Try and Catch the Wind

12 weeks! and other stuff

2009-11-19T18:53:10Z

Well I am very happy to be 12 weeks along in this pregnancy as of today! Since I got an email telling me that this is the end of the first trimester, I am going to consider that to be true. I know by some accounts 13 weeks is the end, but whatever. I am feeling very good - no nausea, a good amount of energy, and not too many digestive issues (I think that is thanks to the probiotic). I have gained 2-3 pounds total, which isn't bad either. I have so much coming up between today and Christmas that I know it won't happen yet, but as of the new year (right when I should be getting my big u/s) we will get started on the nursery. I DO need to start collecting more ideas though.

As far as Grady, thins are going well. Party is this weekend, and I am 99% done with party prep (other than food, of course, which is a biggie). House is also 99% clean for guests who arrive tomorrow morning. Weather looks pretty good ;) and I am excited! I think we will have about 50 people (about 20 kids) there. A few people can't make it, but most can. The gifts have also started arriving from relatives who can't be there. My grandma sent him an awesome package - Toy Story DVD (somehow we didn't own it) along with the whole set of Toy Story stuffed animal from the Disney store, a Buzz Lightyear cup, Buzz sunglasses (G now has a collection because he always wears them!), a Toy Story hat, t-shirt, and 2 books (one with 3-D glasses). She always goes out of her way for him, which is so sweet considering her fixed income now.

Oh, in other good news - we ran out of Grady's Prevacid and couldn't get a refill right away because the GI doc was being a pain (long story). Well anyway, he ended up doing just fine off of it! I was nervous about taking him off it because I thought he still may have some reflux, but he is doing great. So I am (finally!) officially declaring him 100% over all stomach issues. He can eat anything and seems to have no issues. He doesn't ever tell us his belly hurts anymore either.

We are pretty sure that we will be getting Thanksgiving dinner catered to our house in TN. That should make it a really relaxing and special day for us, with very little stress. It will be especially nice after the craziness of this weekend. We can watch the parade, go for a hike in the Smoky Mountain National park (we will be very close), and maybe go for a swim at the resort's nice indoor pool. Then we can just wait for our dinner to arrive! They deliver right to your cabin and have turkey, rolls, 5 sides, and pumpkin pie! Sounds good to me! The next day we will do Dollywood - they have SO MUCH for Christmas - a great Christmas show for kids, a Christmas parade, a toy store "come to life", brunch with Santa, and then all the rides, of course. That will be G's birthday, so I hope to make it extra fun. Then on Saturday we will probably do a Gatlinburg day. They have a great aquarium, lots of good restaurants, and a neat chocolate shop (with a big chocolate fountain and stuff) that we have to hit, considering G's love of chocolate. So those are our general plans!

When we get back we have Grady's school birthday party, Eric's work Christmas party, another dinner with the VP of his company (Grady loves to dine with the VPs of major corporations!), and Sesame Street Live. I am also one of two mothers who have signed up to do the Christmas party for G's class. It won't be tons of work - just providing special snacks and fun paper plates and napkins. Then of course is Christmas and all those festivities - busy busy busy!

OK - off to book our Thanksgiving dinner!

party weather

2009-11-17T12:41:33Z

So here is the local forecast, so why am I still so nervous about the weather? We will have a tent anyway, but I just want it to be nice!

There was no rain even in the forecast before, so it worries me. PLEASE be nice! It has definitely turned way cooler tha nit has been (yesterday was almost 80 again) but 65 would be great. Just NO RAIN!

good weather news

2009-11-15T17:44:13Z

So the weather forecast for G's party day has changed, but only for the better! Now they are saying 70 degrees and sunny - wahoo! PLEASE stay that way! PLEASE!

Oh, and it is crazy warm here today. It was supposed to be 80, but now it is already 80 and they are saying 85 for a high!

