighbor Josh moving away, I don't know what he'll do with himself. He got a golf membership to Cannongate for Christmas... I guess he'll have to find another golf buddy to hit the links with around here. :)

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2010 is fantastic for all of us!

August 2009

2009-08-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

So many teeth!!! He's had 8 teeth for about 5-6 months and is now getting 9!! teeth all at once.... Can you imagine?! With all these teeth coming in, the nursing has gotten a little difficult lately and we've had a couple of "incidents", so I've decided to wean. It's a lot easier this time than the last time, even though he has asked for it a couple of times. We doing really well with it... just in time for my trip to Santa Barbara! :)

Davey's newest thing is accessorizing. He loves to wear my flip flops or daddy's shoes around the house, although I think he prefers mine. (only because they fit him better) The other day he was walking around the house with my black flip flops on, a blue ribbon around his neck, carrying a blue and green basket. I WISH I had taken a picture of that! It was so funny! We bought him his own pair of flip flops the other day, but he still seems to find mine the most comfortable.

The doctor told us that his development is at a 20-month old's level, which is probably why we are going through the signs of the "terrible twos"... temper tantrums, biting, hitting, and pitching fits. Luckily, he's a pretty happy baby when he has 100% of your attention and loves to be in the middle of things. Such a ham, this one! He must get that from his daddy!!

Davey the Toddler

2009-06-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

So, my big man is officially ONE! I truly marvel at how much he has grown and changed over the past year... it's just AMAZING! He has gone from a tiny, helpless creature to an smart, independent child in just a few months. Davey, here are some of my favorite memories this year (in chronological order):
- Learning to nurse and having milk everywhere while we try to get ready for your first doctor's appointment
- You pooping and peeing on daddy during your first portraits at Mrs. Linda's
- Our trip to St.Louis with GiGi (Grammy) and how worried I was to give you formula for the first time (You were a champ about it, by the way.)
- Learning the ins and outs of cloth diapering
- Your baptism with Father Jim, who is a Georgia fan
- Our trip to Disney where you marveled at the lights and fountains
- Your first time in the pool with PawPaw Buddy, looking for hot chicks
- Teaching you to crawl and luring you across the room with the camera case
- Your first experience with bubbles while we did bath portraits at Mrs. Linda's... you were not too impressed and we couldn't get you to grab at them
- Your sweet hugs and kisses
- Trying to lure you into taking your first steps using the remote control as bait
- The first steps that I witnessed at Nanny and PawPaw's house, even though you walked for daddy earlier in the day
- Buying your first pair of shoes at Ansley's Attic and laughing as you squeaked around the floor... man, you thought those squeaky shoes were the coolest thing!

Those are the things that stick out to me the most. I wish I had time to write a blog post about each and every one!

The birthday party was fantastic. We had a sailboat/beach theme at the pool and all of the kids had a super time. I was so busy that I didn't even get any pictures, but luckily someone snagged my camera and took some shots for me after all of the fun in the pool. (IF ANYONE OUT THERE HAS POOL PICS, PLEASE EMAIL THEM TO ME!!) We had a great bar-b-que lunch and then Davey helped open cards and presents. He was SO exhausted as you can tell in the pictures! Davey got lots of cool toys, some shoes and clothes, a potty, and plenty of money to pay for his slide and new zoo-themed bedroom decor (very inexpensive at ikea-yay!). We also received a couple of gift cards from his favorite aunts and uncles so that we can shop for new toys and books as we see fit. Thanks!

Poor baby was so tired after all of that excitement. As soon as he was buckled into his carseat, he was out like a light! Mommy and daddy wished that they could take a nap too, but alas, there was too much cleaning and unpacking to be done.

Walking Tall

2009-06-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the delay in posting... so much has changed! On April 11, 2009 (a day after Davey turned 10 months old), he took his very first steps all by himself. Yay! Mark was home that Saturday morning while I was at work when it happened. Of course, as soon as I walked in the boys were showing off their new trick. That's been almost 2 months ago and he has really taken off now... it's more of a sprint than a walk now.
We bought him a pair of squeaky shoes at Ansley's Attic Children's Boutique that he absolutely LOVES. He'll walk around in circles just to hear himself squeak. It's the cutest thing!

