For Keeley and Taylor

I've been slacking on posting the ever-growing belly; too much flash in this one, for sure, but here you go! We're at half-time, by the way: 20w3d! Bring out the marching band!

It's a Riddle...

We just got back from our 20-week ultrasound where we found out the peanut's pieces-parts. I won't spill the beans in case anyone doesn't want to know, but see if you can figure it out for yourself:

Any guesses?

(For what it's worth, I am ***shocked***!)

Camping at Marble!

Per tradition, our annual summer camping season kicked off Memorial Day weekend -- in beautiful Marble for the third year!

The drive was beautiful, although the last 25 miles or so were full of cold, cold rain. Not a good sign. The clouds parted as we arrived at the campground, however, giving us just enough time to set up the tent, make camp and take a couple beauty shots:


Zoey gets chilly, so thanks to Dexter's hand-me-downs, she had a jacket to wear this year!

Is that snow on the ground? Yes, yes it is! Friday night/Saturday morning were not entirely pleasant. It was lovely, but this is what we woke up to (along with temps in the mid-30s):


Cindy and Brett made it to camp mid-day on Saturday. Cindy says "hi" to the pooches:

Saturday was a lazy day, spent mostly hanging around the campfire (trying to stay warm!) reading and snacking.

Once the weather cleared, Marble proved to be just as beautiful as it always is, despite still having ample snow on the ground and about 2-3 weeks behind the springiness we remember from years past.

Sunday took us hiking up to the infamous Crystal Mill. Beau volunteered to ride in the back of the truck with the dogs to the trailhead. Sucker.


Hiking up to Crystal Mill is fantastic. About 4 miles each way.

Lizard Lake is more full than it has been in years past -- navigating the "puddles" was a bit of a trick. Most everyone either ended up with soggy boots or went barefoot. Pretty gutsy considering the water is run-off!




We made it to the mill!

These people (not part of our group) got engaged about 5 minutes before we showed up! I bet they were real happy to have our group tagging along, taking pictures...

Heading back out. Another beautiful journey to Crystal Mill come-and-gone.

We have a tomato!

Soon to be a banana.

http://www.babycenter.com/slideshow-baby-size?scid=mbtw_preg25:15&pe=2UuHCOc

Speaking of adorable footwear...

I forgot to snap photos of these when I was going crazy with the camera last week. Thanks gramma and grampa for the cute turtle footsies!

Belly: 18w5d

I need to find a way to perfect this process, but in the meantime here's m'growing belly!

Muy importante Shim update!

I think we have movment!

I can't be entirely sure because the descriptions I have read about how it feels are very vague.

"It feels like flutters or butterfly kisses." Yeah, I have zero idea what that means.

"It feels like a rumbing stomach." I get that one, only problem is that I'm always hungry so...

"It feels like gas." I get that one, too, but do I get wicked gas, so...

But combine those three things -- on a full belly and after an, um, evacuation -- and that's what I'm feeling. Which only leads me to believe that it's the peanut! Fun.

Props to the Aimster: PB Oatmeal

I will always give credit where credit is due, and this time I have to give a big shout out to Amy for introducing me to peanut butter oatmeal.

As you may have just done upon reading that, I have previously curled my lip and gone a little green around the gills when Amy has mentioned her favorite breakfast treat. Blame it on weird pregnancy cravings or a newfound adventerous spirit when it comes to food (yeah, it's the fetus...), but I decided to give the oatmeal thing a go.

Lucky for me that I did!

Oatmeal + a splash of milk + a spoonful of peanut butter (crunchy, natch) + a little brown sugar = quick, healthy, protein-filled, cookie-tasting breakfast deliciousness.

Holla to the Aimsicle!

Another Monday

Happy Monday! Not really, but we can pretend...

Happy belated Mom's day, too, for all those mother readers. (And mother------s. j/k) Super thanks to Kristi for the most adorable baby Uggs! Seriously, they are painfully cute. Good thing we're having a winter baby!


Since I'm sharing adorable baby goody photos, thanks to Dee, Matt and Carson for making sure that Shim is FLA-ready from the moment of birth (as it should be!):

And thanks to g-ma and g-pa Wrabetz for reminding Shim of shim's roots:

And thanks to Target for having a super-clearance on cute onesies:

Since I forgot on Friday, here's me at 18 weeks 1 day -- there's definitely something in there, but I still think it's more beer than child. Oh, and if anyone is keeping track, Shim is now 5.5" in length -- or approximately the size of a stapler. (Yes, I had a ruler and all my desk accessories lined up to figure that one out.)

Foto Friday

I forgot to take a belly photo this morning (I'll have to get on that over the weekend), so today's Foto Friday is lolcatz instead. Happy weekend!

Update: Shim at 17w3d

Exciting news in the amniotic life of Baby B, according to the daily preggo journal: we have meconium! That means the first poop (and what a poop it is!) is now a reality and only a few short months away. Ah, the joys of milestones!

Also according to the preggo journal: I need to increase my carb intake between now and the end of the pregnancy. What a bummer -- carbs are so hum-drum... (Please read with sarcasm dripping from the screen. I realize that in this case "carbs" means things like broccoli and apples and whole grains, but I'm thinking more along the lines of cheeze fries and donuts.)

Don't be jealous, but I have a 7-hour meeting to dash off to now to discuss leveraging marketing conference and product efforts to best communicate with major firms. I bet you, dear reader, find that just about as appealing as I do. O happy day.

Happy Seis de Mayo!

I missed the opportunity to post a Cinco message yesterday... oh well. Pretty subdued in our neighborhood this year, actually -- a big police presence all weekend and through the evening yesterday, but aside from a few honking horns and lots of roadside vendors schlepping Mexican flags, it was kind of disappointing. No shootings, no mayhem. What's the point of living in the barrio on Cinco de Mayo if you're not going to see some action?? Just kidding. (Not really.)

Incidentally, this whole work thing is for the birds. It was already 58 degrees at 7:30 a.m. on my drive in today. We really need to get moving on winning the Powerball. First step: actually buy a ticket. I can feel my odds getting better already!

17-week Bump

It may only be visible to me (you know, it being MY body and all), but it's definitely in there. Rounding up to 17 weeks (technically 16 weeks 5 days):