Weekend and baby #2 - with belly shot

2009-11-15T15:54:23Z

Weekend So this has been a BUSY weekend! We have just been going like crazy - I am doing party stuff, Eric is getting the yard all in order (new mulch, planting a few things, etc) since the party will be outside, and we have still been trying to fit in some fun for Grady of course.

Yesterday Eric took Grady to the free workshop they do for kids at Lowes. He was the littlest one there apparently (by far) but he just loves working with tools and everything, so he had a great time. He even came home with a Lowes work apron and goggles - too cute! They get a patch every time they make a project too. Yesterday they made a wooden garage for matchbox cars. I totally flaked out about the birthday party - it is today, not yesterday. So we did end up going over to World Market instead anf getting the new kitchen set. Eric has to go back in his truck today and pick it up.

Today is very nice again. It is supposed to be about 80. The only problem is I have my air conditioning off but every afternoon the house gets so hot. I just feel like once it is November the air needs to be off. The boys are out doing some stuff now while I am working on party stuff. When they get back we'll have lunch and probably all work in the yard a bit.

Baby #2 So I am just feeling so great now - I'm taking a probiotic (totally safe - checked it with the OB) and it is helping with the gassiness and indigestion. Then my nausea is completely gone. I also have so much energy again, and it could not have come at a better time, considering all we have coming up with out of town guests, a party for 60 people, and a trip to Tennessee. Not to mention Christmas (with lots more guests staying), planning two more trips for the late winter/early spring, redoing our guest room/office, doing a nursery, and just generally getting ready for baby #2 - so crazy!

So I have to post my latest belly shot - here I am yesterday (11w2d). Almost to the end of the first trimester! I have gained 2 pounds as of now, and actually weigh a little LESS than I did at this point last time. But look at the comparison - so crazy!

Here I am yesterday

and at 13 weeks with Grady (so 2 weeks FARTHER along!)

I'm huge. But oh well - at least people can tell I am PG. I'm still not in maternity somehow. I'm surprised that even my early maternity jeans are falling off. But only about 3 pairs of my regular jeans look good. They are low-rise so they just hit below my belly. I am also up about one cup size in the chest, which is always nice. Unfortunately, I know they won't stay that way ;)

We got the new kitchen set!

2009-11-14T23:21:41Z

We just got back from World Market where we purchased this dining set:

For some reason we can't figure out it was even cheaper than we expected - all 6 pieces for $575 including tax! We can pick it up tomorrow since it was actually in stock. So we'll have it in time for all of our company coming on Friday! I'll take pictures of the kitchen once it is set up. I think it will look great with the new wall color too!

rosa727 @ 2009-11-14T13:49:00

2009-11-14T18:50:51Z

So the weather has been so amazing this whole fall. We have still been in the 70's most days with lots of sunshine (except when that hurricane rolled through a few days ago!). Anyway, average high temp this time of year is 65, so we have been a bit above average. I am SO happy to see that the prediction for Grady's party day is 64 and sunny! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me that the forecast does not change! That would be perfect, especially since the party will be at the warmest time of day. Last year was only 50!!! WTH - 15 degrees below average!? We deserve some nice weather this year. It was OK last year, but I would really appreciate the warmth!

We have a birthday party to go to this evening for our neighbor who is turning one. I had to wrap the gift a few days ago so Grady would stop trying to play with it. It's a Little People airport. Seriously, my child is obsessed with any make-believe playset and especially LP! It's crazy. I think he'll still be playing with LP when he's 10.

I have been getting tons done for the party this weekend too - doing the centerpieces today. The adult tables (there are 4 banquet tables) will have bucket centerpieces (covered in blue star scrapbook paper) with fun stuff like train lolipops coming out of them. Then each table (including the 3 smaller kids tables) will have a wooden train engine anchoring a group of balloons. The wooden trains were $1 a piece at Target. I found these cute latex balloons that are blue with white trains all over them. Those will surround a red star mylar balloon. Our colors are red, white, and blue and I am also using stars in the decor, so it should be cute. Then on the screen porch there will be the blue train balloons and plain red balloons just floating up to the ceiling with the colorful strings hanging down. I loved how that looked last year. That's where all the food will be, so I want it to look really cute.

