Snow!

We had our first real snow yesterday and today. It actually stuck this time! I think its so obnoxious that everyone here is afraid of snow and doesn't like it. I absolutely LOVE snow and think its ridiculous that people are intimidated to go out of their houses here when there's an inch on the ground. Come ON people!

Natalie has never officially played in the snow until today. Unfortunately, the snow was really ice by the time we got to it so it wasn't much fun. Nat was all business as she was trying to focus on NOT falling down. Hmmm...hope she doesn't adopt the cranky-pants Maryland attitude about winter.




And here are some pictures from our yard....

I'm trying to take some photos that might make good black and whites for our wall in the living room. I had a thought to do 4 separate summer/winter/fall/spring close shots (in black and white) for our living room wall. We need something more "grown up" in there and I thought it would be neat to make the photos myself rather than buying posters at the store and framing them. Which one of these would you vote for?

15 Weeks... Almost

Ahh... the belly isnt quite as tight as it used to be. (Although I never had Denise Austin genes - that's for sure!) So, I've popped out a little faster this time than last.

I'm sure that not all of what you see here is baby though. The past couple weeks my appetite has gone through the roof. I'm now nearly eating the same portions as my husband *yikes* and also snacking between meals. When I daydream, it's about food. My current craving/obsession is a bowl of cream of crab soup from a place called The Open Door Cafe in Bel Air, MD. Three words: "TO DIE FOR". Or as my mother-in-law says... "to kill for". Hmmm... I always wonder WHO that person is that should be worried when her favorite food is up for grabs. Better stay on her good side!

Preggo Pictures Coming

I got out the maternity clothes this week and I'm showing a bit these days. I'm almost 15 weeks along (Tuesday).

Until I get Kevin up from his nap to take a picture, I thought I'd leave you with this momento of his little female look-alike...



I believe she'd put all 8 of the pacifiers we own in her mouth if she could manage it.

Frustrating

I wish I got to pick what my taxes go for, because some things I just don't agree with. This, for one, makes me very, very, very sad. No time wasted here, eh?

Pardon Me While I Hurl On You.

Ok, so this is what I get I guess. I've always been thankful (and perhaps a little overly confident) that I've never gotten any of the typical pregnancy symptoms like nausea or varicose veins or sciatica. Toward the end of my pregnancy with Natalie I saw quite a bit of heartburn, but it wasn't anything a few Tums wouldn't knock out.

Strangly enough though, today (the day AFTER my second trimester began) I awoke to a rather weird and unfamiliar feeling. I'm completely nauseous! It started when I bent over the tub to give Nat a bath this morning and did NOT get better when I tried eating a bit this morning for breakfast (cereal and a piece of bread). I moved on to a soda, hoping the fizz would fix things, but I couldnt even down a 1/4 of my favorite Cherry Coke Zero. So a few hours later, I'm worn down (probably from lack of food) and completely on the edge of tossing the few grapes I ate for lunch.

What gives? I thought that the second trimester was supposed to bring the best parts of my pregnancy. I'm not big enough to waddle yet. My back and my stomach muscles aren't hurting quite yet. I've still got SOME energy, although that's waning. And the heartburn hasn't kicked in quite yet. With this curve ball I'm unsure how long I can expect this to last and quite frankly I feel robbed of my increasing excuse to "eat for two". =)

Has anyone heard of this before or experienced it? I googled it, and apparently it IS out there. Not as common, but it DOES exist. So strange... and undeniably annoying!

Update: Found out that I had the stomach bug. Blech! But at least it was over and done with within about 24 hours. I dont know HOW all of you women who have dealt with pregnancy nausea have done it... One day was DEFINITELY enough for me.

Surprise!!!

We have a bit of exciting news to share...I'm pregnant!!!

Kevin and I are expecting a little one this July (the 21st to be exact) and are nervous, happy, apprehensive and eager all at once. Today marks our official 14 week milestone and the beginning of our second trimester. I suppose all of the mixed feelings come from fearing problems with this pregnancy (as we've experienced in a past pregnancy) and then what everyone is telling us that has kids so close in age - "it's going to be HARD at first". Gee thanks. Ummm... let's not say the obvious now people. At least let us live in naive bliss for a little while longer.

Our fears about problems with this pregnancy were somewhat calmed last Thursday when we took a trip down to Johns Hopkins for an in-depth sonogram to make sure that there were no glaring genetic issues. We were so delighted and thankful that everything looked a-okay and that we were seemingly in the clear.

So several people have been asking us if we're going to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Right now we're agreed NOT to find out. We both think it will be fun to be surprised this time around - although we're both not sure if we'll be able to wait that long! For the record, Kevin already thinks it's a boy and I am thinking it's a girl. My assertion is based on a "feeling". He bases his claim on this picture....


Doesn't it look like "he's" flexing his bicep? =)

We don't have any boy names picked out really so we are taking suggestions if you have one - something masculine, not too common or too trendy. If we have a boy, he'll definitely be hunting deer with Dad...but I've already vetoed the name "Buck". =) I'm sure it's fitting for some people, but it's definitely NOT an option for this kid.

