We had so much fun with Kennie, Javi and a few of my other Gettysburg friends, Molly and Greg (Molly's due on our wedding anniversary!). Love them!
Up next...Part II: On to Yosemite!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Summer Vaca Part I: A Mountain Wedding
The real reason James and I chose to spend our summer vacation in the Sierras is because our good friends, Kendall and Javier picked it as the location for their wedding. Kendall was one of my roommates and besties in college. You may remember she was a big part of our wedding. And Javier...well, he's a pretty sweet dude - a true vegan-eating, song-writing mountain man. They make a handsome couple and had a pretty amazing, picture-perfect wedding deep in the heart of the Seirra mountains. Here are a few pictures from the event. Congratulations Kennie and Javi!
We had so much fun with Kennie, Javi and a few of my other Gettysburg friends, Molly and Greg (Molly's due on our wedding anniversary!). Love them!
Up next...Part II: On to Yosemite!
We had so much fun with Kennie, Javi and a few of my other Gettysburg friends, Molly and Greg (Molly's due on our wedding anniversary!). Love them!
Up next...Part II: On to Yosemite!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
20 Weeks
Ok, one last pregnancy related post this week...I know...it has been a stretch. I promise the next post will be about our vacation recap. Here's our 20 week update. Hard to believe I'm five months pregnant and already halfway done. This babe will be here before you know it! As always, check out previous bump updates here.
Friday, July 27, 2012
A Confession, a Realization and an Understanding
I'm going to come right out and say it. I wanted a boy.
I don't know if I wanted a boy because of circumstansial reasons - for example, I happen to have an older brother myself and love being the younger (and only) sister. Or for silly reasons - as in many of my friends recently had boys and I imagined summer picnics full of boy play and hours spent gathering at Saturday afternoon T-ball games. Or for psychological reasons - it's easier raising boys, right? They seem so much less complicated. But for whatever reason, or combination of reasons, I had it in my head that I wanted a boy. And I like it when I get what I want. Who doesn't?
As you all know by now, there is no boy in our (immediate) future. We will be a family of three females (yes, Summit counts!) and one male come Christmas. And here comes the realization bit - all of the sudden (literally, it happened fast) - I am SO excited to have a girl! HOW did that happen? I don't really know. Maybe I just had to give it good hard thought. Careful consideration. And it dawned on me....I was meant to raise a girl. Now, if you know me, you know that I don't believe there is any higher power making decisions for us or influencing the pattern or path our lives take. That's not really my thing. But I do believe that things happen for a reason. And I feel in my heart that I was meant to mother and mentor a girl.
The truth is girls ARE complicated and perhaps more difficult to raise than boys. Clearly I'm not qualified to definitively say that, but maybe the underlying reason why I leaned blue instead of pink from the beginning was because I felt this way and it freaked me out a little. There is a huge responsibility that comes with raising a girl. Why? Because life can be tough on women. Women can be tough on themselves and tough on other women. For every strong, confident, independent women in this world there are twice as many that suffer severe hardships, struggle with self esteem issues, body issues, self-worth, poverty and abusive or unhealthy relationships. I'd be foolish to say "not my girl" because even the best laid plans can go astray and there is no perfect child or perfect method of raising one. I know this. But I now understand that the circumstance James and I find ourselves in today has given us the opportunity to do our best to raise a strong, confident, compassionate, creative, unafraid, independent little girl who someday might find herself in a position to influence other women to follow suit. Maybe even her own little girl someday...oh wouldn't that be something - to be a grandparent! Guess we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, eh?
Let's just say - yay! Bring on the PINK. And green, and yellow, and yes, even blue. And maybe someday, we'll have the opportunity to raise a strong, confident, healthy little boy. Who knows EXACTLY how to treat women. =)
I don't know if I wanted a boy because of circumstansial reasons - for example, I happen to have an older brother myself and love being the younger (and only) sister. Or for silly reasons - as in many of my friends recently had boys and I imagined summer picnics full of boy play and hours spent gathering at Saturday afternoon T-ball games. Or for psychological reasons - it's easier raising boys, right? They seem so much less complicated. But for whatever reason, or combination of reasons, I had it in my head that I wanted a boy. And I like it when I get what I want. Who doesn't?