Well that's about it right now. I also really need to work on plans for our trip to TN. We leave in about 10 days. We need to figure out what we are doing and where we want to eat!

my good little student

2009-11-12T19:16:20Z

Today was parent-teacher conference day at Grady's school, and I just have to say how proud I am of my little student! The teacher had nothing but good things to say about him. She started by laughing and saying "well I guess Grady has certainly adjusted to school well!" Then she added how he shares great, never grabs things from other kids, takes turns well, listens to all the rules, and is very polite. She commented on how funny it is that Grady will always say "excuse me" if he is interrupting or asking a question. And apparently he always uses "please" and "thank you" at school. Finally, she mentioned that he has a great attention span and will sit in circle time for as long as she is talking. I am just so pleased with how well Grady has taken to school and hope that this indicates that he will have many happy school years ahead of him!

Grady's Big Words

2009-11-11T18:54:08Z

Grady is a great talker and has been for quite some time. He definitely has a large vocabulary and is always surprising us with the new words he will start using. Lately there have been several words that have become part of his vocabulary that have surprised us. These are words that he started using on his own (I am sure we have said them in front of him but we never really taught them to him or used them a lot). And the most amazing part is how he uses them correctly in different contexts!

"commotion" used when all of his play cars are in a traffic jam - "there is a big commotion here!"

"designed" while driving down the road, he will ask "why does that car look different? I guess it is just how the men designed it." (oh, and his other new thing is answering his own questions - haha!)

"privacy" usually used when on the toilet - he will ask for some privacy

"incredible" this may be his new favorite word - used the first time while in the tub. The rubber chicken was doing something crazy, and he said "Mama pa-bock (what he likes to call chickens) that's incredible!"

As we get close to his third birthday, I am sure he will continue to make us laugh with all of his big words and ridiculous sayings.

An update

2009-11-09T19:07:49Z

Things are going well around here. I am pretty sure we are getting the new kitchen table, BTW. Thanks for all of the input!

baby #2: Well I am feeling tons better! I am 10.5 weeks today, and starting at 10 weeks exactly I really just stopped feeling nauseous. I have also had more energy. I do think that I am past the peak, so it is very likely that I will continue to feel this good. Let's hope so because I feel like a new person! I am starting to look at nursery stuff and make a list of what we will need for this baby. We will be finding out the gender at the very beginning of the new year, so I would like to really be able to start on everything right after that. We have a lot to do since we are redoing the office/guest room AND doing the nursery. We will also be travelling a lot, so we need to start early.

Grady's Birthday: Things are coming along very well. This weekend I finished finding fun kid's train songs and burning them onto CDs for every child to take home as a favor. I also made custom inserts for the CD cases. They came out cute. In addition to that, each child will get a wooden train whistle and an engineer hat. I already have all of that, so that's done. This week my focus is doing the table linens. I am renting plain white tablecloths for the tables, but I am making runners out of this red and white striped fabric. It's actually seersucker, so it looks a little more vintagey.

As far as G's gifts, we ordered the things we are getting for him. Here it is - I think he is going to love it!

play store:

and register - I love this because it comes with stickers that have barcodes. You can put them on your play food so that it will scan. There is also a microphone for "price checks".

I also got him a box of wooden play vegetables from Melissa and Doug. He has some other food, but that will be a good addition for his store.

My mom got him a bike. She's crazy so she had to get some fancy one from a bike shop. She just didn't feel like the regular ones that every single other kid has was good enough quality. She is seriously just obsessed with reading reviews and all that. I'm just like "whatever you decide". Then he is getting a doctor kit from my grandpa and his wife who are flying in for the party. And my ILs got him this:

It's the Little People Zoo. He LOVES LP, and he loves animals, so this should be great. It is geared a little older than the other LP stuff because it is all about learning the alphabet and stuff. While he can name all the letters, he could certainly use the practice hearing the sounds and seeing the letters. I think he will love it.