April 2009

2009-04-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

This first pic is of Ben and Davey in a tickle fight! Ben is my friend AJ's son. They are visiting a neighbor of ours from an army base in Germany. Her husband David is stationed in Iraq and headed back this week. Keep this family in your prayers!

These next two are images of Davey at swim lessons. He's my little water baby! He had such a good time getting comfortable in the water and learning to chase noodles. We can't wait to enjoy the pools this summer!

So much has happened in a month! The last pic is one of my favorites and here's the story... If you know Grammy (GiGi), you know that her puppies are like her children. They know that she will always be there to love on them, pamper them, and of course, feed them from the table! Davey caught on quickly! This pic is of Davey and the four dogs begging for food in GiGi's kitchen.

New sounds

2009-03-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Davey is really experimenting with sounds. He still mostly say da-da-da, but he has learned to change the shape of his mouth to make new sounds too. Still no sign of anything that sounds like mama, oh well. The pictures here are of Davey saying "ooooooo" (as in moo, maybe?).
Another really cute thing that he's been doing lately is dancing in his high chair during dinner, unaccompanied by music, I might add. He will growl or grunt at Mark, take a bite of dinner, and then bop along in his chair as he chews. He really marches to the beat of a different drum. :-)

Davey is a smartey!

2009-03-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

Davey has been watching the Your Baby Can Read DVDs for almost 2 months and it is really helping him with his developmental milestones! He can clap and wave with the video and has even been doing it on command for a couple of weeks. He also seems to know "toes" and "yes" and "no", but of course he will only do these when he thinks we are not looking.

I will post some other videos and pictures that we took yesterday as well... it was a snow day here so we had a lot of fun indoors! Don't you just LOVE the monkey hat? :-)

My BIG boy...

2009-02-18T19:11:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, I got Davey the cutest whale thing to chart his growth throughout the years. I knew that I wanted to keep up with it for at least several years and perhaps even multiple kids, so I didn't want to apply it directly to my wall. I like our house, but I am pretty sure we will be moving within the next few years, especially if we have another baby. So, I went to Lowe's and bought a piece of acrylic today and put it all together. Davey helped as you can see. I just LOVE it! I wrote down the last couple of measurements from the doctor's office. It's amazing how much he's grown since birth! Before long we'll be planning his birthday party. I just can't believe it!

Sweet baby Davey

2009-02-04T11:18:00.001-08:00

Davey is doing so well! We started a play group last week and he just loves playing with all of the babies. He'll finally have some little boys to play with too! He's almost done with the first month of Your Baby Can Read and he's already finished reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Well, not exactly. But, he has started to clap and wave at the appropriate times when he is watching the video so, I have seen some progress.

I joined Facebook yesterday... finally! So, look me up if you're on there too. It's neat to see what everyone's up to. My friends say that it is addictive, but I am determined that it will not become an addiction for me- I just don't have the time!

Fast as fast can be...

2009-01-29T12:03:00.000-08:00

Davey has really taken off! He's crawling so much faster and has started to pull up on everything and even stand by himself for a few seconds. This video shows him crawling, standing and laughing at mama. Daddy still gets the best laughs, but I can usually illicit a chuckle or two.

He has at least 5 more teeth that I can see coming in right now, so he's really not been himself the past week or so and his sleeping patterns have gotten very sporadic. Last night he was up at 12pm, 2am, 3am, 5am, and 7am. He only stays up for a minute but it really takes a toll on me the next morning! Those sweet baby smiles and giggles the next day totally make up for it. :-)

He's having his 9 month portraits done at the end of February, a couple of weeks early, because he will have nearly outgrown the cute outfits that I got for him. Plus, we're doing pictures with the live bunnies for Easter at Precious Memories too. I will have to get a picture from Linda to post on my blog. They are SOOOO cute!

Box baby

2009-01-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

Since my last post, I've decided that I really need to update my blog more often so that I don't get overwhelmed by trying to catch up on 1 or 2 months at a time. So, I'm going to try to do a short post each week with pictures. I feel like I'll forget all of the little details otherwise.

