Happy Holidays!

It's been a long time since I've posted but things have been hectic, to say the least. Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that Santa spoiled you and yours!

Here it is December 29th already and I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant. Holy Baby, Batman! I have just over a month to go until our Little Man arrives and I am so ready. So ready to be done with this pregnancy. So ready to move on with our lives, and have our little family complete. Is the nursery ready? Well that's another question... haha

Andy just finished painting the nursery, and we're getting ready to move the newly refinished dresser/changing table in there so I can start putting away clothes. I'm ordering the crib today. Then it's just a matter of finding some art for the walls and organizing all the baby stuff (and other random crap we have in there) to make the room feel cozy and cute. It's so strange to me that I've been a procrastinator with the nursery this time around. I was working on Payton's the day after we found out she was a she! haha

Speaking of Payton - the girl is getting big! She's 16 months old now and probably the most fun she's been since birth. She has a mouth full of teeth (she cut more than 8 teeth within 2 months!), an extensive vocabulary and just loves loves loves to play. From the moment we take her out of her crib in the mornings, it's non-stop GO, _ALL_DAY_LONG_! She's such a little person now, it's hard to believe she was ever a newborn baby.

Here's the little princess, learning to say "Cheese!" for the camera:


And if anyone is interested, I updated Payton's website with a few new pictures too!

Double digits!

I can't believe I'm already in the double digits of days left until the Little Man arrives! The second trimester has just FLOWN by this pregnancy. I'm hoping the next few months go just as fast. They should with the holidays approaching.

Oh, we bought a dresser this week. Can I tell you all how much I love Craigslist? This lil gem is in excellent condition. It's made of real wood and has hardly any scratches! Andy volunteered to refinish and paint it so I have no doubt it will be perfect soon. Now the question is: what color? Red? Blue? And what color should we paint his nursery? (I'm assuming we won't sell the house, so I'm just planning on using our 3rd bedroom for the time being.) We have hardwood floors, and the crib will be wood-colored as well. I think the dresser needs a pop of color to offset all that wood.



Here are a few ideas for the walls using the same color scheme I'm going for. Which do you like?

1) Light blue walls with red accents. Imagine a wooden crib and red or navy dresser:


2) Light blue walls with a chair rail. Imagine the lower walls being a navy blue...


3) Tan/neutral walls.


4) Two solid light blue walls and two solid dark blue walls. (Andy's idea. Can't find a picture.)

Thoughts?

Baby update: 25w, 4d

I had my monthly OB appointment this morning with Dr. Keys. It went well - I'm measuring right on track, as is the little man. His heart was beating strong at 136bpm. I got an Rx for Protonix to help my horrible heartburn and a flu shot. The second Dr. Keys suggested I get one, my hands started sweating - OMG I hate needles! I actually had to lay down to get the shot, I felt so lightheaded. lol Andy will be reminding me what I wuss I am until I'm dead, I'm sure.

My next appointment is November 19th, in which I get to take my 1hr glucose test. Just shoot me now. They give you 8oz of orange-flavored sugar water that you drink and after an hour, you get a blood draw to see how your glucose levels fair. I failed my 1hr with Payton and had to endure the 3hr test - which is quite frankly, HELL. I puked after the first blood draw and had to START OVER. Blech!! I hope to God that I pass the 1hr test this time around.

So here's a 25w Belly Shot:


My latest obsession is little Ryan's nursery. After much thought, I decided on a vintage "transportation" theme. Really, anything with an old-school vibe to it.

-My inspiration piece, a treasure I found at a local consignment store:


-bedding:


-suitcases:


Hopefully we'll somehow sell the house in the next 6 weeks, find a new place, close on both houses, pack, move in to the new house and then unpack before Ryan makes his debut. That is if all the stars and moon align and we don't go insane before then. haha Wish us luck!

We have a name:

Ryan Lee MacDonald.
We can't wait to meet you!