Weekend It was great - super nice weather (almost 80 and sunny) all weekend. We went hiking at this lake near us, went out to dinner at Mimi's Cafe (where Grady's "girlfriend" works), and participated in our neighborhood chili cookoff. Eric's chili didn't win, but I think he was robbed ;) But seriously, the one that won was NOT good. The guy was just going around telling everyone to vote for him. Whatever - Eric was just happy that the chili came out so well and got so many compliments because he will be making it for the birthday party as the main dish.

Oh, in other good news, I was finally able to get my flu shot today! Many doctors are out right now, but CVS saved me. Our local CVS will also be getting the H1N1 next week, so both G and I can get it there. Thank goodness! PG women are #1 on the list of who should get the H1N1 shot, so I am so relieved it will be coming in so soon.

New Kitchen Table

2009-11-08T18:03:44Z

So we just finished painting the kitchen (well Eric did). I love the color and need to post pictures. But anyway, it is really making us want to get a new kitchen table. We have been wanting one for a while, and the one we have is starting to get beat up. It is about 5 years old and sees tons of use. Also, it really does not go with this house. So we keep looking at the ones at World Market. Now that place just seems too good to be true. The prices are so good. The set we like is supposed to be about $1300, is on sale for about $800, and I have a 25% off coupon (even on sale stuff). So we could get the entire set for about $600! It is solid wood, seats more than our current table, matches our house and kitchen so well, and the reviews are ALL good (70 reviews - every one gave it 5 stars). We have to assemble it, but that's no big deal for Eric. Should we just get it?!

Here it is:

We would get 4 chairs and a bench. The bench could be great when the kids are a bit older. It can seat up to 4 people too, so really this set can accommodate 8 people if we need the space when we have guests.

My little bean

2009-11-05T21:54:56Z

Here is the best ultrasound picture I got. You know how these things are - always looks clearer on the screen than the pictures come out. Oh, and baby is upside down. That's the head at the bottom :) See the little arms and legs too?

Baby #2 - first doctor's appointment

2009-11-05T19:30:14Z

So my first OB appointment went really well today! Eric came too, which was nice. Grady was at school, so I was able to just relax and enjoy everything. I had the bloodwork and exam stuff, but I also had the first ultrasound, which was just amazing, of course! It was about 2 weeks later than it was with Grady, so it was amazing to see the difference. I could really see the arms and legs and everything. And baby was wiggling around, which was cute. I was measuring ahead (even ahead of what I had, which took into account my short cycles) so they changed my due date to June 3rd. I'm glad they changed it. With G I was measuring exactly 6 days ahead, and for some reason they did not change it. Well guess what? He was 6 days early :) We heard the heartbeat, which was 169 beats/minute. That was the most incredible part, for some reason. This just makes me really excited. Finally it is real! Oh, and I am 10 weeks today (with the new EDD) so hopefully the nausea will let up soon. The doctor did say it was common that you have worse nausea with #2 than #1, so I guess that's it. I got some pictures, so I'll scan and post the best one later.

Puerto Rico trip

2009-11-04T18:38:00Z

OK, so we REALLY need to get this trip planned. I am excited to book it, but I just need to decide who is coming! So here are our three options, please let me know what you all think as far as what would be the most fun...

1. Just me and Eric - Grady would stay back home with my mom and we could have just couple time the whole vacation

2. Me, Eric, and Grady - we would get to bring G on a fun trip before baby #2 comes. Grady is capable of doing so many fun things (rain forest, eating out at nice places) that will be harder when we first travel with #2 that I would like to treat him too

3. Me, Eric, Grady, and my mom - she offered to come as basically a built-in babysitter. She is so very helpful with Grady and just does things before being asked. She would take him so we could have dinners out and things, but then we could all go on some excursions together. She also has a great friend in PR and knows a lot about the island. We would probably get adjoining rooms or a large suite so it would be easy to come and go when G is asleep.