So, this week Davey has discovered boxes. We invested in a learning program called "Your Baby Can Read" which came in a Davey-sized white box that he just loved! he likes the sound that the flaps make when he beats on them!

As I was doing laundry today I decided to put him in the laundry basket to see if he liked it and he did. There were no flaps to beat on, but he loved putting his mouth on the sides. He sat in the laundry basket for 20 minutes while he watched his DVD and looked in the mirror. What a cutey!

Crawling

2009-01-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have a crawling baby! Well, he is starting to at least... I took this video today and just HAD to post it so that the world can see how advanced my child is! (That's a joke, btw. I'm not one of THOSE parents.) Davey has grown so much. He has the cutest little laugh and daddy is best at getting it out of him. I'll have to upload a video of it sometime so that you can hear him... it's TOO cute! I can hardly believe the little man that he is turning into before my eyes. I see him change every single day

Major Updating

2009-01-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

31 weeks

30 weeks

29 weeks

28 weeks, Merry Christmas!

27 weeks kissing Claire

Disney

26 weeks, yes those are pants on his head

25 weeks, Thanksgiving

24 weeks

23 weeks

22 weeks

21 weeks

Well, I guess I'm not getting blogger-of-the-year awards for 2008... Can you believe it's been over 2 months since my last post? He's already over 7 months old! Those of you who know me well can certainly believe it. I'm going to try much harder to keep things current this year! So, these are the pics of Davey for all of the weeks I've missed. At least I remembered to take his picture, right? :-D

New pics

2008-11-03T05:33:00.001-08:00

Hey, hey! He's a monkey!

Halloween w/ Claire

Week 20- 2 teeth!!

Week 19 w/ Camper-bear

4 months... What a BIG boy!

2008-10-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

18 weeks
17 weeks
16 weeks
15 weeks
14 weeks

I just can't believe how much he has changed and how quickly! He's a chunky little booger, isn't he? So... things are going well with Davey- he's reaching new milestones every week. He's just recently found his little monkey toes, but has not put them in his mouth yet. He has rolled over both front to back and back to front, but has not rolled off the bed or couch yet. Thank goodness! He likes to sit up, but has a bad case of what his nanny, Jenn, calls the round bottoms where he kinda tumbles over without support.

As for breastfeeding: he is still doing pretty well. In the past few weeks I've had clogged milk ducts several times, which are very painful. And for the past week or so he has seemed a little disinterested in nursing during the day. I guess there's too much other stuff to do and look at! He is still solely on breast milk, but the fewer feedings during the day don't seem to be bothering him at all. He's certainly not loosing any weight as you can see in his pics!

As for cloth diapering: we're still doing pretty well. He wears cloth diapers most of the time when I'm home with him between Thursday - Monday. We still use disposable at night and when we're out and about. I think we save ourselves 10-15 diapers a week at this point.

Enjoy the pics! More to come very soon!

Rollin' right along...

2008-09-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

13 weeks

GO DAWGS!
12 weeks
11 weeks

So, today is Davey's 3 month milestone. It feels like he's been part of our life forever. And I can't believe how big he's getting! Carolyn and I have an ongoing joke about how "advanced" our little ones are. Although he's not as dexterous as Claire (Carolyn's 15 week old), he's rolling over (video soon to come) and showing a lot of strength in his neck and kicking his legs. He loves to walk up and down mommy's tummy!

Davey is my little morning lark and is happiest around 6 a.m. He laughs and talks and giggles at us in bed as we struggle to wake up. I'm a morning person anyway, so I'm okay to be up with him. Daddy's a little tougher to rouse that early, but I've never seen him more thrilled to be awake than when his baby boy is laughing at him.

I finally feel like we're getting into the grove of things. We are not on a "schedule" per se because our lifestyle doesn't require that, but we are definitely communicating with each other and the baby more effectively. I can't wait to hear him say "I love you." I think those will be his first words because he hears them SO much! Mommy-hood definitely suits me and I'm eager to have another baby as soon as possible. For now, I am thoroughly enjoying the one that I have.