Stinker

Kevin's been gone the past couple days and let me just say this kid has given me a workout. I haven't even had her for the entire time as she's enjoyed playing at Grandma's house during my haircut and then playing at a friends house yesterday while I ran out to lunch. It's just that when she's awake...it's a full time job.


I found these pictures that I forgot to upload from New Years. One of the saving graces in her room is her basket of books. I've gotten time to get a shower and put my makeup on while she's "reading" away. She's very content paging through all of them for up to 30 minutes at a time (on a really good day). She takes after her Nana!

Oh, and I'm liking my hair better today. I think I just had a bit of shock yesterday with things. I had to remind myself... it's JUST hair, afterall. And it DOES grow back.

Haircut

Did I do the right thing? I like the cut, but looking at these photos, I think I just aged myself. I really liked the long hair, but it was getting to the point where it was getting caught in everything and a bit of a hassle to fix. Maybe I should have just gotten a few inches off. Argh! I hate second-guessing haircuts!

I'm a "change" sort of person. I like the idea of change and jump into it head-first(i.e. my move to Maryland) but after I do it I find myself wondering..."what the heck did I just do?" You can't say that it's all bad though. It's probably the only way God got me to move to Maryland in the first place (and I really feel like it's where He wants me right now). I mean, if I had thought about moving half way across the country and really let the gravity of that settle in BEFORE I moved, I probably never would have done it. So there's got to be SOME sort of benefit to the way I operate, right?

Did I mention that my husband gets home from a hunting trip tomorrow and he's not a huge fan of layered haircuts??? ***cry***

Christmas in Kansas City

Natalie and I celebrated Christmas (on the 26th) in Kansas City this year. It was an eventful trip getting there and coming back. Natalie woke up a million and one times the night of the 25th and I was operating on about 4 or 5 hours of sleep. She had been burning up with a temperature and I suspected that she had some teeth coming through as she only had 4. I apparently didn't leave enough time for the airport and *silly me* thought airport traffic would be light the Friday after Christmas - because everyone was already to their destination, right? Hmm...Let's just say, I'm not so bright sometimes. After waiting in line at the ticket counter for 1.25 hours and checking in about 25 minutes prior to our flight (still having to navigate security) we ALMOST missed our flight. Fortunately, Providence saw that we got there...literally. They were holding our plane for some Providence, RI passengers whose plane was late. Yeah for Rhode Island!

Anyway, the flight there was fine. She was a little tired and fell asleep for about 15 minutes and the rest of the time was interested in all of the dollar store toys I had in my arsenal of the baby-fun-backpack.


Dad, Elizabeth, Mom and Augie

Mommo, Poppo, Natalie (crying - as she did almost all week) and Me

Being in KC was so nice. It was great to see my parents, my sister and my grandparents. Natalie was a grouch and I kept having to apologize for her crankiness - although that would have happened anywhere we were and at least in KC I had help! She was up an average of 4-5 times a night and I was giving her ibuprofen every 6-8 hours. Come to find out, she was working on an ear infection also (we went to an urgent care clinic). At least it gave me an excuse when people looked at her like she was a devil child. =) Luckily mom had a whole houseful of toys from Elizabeth's (and my) childhood and several new things she'd picked up to distract Natalie from her misery.


Natalie hugging a slipper. She hugs anything these days, it's cute.

We were pretty low-key while in KC... We shopped a little, ate out once and played some fun card games with Elizabeth and her boyfriend (no pic... can't believe I forgot a pic of Scott!).

On the flight home, to my horror, we were one of "those" families on the plane. Natalie yelled and cried a good portion of the time and fell asleep a measly 20 minutes before the plane landed. A nice old woman at the baggage claim made a snide comment regarding her behavior and I bit my tounge to keep from snapping back at her. Seriously...did she NOT have children? Maybe they drugged them with brandy back in her day.

Anyway, we made it back, in one piece and Natalie now has two new teeth to show for her journey.

Snuggling with Poppo...just melts my heart.

Kevin - Mountain man

Kevin here - Just thought I'd bring the blog up to date with what I've been up to lately. Have spent a little time with small weekend trips going to the mountains to hunt with my buddies, Larry and Nathan. Our hangout has been Green Ridge State Forest which has tens of THOUSANDS of acres of public forest to adventure through. Its by far my favorite place to get away and enjoy the raw outdoors. Mountains, rivers, trails.... camping, fishing, and hunting.

Here's a pic of me and Nathan at one of the mountain tops right off a rugged offroad vehicle path (which by the way we almost didn't make it through)



On my last trip there, the good Lord was gracious enough to let me get a nice Buck. I got him during the Black-Powder/Muzzleloading Deer season with my new Blackpowder Muzzleloader (its like a civil-war rifle where you pour powder down the barrel, put in a bullet from the end and ram it down etc). More info on muzzleloading



Nathan and I did some really fun rabbit hunting one day and I got my legs all torn up from the briars, but it was worth every scar :), and we did finally bag us a yummy rabbit.

This was a spot where we stopped to scout out some more briar patches nearby.



We've been eating some of the delicious venison lately... some steaks and some stir-fry. Yummmm-O!!

Last but not least, I'm doing my part to help the farmers around here with the menacing foxes in the area. While I'm not a trophy hunter, I took this fox to help local farmers/agriculture, and he was quite a beautiful animal.