yard work

A perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon...sitting in a lawn chair and watching my boys work in the yard... (really liking this child labor thing)

the great balloon watch of 2010

On October 17, Tate was given a helium Mickey Mouse balloon. On October 18, that Mickey Mouse balloon wound up on the 2-story ceiling of our living room. As of November 10, there it remains....taunting Tate from 20 feet above. If you are looking for the longest-lasting, most industrial strength helium balloon ever to provide your kids with weeks of torture enjoyment, let me suggest Publix. Watch for riveting updates as the great balloon watch of 2010 continues....

the twinkie diet

Who says that dieting means giving up the foods that you love? Keith recently stumbled upon this diet plan and thinks he might give it a try. His only two worries? Giving up hamburgers and having to forego a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Both logical concerns.

I think he's joking about actually doing this, but if I've learned anything in 11 years, it's never to assume.....

night-night

While Keith was in Birmingham this weekend, Tate and I spent the night with my friend Allison, whose husband was also out of town. Tate is usually pretty easy when it comes to bedtime, but he was understandably a little apprehensive about sleeping somewhere new. After several attempts to get him to sleep in the pack-n-play, I finally relented and allowed him to get into bed with me....albeit, with just a diaper and no pajama pants due to an earlier incident. (this is important later.)

He was so happy to snuggle with me, but tossed and turned and asked for "more bottle" twice (water) and babbled and babbled and babbled. At one point, I turned to him and said, "Tate, you need to go to sleep. It's time for night-night", and then kissed him on the forehead. He responded with "mommy...you night-night!" and kissed my forehead. My sweet boy. Even the fact that we woke up just a few short hours later both soaked in baby urine couldn't wipe the smile from my face.

The end.

survey says...

How far along are you? 18 weeks (17 weeks, 6 days to be exact)

How big is the baby? Had an ultrasound this week and they estimated 9 oz. A quick check on babycenter.com reveals that 5-7 oz is average at this point in the pregnancy. I might as well get used to the idea that I'm having another 9lb baby...

Maternity clothes? Every day.

Weight - Loss or Gain? Up to 10 lbs so far. Doing better this time around on the weight gain, but still look bigger than I should be. I had a tennis match on Tuesday and I think the other team thought I was going to give birth on the court.

Stretch marks? Nothing new.

Sleep? Still pretty normal. Getting at least 8 hrs at night and sometimes a short nap during the day when my workload allows. (A nice benefit of working from home!)

Any movement? Yep! The movements are still pretty subtle and I only feel them at night.

Food Cravings? Lots of juice (lately I've been drinking Tate's Capri-Sun juice boxes) and fruit....particularly Gala apples, clementines and little fruit cups. Oh, and Sour Patch Kids.

Food Aversions? I wouldn't say it's an aversion, but chocolate doesn't taste good to me right now. I still eat it from time to time to see if anything's changed, but it hasn't so far. Same for graham crackers. I guess I won't be making s'mores this winter.

Gender? Blue!

Belly Button in or out? In.

What do you miss? Champagne. The fake stuff isn't cutting it.

What are you looking forward to? I'm taking a half day off work tomorrow and meeting my friend Keri for lunch and then treating myself to a mani/pedi/ pre-natal massage.

What was the BEST part of this week? Halloween with Tate was a blast, but I also enjoyed seeing the ultrasounds of Bayer this week.

What was the WORST part of this week? Nothing comes to mind. I've been frustrated in general with trying to keep the house clean, but that's nothing new.

Weekly Wisdom? My words of advice this week are to turn the tv off and spend quality time with your kids. Keith and I are both guilty of having the tv on in the background almost all the time, so it's a reminder for me as much as anyone.

Milestones: Hmmm....nothing in terms of the pregnancy, but Tate reached a new milestone of bringing home 3 "boo-boo reports" in one week. Carpet burn on his face and not 1, but 2 bite marks on his back!

comparing profiles

See any resemblance??

Bayer - 18 weeks

Tate - 22 weeks

In this picture, Bayer has his head tilted back, so it's hard to tell whether he has the same chin/ mouth/ jaw shape as Tate, but I see the similarity in their noses. We go back on November 30 for our 22-week ultrasound - hoping we can get another picture to compare!

Getting excited about Bayer's arrival in less than 5 months. Having a name and a now a "face" makes it seem more real...

happy halloween

I've never been a big fan of Halloween, but it's now one of my new favorite holidays. Tate was a pro at trick-or-treating. Well...he was after the first house where he ran right into our new neighbor's living room. :)

Several neighbors gathered at Trent and Megan's and headed out together to trick-or-treat. Our herd included 21 adults, 10 kids under the age of 3, 1 dog, 2 wagons and 1 cooler of beer (guess whose). Surprisingly, we weren't the only group of this size roaming the neighborhood - there were people everywhere.

Lindsey, Dan and Pop joined in the festivities, and Lindsey was nice to be our videographer for the night. She caught some cute moments, as seen below. And speaking of Lindsey, Halloween was a milestone - Tate actually attempted to say her name for the first time. He usually just laughs and punches her. Whatever he called her was indecipherable, but it definitely had two syllables, so it counts.

Note: Most of these videos are best viewed when laying down on your right side. Ready?

"Puppy!!"


"Trick-or-Treat!"


"Whatcha got?"


"Hurry!"


"Are you going in there?"