Whatta Cutie!

2008-08-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sitting in BUMPO

10 weeks

Sleepy-Heads

9 weeks

Well, Baby Davey is doing pretty good... He's been up at 2-3 a.m. the past couple of mornings and doesn't want to go back to sleep though. It's frustrating! But, when I see those beautiful smiles I can't help but love him anyway. Man, am I tired though!

2008-08-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Today
8 weeks
7 weeks
6 weeks

2 months

2008-08-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

5 weeks
4 weeks
3 weeks
2 weeks

So, I am a bad blogger... he's 2 months old today and has changed so much already as you can see by the pictures!

Motherhood definitely suits me. I enjoy him so much- even when he's screaming. :-D It's taken a while for us to get used to each other but I think I am finally clear on a few of his expectations:
1. Do not let daddy near me when I'm sleeping or his picking on me WILL wake me up.
2. If I'm crying, I expect to be fed, changed, or picked up immediately.
3. When all of the above fail, put me in the bathtub.
4. Do not even think about clipping my nails when I'm awake!
5. I will usually poop right after you've changed my diaper- get used to it.
6. Talk to me in silly voices and make lots of funny faces at me in the morning to start the day off right.
7. Love me with all of your heart and I will reward you with lots of smiles and coos.

Cloth diapering is going well. I figure we've already saved almost $40 in the last 3 weeks! He looks so cute in his little gDiapers! He still wears disposable at night because they are a little more absorbent.

Speaking of night.... last night he finally slept from 11pm-4am. Normally, he wakes at around 1:30am to nurse. I'm hoping this is a new habit and maybe he'll drop that 4am feeding soon too! I can't wait to get more than 2 or 3 hours of consecutive sleep again!!

Mark is a good daddy and loves to play and nap with Davey. The baby looks just like Mark, especially when he holds him. They have so much fun together already. I bet Mark can't wait until he's a little older and can rough house a little... Davey will be tough as nails by then! Overall he's a real sweet baby and just as handsome as could be- wouldn't you agree?

He's here!!

2008-06-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world David Crawford Brooks! After 28 hours of labor, Davey was born happy, healthy, and drug free at 2:07 a.m. on June 10th, 2008. He weighed 7 lbs. 9.2 oz. and was 20 inches long. Labor was the hardest thing I've ever done and I'm so proud that I was able to make it though with no medical interventions. Don't get me wrong, I was crying for the epidural after 22 hours and only 6 cm dilation, but with the support and encouragement from Mark, mama, our doula, Kristin, and our wonderful midwife, Eileen, I was able to make it all the way through.

The nurses and midwife joked that housekeeping at the hospital was going to wonder what the hell happed on the 2nd floor after I had been in almost every room and shower and used every wash cloth and pillow in the hospital during labor. They nicknamed the event "Hurricane Davey". Everyone was super supportive and I couldn't have done it without all of them! Mark was especially encouraging even though he was exhausted and frustrated too. The midwife even let him deliver the baby! What an experience for everyone!

We're home and still trying to get adjusted to the little fella, but we're doing really well so far. Davey sleeps a lot but is a good baby even when he's awake and looking around. He loves to lay on Mark's chest! Breastfeeding is going okay, just a couple of obstacles to overcome. (I was going to call the obstacles speed bumps, but it just sounded a little funny.) We are currently still in disposable diapers until he can fit into the cloth ones we bought so I will let you know how that goes soon.

For now, enjoy the pictures! More to follow...

Lots of NEW....

2008-05-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

So, less than a month (hopefully) before Davey's arrival we are experiencing some great new things...

First of all, we had our maternity portraits done at Precious Memories Portraits (see website and PMP blog under my links). They turned out so great! You can view the proofs, which are uncropped and unretouched (as you will notice by my not so pretty belly button and Harry Potter stretch mark) but they are still amazing if I do say so myself! www.preciousmemoriesportraits.com/sam I am happy to report that the only thing bony on my body these days are my feet and knees. Everything else is appropriately ROUND. :-) And Mark was a real trouper! We've narrowed over 100 pictures down to our favorite 20 or so and are planning to get an album and a bigger one to hang in the nursery. YAY!!