The costumes

I had Payton model her costumes last night. She wasn't thrilled with either choice but there was a clear winner. Can you guess which one she liked better?

The Flamingo costume:



The Kitty costume (minus the ears):

Mama's got a new ride!

I *love* my new car. Well it's a 2004 brand-spanking used car, but it's new to me. After we found out that I was pregnant, Andy implanted the seed in my brain that I would want a bigger vehicle than my Dodge Charger once we have two babies to cart around. And while I love my Charger, I knew he was right. Getting Payton in and out of the back seat was a pain because the car is so low-profile, we had to be careful and not hit her head on the roof. Ouch!

So we went test driving one weekend a few months ago and I fell in love with the Toyota Sequoia. I had to have one, it was a must. We tried to negotiate a deal through the dealership but to our disappointment they weren't going to give me enough money for my car as a trade-in.

Then I called Charlie. Charlie is our broker who we've used in the past to sell our cars and buy us others. He sold my Nissan 240sx a while back and got Andy a screaming deal on his truck. Charlie would take care of me.

Fast forward a couple months and Charlie found me this beauty in Portland (and also sold my car for almost $5k more than the dealership offered us). Having never purchased a vehicle (or pretty much anything) without at least seeing a picture of it, I was a tad bit skeptical. But Charlie assured me that if he went to pick it up and the truck wasn't 100% perfect, he'd scrap the deal and continue looking for another Sequoia.

So yesterday he called and it was ready. I was so stinking exciting, I almost cried when I stepped out of my office and saw her sitting in the parking lot waiting for me!





It has third row seating baby! I'm officially a soccer mom now. lol Who woulda thunk?

Little Pumpkins

Last weekend, Payton and I went to a pumpkin patch with our friends Tami and Adelyn, Ashley and Gage, and Keren and Norah. We had a lot of fun seeing all the new sights and playing with the pumpkins in the mud.















Payton couldn't understand why these 3 babies were in a wheelbarrow! Apparently, they didn't either:



L-R: Payton, Norah, Gage and Adelyn

"Night, night"

These were the words that came out of Payton's mouth when I put her to bed last night. My baby is growing up! I guess she has said it for nap time too, so we know she understands it.

She has her own language now, of which we can only understand a handful of words.

-Daddy
-Doggy
-Kitty
-Mama (although I have to beg her to say it)
-Mimi (my Mom)
-Papa (my Dad)
-Shadow (the dog)
-Buhhhl (ball)
-Dank yuh (thank you)
-Night, night
-YEAH
-NO

She talks all the time too - full conversations - with her stuffed animals, to our dog Shadow, to her books, to us, to anyone that will listen! It almost sounds Cantonese. She really tries to tell you want she wants, and just stares at you like "are you going to answer me?" when you're looking at her inquisitively trying to understand. haha It's so cute!

An observation

Boy clothes are not cute. Well, baby boy clothes are not cute. I swear all the newborn outfits, jammies, onesies I've seen are either all some shade of blue or striped, with dogs or firemen on them. And as much as I like dogs and firemen, I need choices people!

Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails...

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!

I can't believe it. I REALLY can't believe it! It's so funny to me that I am always about 90% correct with guessing my friends' babies but when it comes to my own, I'm 0-2.

When we got into the ultrasound, the tech told us the baby was breech and she didn't think we were going to get any pictures of the "goods". But just a couple minutes later, the baby moved and she said "oh you're in luck, you're having a boy!" I started crying and asked "ARE YOU SURE?? REALLY?? NO WAY!". I was convinced we were going to have another little girl. CONVINCED! It is such a beautiful thing, we're having a boy! One of each - the perfect little family. Wow! Andy is SO excited.

We spent about 45 minutes watching the screen, seeing his little body all scrunched inside my belly. How life can form to make such perfect little creature is so amazing. And he is perfect too, measuring right on track.

