...beautiful

We have booked an amazing photographer to take portraits of the baby after she is born... we're [tentatively] scheduled for Friday, October 10th. If she decides to make an appearance significantly before her due date (lets hope not!) then we'll reschedule because the photographer prefers to shoot about 10-14 days after the birth. I can't wait - they're going to be adorable! Some of my favorites from her portfolio:

So cute!

my little olympian

I am obsessed with the Olympics. I'm like this every two years and I've been waiting for this all summer - I'll be so sad when it's over on the 24th. We stay up way past our bedtime every night to watch Michael Phelps and cross our fingers that baby Ryan loves something enough to go to the Olympics for it (preferably a winter sport - my vote is for skeleton racing)... or at least get a scholarship for college (for which skeleton racing would be too unique so I vote softball).

“Here's a good trick: Get a job as a judge at the Olympics. Then, if some guy sets a world record, pretend that you didn't see it and go, "Okay, is everybody ready to start now?".”

- Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

two whole years!

Happy second birthday to my little furry boy, Lukey Skywalker! When we adopted Lucas we had no idea what we were in for… we found him through a rescue league’s website when we were searching for boxer mix puppies and fell in love with his cute little face and brindle coloring. Turns out, he’s the most loving, passive, cuddly beast on Earth. With a sincere fondness for birds, bugs, baths, cereal and sleeping between us at night… he has without a doubt been a perfect addition to our little family. He’ll be around for years to come – even throughout Ryan’s childhood. Happy birthday, boy! Sorry you have an ear infection on your birthday – our birthday gift to you is the $123 in medication and ear cleaner that we paid for last night... so hows about a peanut butter-filled Kong?

P.S. My pregnancy brain caused us to miss our deluxe tour at the maternity ward on Sunday evening… stupid me – 6:15 not 6:45… but at least we got to spend a little while at Expo Design Center checking out the tiles for our backsplash. Very exciting – felt like I was on Spice Up My Kitchen.

honeydew!

Holy cow, I’m eight months pregnant. "Thirsty 33! She's guzzling about a pint of amniotic fluid a day… She’s the size of a honeydew! Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month." Cross your fingers that baby Ryan does just that – at my 32 week appointment the other day, the baby was still in a breech position. It’s nothing to worry about just yet, but if she is still breech at my 36 week appointment we’ll schedule another sonogram (to double check) and then an ECV (external cephalic version)… which means they will attempt to manually turn her by basically pushing and prodding her as hard as they can from the outside. Super uncomfortable but it has about a 50% success rate which would therefore (hopefully) eliminate the need for a c-section!

I am sitting out on our balcony and enjoying the beautiful weather right now. We’re waiting for the baby’s glider to be delivered and then we’re heading off to the pool! Later this afternoon, we’re picking up her crib and changing table and we will finally have everything for the nursery… finally. I need to spend some serious time organizing her clothes once I finish writing thank you notes for the shower.

Lockheed held a bizarre job fair at the Hyatt near our office this week – it was obviously specifically held so that people from our project could bring their resumes over there… but when you got there, a number of different contracting companies were conducting the interviews and collecting the resumes for Lockheed and they seemed to know very little about the project or federal HR in general. Every person I talked to walked away with a different experience but at least they have my resume. I would prefer to stay with my current company but we’ll have to see how things pan out after the baby is born. Besides, they still haven’t been able to give us a transition plan or end date yet – we could still be there for awhile.

Did I mention I love watching the Olympics??? Because I do. There’s a 14 year old on Great Britain’s platform diving team! 14! Ridiculous. I plan on catching some diving, swimming, gymnastics and what has been dubbed the ‘fastest man in the world’ in track and field.

work/life balance

The week is halfway over! In the middle of a week full of transition meetings, being swamped with work and working on my resume... we went out for a farewell lunch for Marie, the first of all of us to move on to bigger and much much better things. It makes me sad to think that in the next few months it's certain that we won't all be working together anymore... I don't like it! Not one bit. :(

P.S. Iceberry is my new addiction!
P.P.S. Ryan's glider is being delivered Saturday!

it's raining baby clothes

My shower was on Saturday and it was wonderful! I wasn't expecting it to be as great as it was but it was absolutely perfect - tons of friends and family in one place, tons of delicious food, adorable decorations, perfect weather and our baby girl will have enough clothes to last her for the next few years. People bought the most adorable outfits for her - I can't wait to dress her! I was just so happy that so many people were able to make it during the summer when everyone is on vacation... especially those that drove far (I love you, Taryn and Ashley!!) and all of my relatives and even friends from work. It was awesome. I was too busy to take photos but I am collecting some from my sister and others and will put them in my photo album - link to the right.

Right now, it looks like a bomb went off in the nursery. It's organized chaos - clothing made into piles according to size, a toiletries section, stuffed animals, blankets... I haven't had the energy to start putting things away in her dresser and closet just yet. First, I'll need to get some more hangers and then I'll need some more energy. Then, project organize the nursery can begin.

I am now 32 weeks (!) and my back hurts all the time and my feet hurt if I walk for too long (anything longer than 10 minutes is too long nowadays) and sleeping is a b-i-t-c-h. Once I fall asleep I'm fine (until the urge to pee wakes me up) but falling asleep is a task when there's a giant (I swear, she's huge) creature in your belly rolling around. She'll even wake Luke up if his head is resting near my midsection. Steve has to yank me out of the car and I must move so slowly and look so achy that he feels the need to hold my hand 24/7... which is cute. Still, I have to admit that I'm feeling pretty good this late in the game. Our tri-weekly visits to the pool help, too. It's a scary thought to think that she's due next month but we're getting used to the idea. Steve can't wait to walk her in her stroller (and what an awesome stroller it is) and have Christmas with her and dress her in her new Redskins cheerleader outfit and plop her on the couch next to him on Sunday afternoons... unfortunately, my daughter has already been dubbed a Redskins fan. This certainly wasn't my first choice (although it's hard being a Chiefs fan on the East Coast - hell, it's hard being a Chiefs fan period) but she is being born here... and it could have been worse. What if we lived in Dallas? I shudder at the thought.

so adorable!

My best friend in the whole wide world just finished her 18-20 week ultrasound... and she is having a little BOY! In a family full of girls! I had a gut feeling she was having a boy and now I can't wait for our babies to meet and play together and grow up flying to visit each other... and one day they'll get married, of course. :)

Now I can buy all those cute boy clothes I'd fallen in love with!