Also, we have decided to switch doctors and go with a group in Newnan that is more supportive of natural childbirth. Some people may think that it's a little in the game to be changing providers, but I feel much more confident about the care and support that I will receive from this group and I am thrilled that they've accepted me as a patient! Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!

Natural Childbirth

2008-05-07T03:25:00.000-07:00

There are a few things in life that I feel very strongly about and one of them is my decision to have a natural childbirth. I don't have a problem with those who choose to have an epidural or cesarian section, because ultimately, whatever a person chooses is right for them as long as it is an educated choice. What I am frustrated with is the lack of emotional support that I and others in my position often experience from friends, family, doctors, and hospital staff. Everyone says the same thing: "Well, Samantha, you just need to know that it may not happen that way (the natural way)." Sometimes I fell like saying "oh, really?" in my most sarcastic tone. If someone has planned for a natural birth, USUALLY it's because they have done a ton of research on their own, and thus know the potential hazards of childbirth and should have a pretty good idea of what their own body can or cannot handle.

I watched a documentary yesterday that has me all fired up. :-D It's a long one, so get cozy if you plan to take a look! http://quicksilverscreen.com/watch?video=45525 Now, these women are actually planning to have home births, which I am not. With this being my first child I thought we'd better do the hospital thing just in case, but I do plan to spend a majority of my labor at home, not in a hospital bed. As the time draws near (5 weeks or so to go) I am already started to get the feeling from my doctors and the hospital staff that they do not prefer people who have natural childbirth. My friend, Carolyn, who is due next week is feeling similarly. As a matter of fact, one of the labor and delivery nurses said to me "If you want to be in pain for 3 hours or more trying to push that baby out- go for it!" I chose to look at this optimistically, deciding this meant that they would definitely be supportive, but I have my doubts.

Well, that is enough for now. I hope some of you will watch that video and get a better understanding of natural childbirth. Many of you may just think I'm a big hippie... that's okay too. :-) If there is one thing I'd want you to take away from it- that would be to really be encouraging to women that you know who desire this experience for their family. Now that I've put this out there to the world, I will probably end up with a c-section and you can all get a good laugh at me. :-D Honestly, as long as Davey is happy and healthy, who could ask for anything more?

Baby Dimensions

2008-04-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

What an experience! I can't begin to describe what an amazing time we had at Baby Dimensions last night. Davey was not very active during the ultrasound (although he became quite active at 11pm), but we still got some really good shots of his cute little face. He is all balled up inside me and LOVES to have his hands and feet in his mouth, which made it a little difficult for Stacey, the US tech, to get good face shots. She was so patient and gentle. We had several friends and family attend. It was so nice to be able to share the experience with everyone! I am even more excited now to see him in 8 weeks or so!

Speaking of... I thought I'd take a minute to give you all a little update on how things are going. I can't believe we are only 8 weeks (10 weeks at the most) away from having a baby! The nursery is really looking great- just a few final touches needed. We've decided to do cloth diapers (for the majority of the time) and I'm really nervous about it. I know it will be a great way to save some money (and the earth too).

Davey moves around A LOT. Mark's mom (Nannie) said that Mark was hyper in the womb as well. Of course, she admits to drinking a lot of Coca-Cola when she was pregnant with him. That must be why he likes it so much! Now that he's getting bigger (an estimated 15 inches and 3-4 pounds), he's running out of space to float around and his little jabs and kicks are starting to hurt! I'm hoping that his constant motion will tire him out a bit by the time he's born and he'll be ready to rest. :-)

We've all gone through so many changes since October. Obviously, my whole body has changed, but we've also been trying to lead a better lifestyle. No smoking for me and MUCH less for Mark, eating natural (non-processed) foods and some organic fruits and veggies, whole food supplements (Juice Plus+) instead of vitamins, buying cloth diapers and BPA-free (or glass) bottles for Davey just to name a few. Mark is so patient about all of the changes and has not been as resistant as I had originally anticipated. We've also been attending church more regularly and trying really hard to "better" ourselves in many ways. Mark has really concentrated on his patience with me and his language... he loves that F-bomb! I'm really working on my organizational habits and cleaning so that I will be a better and more put-together mom (and wife). I think we've really come a long way in the past 7 months and I'm proud of us both! Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and helpful along the way!