I can finally started planning for a nursery, we can try and find a name we both like... It's such a relief knowing what we're getting. haha

A BOY! It's a BOY!!

House for sale!

We did it: We FINALLY put our house on the market! After months (hell, YEARS) of remodeling this place, we're finally ready to sell. And I couldn't be more ready. I don't think I've ever cleaned as much as I have in the past week as I have in my entire life! But then again, I'm not exactly Betty Homemaker.

The realtor came by last night and dropped off some temporary flyers for the post/sign out front and put up a few signs in the neighborhood pointing our direction. OH.MY.GOD! We have an Open House both this Saturday and Sunday and a Broker's Open House next week too.

The good news is, is that it went live on Sept 17th. And if any of you know, 17 is our very lucky number as all three of us - Payton, Andy and I- were all born on the 17th (of different months). So maybe it's fate that this is happening on this date. Andy said that hopefully we'll sell by the 17th of next month. HA! I don't really care what day we sell, as long as it does sell!! But if it happens to be on the 17th, I'm buying a lotto ticket. Seriously!

Without further ado: Our House

OH! And PS - tomorrow is the BIG ULTRASOUND!!! EEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daddy update

The MRI came back and it turns out Andy ruptured a disc in his lower back (between L4-5, if that means anything to anybody). It's also slightly herniated, pushing against his spine. He was finally able to see a back specialist yesterday who told him he didn't think surgery was going to be necessary. But only time will tell and to see how it goes. Phew, there's hope!! He was taken out of work for the next 6-8 weeks and will be reevaluated in about a month. He started physical therapy yesterday too and is pretty sore this morning, but doing well otherwise. I'm so glad surgery isn't imminent, seeing him in so much pain just broke my heart.

Poor Daddy!

Andy hurt his back this weekend. He was in the backyard doing yard work and somehow twisted/pinched/dislocated something. At first I thought he was just tired of doing yardwork and wanted an excuse to get out of it (sorry honey), but he really did hurt himself. It was so bad that he basically layed on the floor all weekend drugged up on muscle relaxers and oxycodon. He couldn't sit for more than a couple of minutes at a time, couldn't walk much longer than that, couldn't lift much of anything - let alone Payton. Poor guy. The nurse practioner he saw on Saturday couldn't figure out what was wrong without an MRI, and he couldn't get an MRI without a doctor's consent.

He was finally able to see his doctor yesterday and get a "prescription" for an MRI, which is scheduled for tomorrow evening. Hopefully it will give us an answer of what is wrong so he can get fixed and feel better. It's not fun to see my honey hurting like this!

In light of this, Payton really enjoyed having her Daddy around all weekend. She wanted to be just like him, so she decided to lay next to him on the floor. It was such a sweet moment, Andy even smiled a little.

18w Pregnancy update

I saw my OB for my monthly checkup yesterday. It's hard to believe I'm almost half way through this pregnancy already! I can't say it's gone fast or slow, but it hasn't been fun. I think I got a karma-spanking this time around because I complained my entire pregnancy with Payton and really - I had no problems or complications. With #2 I've had some morning sickness, sciatic problems, headaches and just general yuckiness. Apparently I need to learn to appreciate the good days a little more!

The appointment went well though, everything is right on track. The peanut's heartbeat was racing at 159bpm and I'm measuring on schedule. My spina bifida test came back negative, as did the other screenings I've had recently. I've gained a total of 3 pounds which kind of shocked me because since my morning sickness subsided, I've been eating like a pig! But I'll take it.

The most exciting part is that my Big ultrasound is now scheduled for Friday, September 19th! EEEEK! How I'm going to contain my excitement is beyond me. I even start to think about it and my heart starts racing. Two weeks and one day to go! And fortunately, I schedules the ultrasound for 9am, so I wouldn't have to wait around all day drumming my fingers and tapping my toes. I CAN'T WAIT!

And she's walking...