As you all know by now, there is no boy in our (immediate) future. We will be a family of three females (yes, Summit counts!) and one male come Christmas. And here comes the realization bit - all of the sudden (literally, it happened fast) - I am SO excited to have a girl! HOW did that happen? I don't really know. Maybe I just had to give it good hard thought. Careful consideration. And it dawned on me....I was meant to raise a girl. Now, if you know me, you know that I don't believe there is any higher power making decisions for us or influencing the pattern or path our lives take. That's not really my thing. But I do believe that things happen for a reason. And I feel in my heart that I was meant to mother and mentor a girl.
The truth is girls ARE complicated and perhaps more difficult to raise than boys. Clearly I'm not qualified to definitively say that, but maybe the underlying reason why I leaned blue instead of pink from the beginning was because I felt this way and it freaked me out a little. There is a huge responsibility that comes with raising a girl. Why? Because life can be tough on women. Women can be tough on themselves and tough on other women. For every strong, confident, independent women in this world there are twice as many that suffer severe hardships, struggle with self esteem issues, body issues, self-worth, poverty and abusive or unhealthy relationships. I'd be foolish to say "not my girl" because even the best laid plans can go astray and there is no perfect child or perfect method of raising one. I know this. But I now understand that the circumstance James and I find ourselves in today has given us the opportunity to do our best to raise a strong, confident, compassionate, creative, unafraid, independent little girl who someday might find herself in a position to influence other women to follow suit. Maybe even her own little girl someday...oh wouldn't that be something - to be a grandparent! Guess we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, eh?
Let's just say - yay! Bring on the PINK. And green, and yellow, and yes, even blue. And maybe someday, we'll have the opportunity to raise a strong, confident, healthy little boy. Who knows EXACTLY how to treat women. =)
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| Pink AND Blue balloons...an ode to our future son. |
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Old Wives Tales - Predicting Our Bean's Gender
Boy or girl...boy or girl??? As I mentioned in our previous post, James thinks boy. I say girl. Secretly I'm hoping for a specific gender but since that puts me in the running already for worst mom of the year, I'll keep that to myself in case it turns out we're having something other than what I'm hoping for. Just for fun, let's run down the list of old wives tales for predicting gender. We find out for sure tomorrow morning (Wednesday) so stay tuned!
Gender Predictions Based on Old Wives Tales:
1) This one you can do just by looking south: if you're carrying high, break out the pink. If your bump is low, you're carrying a boy.
I personally have no idea if my bump is in the high or low category. My experienced sister-in-law Mandy (who's also preggo!) said high so we'll go with that. There's one for GIRL!
2) Next time your OB pulls out the Doppler to listen to baby's heartbeat, ask her to tell you what the heart rate is. According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy.
So far the bean's heart rate has been higher than 140 beats per minute. Another one for GIRL.
3) Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy.
Definitely salty and sour. This one's going BOY!
4) This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender. Click here to see the chart.
Based on this crazy chart, we're having a GIRL.
5) This one's a little out there. Pee in a cup (you've been doing it at all your prenatal appointments anyway, haven't you?), mix a tablespoon of Draino in, and watch to see if it changes color. Green = girl, and blue = boy.
Ok, this was a bust for me because it didn't turn either color. Also, probably a bad idea because Draino is strong and toxic...not something pregnant women should be going near! BUST
6) Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy.
Age - 29; year - 2012. Looks like another one for BOY.
7) This is one for a friend to try. Place a key in front of your preggo friend and ask her to pick it up. If she grabs it by the narrow part, she's in for sugar and spice and all that. If she picks it up by the round part, it's snips and snails.
Since I read the rules beforehand, I had my sister-in-law Mandy do this for me. She grabbed the narrow part (I think I would have too). This one is going GIRL.
8) If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits.
I never had perfect skin at any point in my entire life but I wouldn't say it's gotten much worse throughout pregnancy. Giving this one to the BOY.
9) Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl.
Spinning circles for the BOY.
10) Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy.
Compared to some I had it easy. Going with BOY on this one.
11) Sleep more on right side or left? Right means girl. Left for boy.
More comfortable on my left side - Oh BOY!
Final tally - GIRL 4, BOY 6. According to legend, we're having a bouncing baby BOY. We'll find out for sure soon enough!
Gender Predictions Based on Old Wives Tales:
1) This one you can do just by looking south: if you're carrying high, break out the pink. If your bump is low, you're carrying a boy.