Diaper Bag

2008-03-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

These are the fabrics that I decided on for one of my diaper bags... cute, huh!

11 weeks and counting...

2008-03-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

I am officially in my 3rd trimester... the countdown really begins! These few pics were done at around 23 weeks... I"m just getting them posted a month later. Things are really starting to come together at home. The bonus room looks good and the nursery furniture is all in place. I get so excited when I imagine mon petite Davey sleeping in his crib or rocking with me in the glider! My main focus right now is trying to organize and clean the house (especially my office) before fatigue sets in again.

My PartyLite business has been slower than normal the past 2 months, but we are still paying our bills on time so I can't complain. I imagine it will be very tough once the baby is here, but I can't imagine giving up my time at home to work a regular 40-hour/week in Atlanta and putting the baby in daycare. It would break my heart!

Otherwise, things are really good. My exercise class is kicking my butt and my chiropractor is cracking my back. All of my tests have come back normal and I've gained just the right amount of weight so far (24 pounds). I will be seeing the doc every other week from now on. As we get closer to the due date we will go more often. Thanks for checking in on us! :-D

The nursery

2008-03-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

I had the most wonderful baby shower on Feb. 23rd! We got so much stuff that we REALLY needed and I've finally been able to start putting the nursery together a little bit. I am so proud of how it is coming together... some nights I just sit in my rocker and watch tv in the nursery instead of the big 40" hdtv in the living room. Davy loves to rock! My next big venture will be choosing a pattern for my diaper bag.

Pics at 18 weeks

2008-02-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

It's definitely a boy...

"Hi mom and dad!"

Profile view of Davy

It's a BOY!

2008-01-23T15:57:00.000-08:00

What a surprise!! Mark had me convinced, despite my initial gut feeling, that we would most definitely be having a girl. To his credit, he had pretty good logic behind the girl hypothesis... His dad has 11 siblings and Mark is the only male grandchild to carry on the Brooks name. So, it was all up to him to parent another male to continue to carry the Brooks name forward and he was convinced that it would take a few tries before that would happen. I am very excited and I can't wait to finally introduce David Crawford Brooks to the world in 4 months! I will post pics as soon as Mark scans them in for me. :-)

Other news:

The bonus room is only lacking paint and carpet to be move-in ready. Mark is very eager to get the room finished so that he can have his own space. I will be relieved to finally start working on the baby's nursery once our junk is moved out of the back bedroom and upstairs into the new room. It's going to be a nice retreat for Mark, especially during finals!

2008-01-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

So, it seems to be the "thing to do" to blog about things that the previous year has taught us and what we will change in the New Year. I've never been one to make a "New Year's resolution", but I do feel compelled to share a some things with my friends and family...

Looking back:

1. I am so proud of myself for quitting smoking (again) in October... even though it took a positive pregnancy test to make that happen. It will stick this time!

2. Moving to a new part of town was difficult, but I've been so blessed with great new friends and neighbors! You know who you are!

3. Owning a business can be a tough job sometimes, but it always keeps me on my toes. I had more than a couple of slow months this year, but we still paid all of our bills on time!

4. I love both of my jobs so much and am blessed with wonderful people to work with!

5. I have a lovely family who are very supportive and caring. Although we may not see each other as often as I'd like- I know they love me and this year has been proof of that. We've suffered through births, deaths, illnesses, distance, and over-all shortage of time, but we've made it through everything with grace and dignity.

Looking forward:

1. This will be our year of health! Exercise classes, Juice Plus+ supplements, organic produce, and watching for dangerous additives in food (high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and Red 40 coloring). Mark can call me a hippie all he wants, but we will be a health-conscious family and he WILL at least try oatmeal bread.... or starve! :-D hahaha <-- evil laugh

2. 2008 will also be a year of productivity... It's crunch time for work! I will make more money than last year at my two jobs. I've got to protect my stay-at-home lifestyle once the baby is here.