So what would be the best? Input? Keep in mind that Grady is a great traveller and basically sleeps very well while on vacation. He is not scared of new things and just LOVES new experiences. That's part of why I want to take him. But be honest about what you think.

birthstone jewelry

2009-11-03T18:59:58Z

So hokiegirlie just posted something about David Yurman and reminded me that since I got a piece of DY jewelry when G was born (his birthstone), I am really wanting a piece when this baby is born too. I went to look a little, and found this ring that is just gorgeous. Pearl is the June birthstone, so it will probably be that. But if they are early like G it will be an emerald (which I don't like as much).

It wouldn't let me copy a bigger picture, but isn't this pretty? It's not really all that $$ either.

Love it! Of course I have a while to go...

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T16:24:20Z

We had a really nice Halloween this year, though we didn't go over the top with the activities. There are so many fun parties and festivals in the evenings around here, but they are all too late for G. He really needs to be in bed by 7ish. Even the little kid stuff often doesn't even start until 6. But we did do the school party, the neighborhood party/parade, carved pumpkins, and went trick-or-treating. We were lucky because yesterday morning it was pounring rain. It stopped for the party in the morning, poured some more, and then was actually nice for TOTing. Although it was pretty warm and steamy. G may have been hot in his puffy costume! I was also very happy because we let Grady stay up until 8 last night, which is a HUGE deal around here. Well he actually slept in until 8 (7 new time), so it all worked out. Now he is just on the new time schedule. I was afraid he would get up even earlier as he sometimes does when he goes to bed late.

Oh, and I have to mention how cute he was while TOTing. After a few houses he said (to everyone around him) "this is SO MUCH FUN!" He was also telling people at all the houses to "have a nice day" and "Happy Halloween"

OK - on to pictures!

The school pumpkin party - I feel bad that G doesn't have his special shirt on. I thought since they said no costumes, they didn't want anything Halloween.

they had jello cups with gummy bugs hidden in them

He dressed up for Kindermusik on Friday. Here he is with his teacher. Notice how the hat pushes his ears out?

Posing in his costume (with our new kitchen wall color!)

On our way to the parade/party

waiting for things to start

hugging his best buddy

Parading through the wet streets

on the hayride by himself! Again, the hat is squishing his face

the pumpkin carving pictures came out dark since we were in the garage, but here is the finished product. Can you guess who is who? We didn't carve baby #2 :)

Getting ready to head out for TOTing

With the pumpkins - but not really cooperating

Florida Trip

2009-10-30T20:08:34Z

Well it's official. We are going to Florida for a week in March (20th-27th) for a family reunion with Eric's family. I don't think we will necessarily stay in the same hotel with them. We actually may get a beachfront condo. It will be in the Bradenton area. It should be fun, as long as we have our own space. I think it will be a nice last trip with G before the baby gets here in May/June. And it should be nice weather in Southern Florida at that time. We all love the beach too, so a beach trip is always something to look forward to!

Well between that and our Puerto Rico trip in February, it looks like I will need to buy another maternity bathing suit or two. I only own one.

Halloween Fun

2009-10-30T18:44:15Z

Grady had his "Pumpkin Party" at school yesterday, and I went. They couldn't wear costumes because his school is church affiliated, but they had all sorts of fall fun. They even got to scoop seeds out of a real pumpkin and make art with them. That was in the morning before the party, so I wasn't there. But they told me that Grady was more excited about it than any other kid, and he carried around the pumpkin, declaring that it was his. It was crazy because most of the kids gave out goodie bags just filled with stuff. I wasn't expecting that and didn't have any to give out. It was crazy though - Grady got a ton of little toys and treats. He loved opening all the bags when we got home. I'll definitely be prepared next year!

This morning Grady got to officially wear his pumpkin costume for the first time at Kindermusik. He loved it, though it was quite distracting! When he gets up from his non-nap we are going to make pumpkin pie playdough - it smells like pumpkin pie because you scent it with spices. It should be cool.

