Matt

Have I told you all the things that Matt does for me? He does a LOT!

• He painted my toenails!
• He makes me whatever I want for breakfast - anything! ...even on a weekday.
• He wakes up at anytime of the day or night to rub my back or to touch the baby.
• He makes dinner that I like (and cleans the kitchen!) every night.
• He retrieves things from downstairs when I'm upstairs and carries things upstairs when I'm downstairs. He'll get ice water at 2 am, then chocolate soy milk at 4 am. Then when Duchess whines at 6 am, he'll still get up.
  
• He helps me put my shoes on if I'm having difficulty.
• He feeds, walks & entertains the dogs. He'll even take them to work with him if they are annoying me (e.g. Duchess whining).
  
• He got us a 2 year supply of batteries (AA, C, D - all the ones that the baby toys need).
• He'll drive around at night until I am satisfied that there are no dessert places that are still open to serve tres leches or any other rich, delicious goodies. He'll even offer to buy something at the grocery store to make it at home.
• He started paying for gas in my car! (I'm sure it's only because it's a Honda.)

Now, if I can just get him to buy some toilet paper, he'd be absolutely perfect!

cool like everyone else

Lately I've noticed that most of my friends have peace sign necklaces or t-shirts. I wanted to be like them...so...Cathy painted a peace sign on my 37 week belly! Thanks Cathy! The dogs are thrilled to be in this picture, can't you tell? It's a Wednesday evening...after a long day at work for me, a long day of destroying paper products for Penny and Duchess is just generally upset because she's getting old. We're one happy family! 14 days to go. I wonder how we'll all look like 3 weeks from now?

15 Days To Go.... and counting

Those of you that have children can only guess how wonderful and peaceful day to day life is around the house at this point; and every day from here it only gets better! Laura continues to make sure I know what it is like to try and sleep with roughly 15 lbs of alien growing inside and kicking between her ribs. She particularly likes to let me know when she feels a kick at 3:30 AM. Her excuse is that this is only practice for when the baby cries in the middle of the night, but really it is her excuse to wake me up to rub her back or to get her a glass of water. Personally, I don't have a problem waking up for a baby, but don't need any practice; I'm sure I can master the task when the time arises.

The baby's room is now officially finished with the shelves and the last picture being hung this weekend, and the blackout shades installed. The only finishing touch is a small lamp, but Laura wants to wait for the arrival before deciding on a final style.

20 days to go

We can't wait for the baby to arrive! We want our baby to meet baby Jack!

Penny can sense the upcoming arrival. We can tell by the amount of things she's destroying. First there were the pink baby tights that a friend gave to me to bring on the girl karma. Next she chewed up a computer power supply along with a nursing book that was given to me. (In Penny's defense, the power supply and nursing book came from homes with cats, so she must have stiffed the feline funk and decided to destroy.)

Duchess is doing her part to let us know about the potential upheaval and changes to come. She is barfing more but walking on all four legs. I'm not sure which is better: carrying a 28 pound dog around or being grossed out by dog vomit. Matt suggests that she's just trying to get us accustomed to baby spit-up.

I'm feeling great. The baby definitely has less room to move around so everything moves when he or she moves. There's not much kicking or sudden movements, just stretching. The doctor visits continue to go well. Blood pressure is fine, baby heart rate is fine and weight gain is good (21 lbs when it's suggested to gain between 25-35 total). I love going to work just to think about other things and because it's easy to be at work when the responsibilities are diminished. I'm going out to lunch and dinner with friends with big farewells, knowing that the next time I meet them for lunch or dinner that it'll be with a baby in tow!

a cat's nose

Matt thinks my belly button looks like a cat's nose. What do you think? I'm actually quite grossed out by my own belly button. It sticks out even when under 3 layers of clothes! I never thought that I would have one of those pregnancy bellies...stretch-marked with a deformed belly button. Other than that, my overall belly shape is pretty adorable, round and cute. You still can't tell that I'm pregnant from behind, so I'm told.

a visit with Jack

Aunt Laura and Uncle Matt visited Jack!

Jack is a good looking baby and just adorable! We love his cry. He grimaces and lets you know it's about to come out and then it's there... a loud, huge, pterodactyl cry! He sounds like a baby dinosaur! John and Ashley will be home Wednesday so they'll start updating you soon. They are such proud and happy parents! Congratulations!

Jack's here!

I'm an aunt! Jack arrived today, January 19th at 12:01 pm. He's 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He's a good-looking kid! I can't wait to hear more details from John and Ashley.

Ashley, John and Jack

Ashley and John are at the hospital! It's so exciting! We're expecting to meet Jack later today. Pray and keep your fingers crossed that everything goes as planned.