I personally have no idea if my bump is in the high or low category. My experienced sister-in-law Mandy (who's also preggo!) said high so we'll go with that. There's one for GIRL!
2) Next time your OB pulls out the Doppler to listen to baby's heartbeat, ask her to tell you what the heart rate is. According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy.
So far the bean's heart rate has been higher than 140 beats per minute. Another one for GIRL.
3) Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy.
Definitely salty and sour. This one's going BOY!
4) This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender. Click here to see the chart.
Based on this crazy chart, we're having a GIRL.
5) This one's a little out there. Pee in a cup (you've been doing it at all your prenatal appointments anyway, haven't you?), mix a tablespoon of Draino in, and watch to see if it changes color. Green = girl, and blue = boy.
Ok, this was a bust for me because it didn't turn either color. Also, probably a bad idea because Draino is strong and toxic...not something pregnant women should be going near! BUST
6) Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy.
Age - 29; year - 2012. Looks like another one for BOY.
7) This is one for a friend to try. Place a key in front of your preggo friend and ask her to pick it up. If she grabs it by the narrow part, she's in for sugar and spice and all that. If she picks it up by the round part, it's snips and snails.
Since I read the rules beforehand, I had my sister-in-law Mandy do this for me. She grabbed the narrow part (I think I would have too). This one is going GIRL.
8) If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits.
I never had perfect skin at any point in my entire life but I wouldn't say it's gotten much worse throughout pregnancy. Giving this one to the BOY.
9) Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl.
Spinning circles for the BOY.
10) Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy.
Compared to some I had it easy. Going with BOY on this one.
11) Sleep more on right side or left? Right means girl. Left for boy.
More comfortable on my left side - Oh BOY!
Final tally - GIRL 4, BOY 6. According to legend, we're having a bouncing baby BOY. We'll find out for sure soon enough!
Monday, July 23, 2012
19 Weeks
Week 19 was spent traveling through the rugged Sierra mountains. Next time we'll be toting the kiddo along for hikes in a baby backpack! Lots of growing going on this week, compare to previous updates here. And a big update is coming next week when we reveal the bean's gender! Oh boy...or girl!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Back from the Mountains
We made it home from our Sierra mountains/Yosemite/Lake Tahoe vacation tonight...26 hours after we started our journey home from the Reno International Airport! Needless to say, the air travel was fraught with problems and no fun at all but the trip was a blast. As soon as I have time to download and sort through photos, I'll post a few recaps of the trip.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Babymoon
James and I are heading west to spend some time at Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Yay for our last big vacation before travel begins to include kiddos and all the complications (and rewards) that comes with traveling as a family. Poor Summit always knows when we're traveling without her. Here she is giving her best stink face. She's really a champ at this, remember this trip? Not to worry, she's heading to Grandma and Grampa's lake house for the week so life is good for her, too. We'll be back next Friday but look for our 18 week bump update sometime next week!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Happy Birthday, America!
We spent our 4th of July in the usual fashion - at the Chadwick Lake House (see posts from last year and 2010). The weather was hot, the food was abundant and there were babies and pregnant ladies everywhere! Every year they seem to be multiplying. =) Hope you all enjoyed the holiday, too. Next year you should come to the Chadwick Lake House! Here's a few more iPhone pictures for you.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Family Fun from my iPhone
Warning...cute people coming your way in terrible iPhone pictures. I experimented this weekend with a few photo apps on my phone just to see if they did anything to improve the overall quality of my phone pictures. End result...no, not really. Still, we had a great weekend and I thought I'd show it to you. If anyone has a favorite iPhone app for photography, let me know. I guess I still don't know the secrets. Maybe I'm just biased (and spoiled) by my DSLR.
First up...Chadwick family outing to Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Yankees Won! But wait...there's no sleeping in baseball!
Nothing says summer like hot weather, baseball and water sports! Hope you're having a great one too.
First up...Chadwick family outing to Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Yankees Won! But wait...there's no sleeping in baseball!
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| Incubating two future Yankee fans! |
Sunday was spent in the water at the Chadwick Lake House.
On Monday our nephew Andrew got to give out the first pitch ball at the New Britain Rock Cats baseball game. Great fun!
Nothing says summer like hot weather, baseball and water sports! Hope you're having a great one too.
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