Tomorrow morning we have the neighborhood costume parade and party. Then we will carve pumpkins. I like doing them right on Halloween. In the evening we will, of course be TOTing. I love TOTing in our neighborhood because police park at the entrance to our development. No one can drive in at all during the hours of 6 and 8PM. They have to park, which keeps out the random people just coming through in cars to get candy. It also keeps it a lot safer on the roads. Eric and I will probably watch a scary movie tomorrow night for fun. Now I just need to figure out a fun Halloween dinner to make that Grady will actually eat and enjoy! Any ideas!? I want something theme-y.

Some baby # 2 stuff

2009-10-28T17:58:00Z

Well I will be 9 weeks this weekend, and I am feeling better than I was. I blame most of how I was feeling on this cold/cough/bronchitis I had. I have been feeling pretty good since that has been going away. I am also so impatiently awaiting my first ultrasound next week! I can't wait to see the little bean :)

Because I just love home decor, I am already super excited about doing another nursery! We will be moving the office to the first floor and combining it with the guest room. That way we still have the 5th bedroom as the playroom. Anyway, I think I posted a few things a while back (before I was even PG), but I just wanted to post a few other cute ideas for my own reference later.

preppy Gap turtles

really cute alphabet one

I don't really love pink, but I could do the walls blue with this

love the floral decals used like wallpaper

I like the smaller amount of pink here

love this color combo

this is amazing, though I would never put that huge mirror over a crib

I am thinking I may get a PB crib. We have an outlet right near us that has all their baby stuff. Plus, my mom will be buying our crib and she loves them. They seem like a very nice quality. When we bought G's crib we had so much trouble finding ones that were solid wood. We ended up going with a real furniture company, but they no longer carry cribs. I love his furniture and it will last his whole childhood. I hope to find something as nice for this one.

Day at the Zoo

2009-10-27T18:55:47Z

Yesterday Grady and I had a really fun morning with our best friends at the zoo. We hadn't been in quite a while and since we are members, we were able to bring our friends for free too. The boys had so much fun together, and everyone behaved. It was also nice that Grady was worn out and went right to sleep for a nap that afternoon.

Some pictures...

playing on the playground there while we waited for the zoo to open

Watching the elephants

Feeding goats - I have quite a few "feeding goats" pictures because Grady loves it so much

LEAVES! They are just starting to turn here, and Grady is really into them this year. He picks them up whenever he sees them and always asks if we can do crafts with them :) He saw it in a magazine.

Sitting on the big bear together

I also have to add how cute it was that Grady kept hugging his friend and told him "I love you Drew - we can do EVERYTHING together!"

He's napping again today, and I am being lazy. Off to order some more party stuff online.

Fabulous Weekend

2009-10-25T23:05:18Z

Though I am STILL sick (I am not even sure I have mentioned it here, but I have had a cough for about 10 days - doctor thought it was bronchitis but the antibiotics aren't working) we had a wonderful weekend. The weather was beautiful, Grady was a peach and slept great (even taking great naps, which isn't too common anymore), and we had lots of fun activities planned. Also, Eric made dinner (exactly what I requested) every night, which is always appreciated :)

Saturday morning we went to "Day of Grace" which was a fall festival at his school (his school is at Grace Covenant Church). Grady was in the BEST mood and had so many fans. He got so many comments about "does he ever stop smiling?" to which my response is "pretty much no". Anyway, he got to sit in a firetruck (always fun), bounce on some inflatables, get his face painted (for the first time!), play BINGO, and watch a puppet show. That afternoon, after a nice family nap, Eric took Grady to his work to play on the trucks (Grady's favorite activity). This morning we went shopping a bit - just Home Depot and World Market. Then we ate at Atlanta Bread Company for lunch because Grady reuqested that we "eat at a restaurant for lunch". He's funny - he loves to dine out :) This afternoon, after another family nap, we went to Grady's friend's birthday party. She had an awesome bounce house (it had slides and basketball hoops and everything) which he loved. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera to the party, but I have some other fun weekend pictures to share...