Project Ending

At work, Matt's project is coming to an end. What will be next? maybe a move, maybe a new project, maybe nothing, maybe... We'll see what's on the horizon, but a few options were loosely thrown on the table. Guess: What is the city of love? or What is a city to eat bangers and mash? There's also an option to cross the equator and date line. Guess: What is a city that rhymes with la-fart-a?

All these new things! A new baby, a new car, a new year (I'm 34 years old now!) and a new job?! We'll see...

Tiffany visits

My best friend, Tiffany, visited us this weekend. (I have known her since 1st grade when we met in Sunday school class.) It was so wonderful to see her!

First we went to my family baby shower hosted by Aunt Pat. It was a great shower! We played some really fun games and had a great time visiting with my other aunts and family friends.

Next we went to dinner with Kathy and Patrick and talked lots about dogs and cats! Tiffany is veterinarian so she's full of interesting stories and good advice.

...So, her assessment of Duchess is that she has a torn ACL (a ligament). It's a knee problem that isn't likely to resolve since Duchess still won't put any weight on it. If Duchess were younger or if she was having difficulty getting around, she would recommend surgery. Considering her age and adjustment to being a 3 legged-dog, she suggests the joint chews to keep her joints running smooth and some pain medication. No one thinks that Duchess is in any pain, but the medication may make her feel more comfortable hopping around. Like we've said, Duchess hasn't slowed down a bit. She still goes on walks, runs (hops) around the house and keeps Penny in her place. She has gone up the stairs on her own and can jump on the couch, but prefers to have us carry her to where ever we are going.

New Car!

We bought a new car Friday night! Thank you to Mr. Allison (you know, the greatest mechanic!) - He negotiated the whole deal. All I had to do was stop by the credit union to sign the loan, take the Tahoe title to the dealer and pick up our new car! It's a 2007 Honda Pilot! It's in excellent condition and I just love it. Matt likes it because it's a Honda. (btw, this is the first foreign car bought in the C family.) I love it for all the girly reasons: it's a classy black color, it has leather seats that don't attract dog hair, it has a mirror to see the back/baby seat, it has a middle seat head rest so I can attach a baby mirror, it has lots of compartments to hide stuff and it's slightly shorter than the Tahoe so I can get in/out without a little hop. The best part is that the infant car seat matches!

Matt's face

(This picture was taken 4 days after the post...so it looks much better!)
Matt had a basal cell carcinoma (non-cancerous) removed from his cheek. His right eye is almost swollen closed and he has a large bandage with multiple stitches underneath. Yuck! He came home early from work to commiserate with the dogs by his side. He's recovering with meds and an ice pack.

new car needed

Mr. Allison (the greatest mechanic) says...it's time...for a new car. The Tahoe is 9 years old with $160K+ miles and starting to show signs that it may be costly to keep. It's quite a bummer for me since it was my first car to buy on my own. I love that car (even when it was costly to fuel up)! As you can imagine, Matt and I have very different opinions about new/used car options so we're sticking to the ratings.

2-11-09

February 11, 2009 - that's the date of the baby's birth! It's scheduled! Now the big surprise will be whether the baby is a boy or girl!

stretched

It's all Matt's fault. He has a big head and apparently, so does the baby. I have stretch marks and it's horrible. They are right where the baby's head is, below my belly button. That baby won't move to the sides at all - just keeps pushing out, right in front. I've been using cream(s) all along, but they're not sure proof (obviously). I'm still told that you can't even tell I'm pregnant from a view from behind. Matt says it's because I'm petite and didn't have a lot of extra room and stretch built in so that's a definite compliment. I just hope that they go away or aren't very noticeable later. My weight gain is "good" according to my doctor; only 16 pounds at 34 weeks.

Oh well.

class

Matt and I went to a private class at the hospital on Saturday. We know all the details about the birth. It was great! We've got our lists ready! We've picked out the homecoming outfit for me and the baby. The car seat is in the car. We just need 4 things when we walk in the door of the hospital - camera, socks, cord blood kit and the baby book so he/she can get it's footprints in the fancy book instead of the standard piece of paper. We're getting excited! The baby's room is getting finished too. Shelves are mostly up. Clothes are in their place. Pictures need to be hung and sheets need to be washed...but that's it!

New Year's Day

We celebrated New Year's on London time. Yes, that's right, we cheered and kissed at 6 pm!

I made a black eyed pea dip with old English cheese...and look who enjoyed the jars! Penny had the best time getting her tongue all the way to the bottom (of course, after Dutcher cleaned the rims with her tongue). Such a happy dog! Next Christmas, she's getting nothing but a jar of cheese!

Next we bought a Baby Einstein Play Gym (although it's really just a play mat with dangling fish) from a classified ad through Heights Kids Group. It's a great, little, exclusive Parent Group that organizes play groups, shares advice and is a great support to parents. Penny tried out the play gym and it works!