3. I am going to be in planning-mode until mon petit oeuf arrives and I'm determined to pull everything together before the end of May.

4. I see travel in my future... Thanks to PartyLite I will be taking a 7-day cruise in May (if the doc permits) and thanks to my very good friend, Vickie, I will be able to fly as a companion with AirTran until June. I plan to go to the Mall of America, San Clemente, CA, Santa Barbara, CA, a beach anywhere once it's a little warmer, St.Louis, New York, New Orleans, and hopefully many other fun places before I loose my ability to fit in an airline seat. :-)

I want to say thank you to every friend and family member who has been there for me in 2007 even if you only played a small role. The little notes and e-mails go a long way too! I wish health and abundance to you all in 2008!

Week 8-12

2007-12-09T17:35:00.000-08:00

The first trimester is coming to a close and THANK GOODNESS! I'm still fatigued, but no longer having any sickness. Our last ultrasound was done on November 30th. It's not the greatest shot because mon petit oeuf was moving around so much we couldn't get a good pic! It's funny how "real" it is when I can actually see the little booger doing flips and hear the heartbeat... Otherwise, my shrinking clothes are the only indication of a growing, living being inside of me.

My preggo friend, Carolyn, and I had such a great time at Babies-R-Us a couple of weeks ago with Jenn registering for baby stuff. There's so much to think about with the first baby- we're starting from scratch! And all of the different brands and styles and prices can be overwhelming. What a huge help it is to have such great friends around to offer advice! Look me up on www.babiesrus.com and feel free to offer some input on other items/brands we might consider getting for mon petit oeuf. We already have a Boppy and plan to register for a Medela pump and Bumbo soon too. Sounds like jibberish to some of you doesn't it?!

The contractors will be starting work on our bonus ("man") room this month, but will probably not be completely finished until January because of Christmas. Speaking of which, we are very excited about Christmas this year as we will be hosting the family festivities at our home! Gives me a great excuse to keep the house clean... We opted not to get a Christmas tree this year due to a lack of space. (Also, I am too lazy to sweep and water every day!) We did put up a small "fake" tree to put presents under. It's not the same, but next year it's on!!

It's been fun updating everyone! I hope that you're all well. Until next time...

2007-11-19T04:02:00.000-08:00

The first pic is at 4 weeks gestation and the bottom one is 6 weeks. Yes, the top one is sideways... This is Mark's first contribution to the blog. (Thanks, darling, for scanning them for me!) According to my day-by-day pregnancy guide the baby will start really taking form (more human than peanut) by our next appointment, which is November 30th. More pictures to come!! I will write about my exciting trip to Babies-R-Us very soon. Happy Thanksgiving week!

Weeks 1-8

2007-11-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

Well, the first 2 months have gone by smoothly with the exception of a little sickness and pain here and there. I am looking forward to the end of this trimester so that I will be done with the nausea. We have already gotten to have 2 ultrasounds and hear the heartbeat! Mon petit oeuf is very petit, only 1.05 cm at the visit last Friday. I am looking forward to our next appointment... mom and Sarah are going to come along since Mark won't be able to make it.

Mark has been great so far. He gets me food when I'm not feeling well and has really been looking after me. We are having to do a lot of planning before mon petit oeuf arrives... budgeting, building, baby-proofing, moving stuff, and buying stuff. And I have GOT to learn to get and stay organized asap! We are adding a bonus room above our garage and moving his office and part of my PartyLite stuff up there so that we can have a guest bedroom (for Grammy) and a nursery (for baby and mama).

According to our monthly budget we should have an extra $1400 a month to spend/save before the baby comes. I'd really like to know where all that money goes now (besides paying off law school last year and the thousands of dollars that we racked up on our credit card buying appliances and furniture for the new house). I've printed out some reports from Quicken and it's not looking good for me. Apparently most of the disposable income goes towards clothes, hair, and other niceties that I really don't need. *sigh* We were perhaps spending a little too much on beer and cigarettes as well. That should be an easy fix! :-)

More to come....