Bath Time Blues...

Hopefully our son doesn't take lessons from Chase on taking baths.  He is just pitiful for being a tough Japanese hunting breed! Maybe it will wear him out for the day :)

Lake Geneva!

Even though it seems like wherever you live, it is never close enough to the people you love, we are fortunate enough to be near two out of our three total siblings!  Today, we went on a quick trip to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin with Michelle, Sean, and Michaela --probably their last little trip as a family of three.  It was super hot out, but we got to enjoy cute shops, great food, and the beautiful lake together.  It will definitely be a place we go again soon, while the weather is still nice!  I can't wait to take our little guy there next summer to sit in the shade lakeside, or maybe even do a little swimming.  

Dreamin'!

One of the symptoms that comes with pregnancy that has fascinated me is the vivid, crazy dreaming.  I think everyone's dreams are a little strange, but the clarity and "realness" of dreams during pregnancy is unbelievable.  I wake up disoriented and sometimes emotional, feeling like my dream actually happened.  

Some dreams are intimidating, like tornadoes and tidal waves are coming, where I am an eyewitness to their power, but are not quite nightmares.  Others are baby-related, and oftentimes somewhat disturbing.  One in particular that I have had twice is that I am at a house, and have forgotten that my baby is upstairs and that I haven't fed him in over a day even though he never cries.  Some of those dreams are a little frightening, but I am so intrigued by them!

One dream in particular has me smiling every time I think about it...I even woke up from it smiling.  In the dream, I was sitting at a table with my Grandmom, who passed away in 2008.  I can't remember what we talked about now, probably the baby, but regardless, I woke up feeling like I really got to see her.  I could see her face and hear her voice as if we were really together--and I hold it close like is a memory instead of a dream.  I remind myself of it each day, so that I don't forget it! Who knows, maybe I will have a repeat dream and get to see her again :)

Family Visits

After an awesome 5 days or so with all of our parents in town, Matt and I were bummed towards the end of the week to see them go.  Back to reality- no more visitors, and lots of work days ahead.  We had so much fun eating meals with our parents, catching up, enjoying one another, and even having a meal where both sides got together.  Baby Parker made out like a bandit with both his Grandma Preis and Nona in town --he will be one well-dressed and loved little boy with so many special people in his life.  It takes a lot to cheer me up when my mama leaves, though!

One of the curses of pregnancy is forgetfulness...which when added to my absent-mindedness, can be pretty inconvenient.  In the case of online shopping, however, it can be beautiful...like getting a present in the mail you didn't know was coming!  Today, my cheapo $15 fetal stethoscope came...I felt like it was a gift, even though I only ordered it last weekend!  

After about 10 minutes of not being able to even find my own heart beat with it, I was close to giving up.  Maybe it was too early, I wasn't using it correctly, or it was just too cheap to ever work.  Just as I was putting it back into the box, Matt started playing with it...first on himself, then on the dog (crazy fast heart beat and weird tongue licks), then on the cat (purrr).  We both started to get used to how it worked.  I finally found my own heart beat, and what that sounded like muffled in my stomach.  I decided to try on my belly one more time....and was shocked to find Baby Boy's heart beat!  Ahh!

Matt and I both got to hear our little guy's heart beating strong, and even though we will hear it tomorrow at my OB appointment, nothing can take away how special it is to know a little person is there!  It also helps to know that I can hear him whenever I want, instead of once a month!  

I still miss my family, but at least I can have my little boy close by safe and sound. 

Pregnancy is SCARY!

I guess I am not one of those people, at least with my first pregnancy, that can sit around and relax through it all.  I am constantly counting days by, worrying about each cramp and strain, hoping I am doing things right!  I can't decide if the internet is helpful, or anxiety-inducing.  With every individual pregnancy being different, no one ever has the same symptoms, and symptoms can have multiple meanings.  For now, my goal is to try the best I can to relax...which will hopefully be easier once I reach that time in my head when our baby boy could be born and be healthy-- 28 weeks? 37 weeks? Due date?  In reality, I suspect that worrying is just a constant part of parenthood! 

Aunties

From Auntie Mallory

From Auntie Morgan

24 weeks down, 16 to go!  Baby Parker will have the best Aunties ever (and not just because they get him cute clothes)!!!! He will love visiting Morgan, Mallory, and Michelle --and will love his cousins too.   In four months, he will be spending the holidays with all of these people that already love him so much.  

For now, his kicks are getting stronger, and he has had a major growth spurt...as proven by my stretched skin and heavy belly.....no one said pregnancy was pretty!  We love every new milestone we reach!

The Good and Bad

The old saying goes that you can't appreciate the good without the bad...a saying that a pregnant woman must have come up with :)  In this case, week 23 of our journey has been one with a lot of bumps in the road....and for the record, pregnancy hormones don't fight fair.  


As a kid, I used to be fascinated with pregnant women, and babies, but also a little intimidated.  I noticed (in my little girl mind) after having neighbors, teachers, and family go through pregnancy, that these people were a little meaner during and after pregnancy for a while.  I TOTALLY understand that now!  These hormones take all rational thought out of the picture, and fire random, intense emotions all over the place!  

My admitted meltdown this week was really the least of our issues, though.  With a washer and dryer that have been fighting our apartment for months, and an Ikea wardrobe that just spontaneously fell apart and broke, and guests coming this weekend to a disheveled apartment, our nerves are frayed, burned, bruised, and exhausted.

I woke up this morning quite ashamed, though.  We have so many things to be thankful for!  We have a amazing friends and family that love us, a home with nice things, two fulfilling jobs,  and best of all, a beautiful little boy that will be here in a few short months...and I have a husband who loves me despite my raging hormones.  So for now, we are going to focus on the things that we have to look forward to...which are so abundant and exciting! 

Morgan's Birthday

Yesterday we went downtown to celebrate Morgan's birthday...soon to be Aunt Morgan!  We went to an awesome tapas restaurant called Ba Ba Reeba, and then got to check out her new apartment.  The view from her deck is amazing!  We had a great time, and are glad to be so close to her now!

Trip to Ohio

I love seeing good friends!  Matt and I got in a quick trip to Ohio for our friends' wedding.  We were sad to leave early because of a training I had to be at the next day, but loved being with everyone all the same!  

We are so looking forward to the rest of the weddings we will be attending this year...and hope that baby Parker lets us get to them all safely and comfortably (HA!).  
We loved getting to talk about him, and catch up with so many amazing people!

Registry Woes

I have a definite love-hate relationship with registries.  I love that they ensure that you are receiving gifts that you really need/want, but hate that they have a certain greed to them. I don't really enjoy asking others to buy me things! Aside from that, though, they are just plain hard to create!  Things for wedding registries are easy...you go to a store and pick out things that you like and want for your home.  Baby registries are a whole different ball game!  You have to focus on safety ratings, comfort, necessities, all while hoping you can find something that isn't hideous.  

After asking around, my brother-in-law recommended we look at "Baby Bargains" by Denise & Alan Fields.  They are a couple that take no bribes from companies, and give ratings based on recalls, reviews from parents, and personal experience.  This book was a serious God send.  They present "good, better, best" recommendations on products depending on your budget.  I highly recommend trying this book- at least if you are like me, who had no clue where to even start.

We also decided to go mainly with Amazon.com --we found that prices were so much cheaper than stores for people, and you don't pay sales tax!  For those of our relatives that don't shop online, we tried to put a few things on a Babies R' Us registry, but to be honest, that was hard to do, because an item that would be $35 on Amazon was $50 at BRU.  

Babies sure need a lot of "stuff!"