Walking is exciting stuff! Payton's been taking a few steps here and there for a couple of weeks now but lately she's been walking distances. Crawling is still faster - especially if you need to get a cat or a toy - but walking is becoming more and more fun!

Dancing Queen

Our little woman likes to dance. With all the new toys she got from her birthday party, she's been dancing quite a bit lately. Here's a little snippet from this weekend's session.

Happy 1st Birthday Payton!

Sunday was our baby girl's first birthday. I can't believe Payton is already one, it seems just like yesterday that we were racing to the hospital at 2 o'clock in the morning for her arrival. She truly is the best baby in the world. I know all moms and dads think this way, but Payton really is. :) We love being parents - it's the most wonderful, difficult, challenging, beautiful and rewarding thing either of us have ever done... and she's worth every second.

Miss P had a very nice party, our friends and family were here to help her celebrate this special occasion. She had a lot of fun seeing everyone, playing in the water, opening her gifts and eating her cake. It was quite the sight!

Feeding Shadow

Apparently Payton can't get enough of the dog. She's always been fascinated with Shadow, but learning how to feed him was the cream of the crop! I think we watched her tease him for more than 20 minutes, giggling every time she put her hand close to his nose. Everybody loves Goldfish!

What happens when Mommy is at work

Enough said.

NT scan

This morning I had my Nuchal translucency (NT) scan/ultrasound. It was such a relief to see the little bugger and hear it's heart beating. 164bpm! Everything looked good and healthy thank goodness - I've been worrying lately that something was going to be wrong. The tech moved my due date from 2/12 to 2/5, that is SEVEN DAYS LESS that I have to be pregnant! I know, I know - the due date means nothing and the baby will come out when it's ready. But at least *I* feel better.

The baby sucked it's thumb most of the ultrasound, I thought that was so so sweet. :)



I'm still betting my money on this baby being a girl, but we won't know until the end of September. I can't wait!

First Camping Trip

We went camping last week, just outside of Wenatchee to a state park called Lincoln Rock. Not only was it Payton's first camping trip, it was our first family campout in The Camper.

The set-up. Note the massiveness of The Camper, I swear it looks like it could tip the whole truck over when going around a sharp corner.


Our daughter is too sexy for The Camper:


We were fortunate enough to have friends with boats camping with us, so Payton also got to experience her first boat ride. She did NOT like her life jacket but after a few minutes of screaming, she calmed down and fell asleep on the ride up the Columbia River.





I think she was very happy to be back on land.


Overall, it was a really good trip. I don't know if I'd necessarily do it again anytime soon while Payton is still crawling, but I don't think her walking will make it any easier either. At least we know it's possible and now know what we need to bring to keep the monster happy.

We have hair!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that Miss Payton finally has enough hair to put into pigtails! Just when I don't think she could get any cuter......

Fun in the sun

We played outside today. I was being lazy - so instead of dragging out the big pool, I just brought out a small wash tub and filled it with a gallon or two of water. Payton didn't seem to mind!

She *really* wanted to get in:




So I took her clothes off and put her in the tub with just her diaper. Hooray - Life was grand!


When she got out, she decided she didn't want her diaper on any more and took it off HERSELF! She thought she was SO cool trapesing around naked! hehe


I don't think she could get any cuter.

Fourth of July

We had a really nice Fourth of July this year. We went to a BBQ at my friend Tami's house in Maple Valley. We finally got to meet her new daughter Addie (see post below), she's so cute and such a good baby! I don't think she cried the entire time we were there. It's so fun to see and hold newborns, especially when I look at Payton and realize how big she has gotten! It's hard to believe she was ever that tiny.



As you can see, Payton wasn't too sure of Addie. She looked at her like she was a little alien, then proceeded to grab her cute little headband and snap it on her head!! OMG!

I pray she's doesn't get jealous of her new sibling - things could get nasty.



And just for the record, I hope #2 looks more like me!! I swear Payton looks more like her Daddy every day!