Grady pretending to be a cowboy

playing in the fire truck at the festival

Daddy pointing out all the cool stuff on the fire truck

bouncy time!

cool old tractor that he got to sit in

And it pulled Grady and Daddy for a hay ride

enjoying some free lemonade - everything was completely free!

BIG slide!

face painting - he got a pumpkin

eating popcorn and watching the puppet show

My little ham!

2009-10-22T11:34:42Z

Check out Grady singing and playing the piano at the Children's Museum. First he does a little ABCs, then he switches to "Elmo's Song".

My little ham and cheese sandwich, as I sometimes call him :) He now puts on "concerts" and will say "thank you for coming" at the beginning. It's so funny.

Pregnancy Stuff - feel free to skip

2009-10-21T17:48:27Z

Well I am not even 8 weeks yet, but I thought I would post my first belly shot - more for comparison sake than anything. My stomach definitely looks different, but I am sure most of that is being bloated. But seriously, I feel so round in the middle.

I don't think I have gained any weight yet - maybe a pound. Last time I only ended up gaining 25 pounds (even though they told me to gain 40!) but about 10 of that was in the first trimester. I know that is not the norm, but it's just the way it worked out. I ate whenever I felt hungry (which was a lot) but mostly ate healthy stuff. I just get sick from junk food, so it's not really an issue. I'm pretty much doing the same thing this time, so we'll see how it goes. As far as the junk food (especially greasy or rich food) that is the one food aversion I have. It is making me really sick. As far as cravings, I am mainly just craving dairy - cheese and Ovaltine :)

my practice cake

2009-10-20T21:38:28Z

Here is the trial of Grady's birthday cake that I did the other day. Now remember that I didn't spend nearly as much time making it perfect as I will for the real one. The frosting will be much neater, since I will do a crumb coat (those work amazingly!). I also will have two more train cars and a caboose since we will need to feed 50-60 people. But I think I have the basic idea down now, so I am not as nervous about doing the cake. Oh, and I ran out of Dots (they were just out of the Halloween candy we had). But I don't even think I'll be doing the Dots. I think one train car will have a candle and writing ("Happy Birthday Grady"), another will have animal crackers and then twizzlers to make a cage (for a zoo car). Then Eric suggested Twinkie cargo on one, which could be really cute. Or I may do jellybeans to be like coal (though I won't do black ones since kids don't like them).

Some pictures and video...

2009-10-20T18:46:11Z

First I just have to post the video of Grady playing soccer with Eric. It's too cute.

Grady wearing his new tool belt that Eric got for him when he was away in GA

at Eric's desk

playing with his big scoop truck

running into the birthday party with a gift in hand

eating cake - he sat right next to the birthday girl

Little Buckaroo on the hayride

part of the pit crew at the children's museum the other day

filling the tires with air

playing with this cool machine that shoots balls through tubes

playing doctor - his favorite thing to do

treating a patient - he loved the glasses

how funny does he look?

ridiculous crooked grin as he played the piano - I have video of that too which is hilarious

rosa727 @ 2009-10-20T13:51:00

2009-10-20T18:07:22Z

Health: Well the nausea seems to have been a fluke because it only lasted about a day and then was MUCH better. The only thing making me feel like crap now is this sore throat/cough that I have. I have had it for about 3 weeks, and I am SO SO over it. I have no idea what the issue is. I am getting lots of rest, taking vitamins, etc. When will it go away? It is keeping me up at night too because I am coughing and choking. Enough already!

Travel: Well now that I have taken my Mass trip we can focus on the rest of our upcoming travel. Next up is our 4 night trip to the Smoky Mountains. I've been starting to get things planned and ready for that trip since it is only about a month away. It should be lots of fun!

After that we have our trip to Puerto Rico in the winter. Or at least that was the plan. But I just don't know. Maybe it is silly but I missed Grady SO SO SO much when I was in Mass that I worry about whether I would even enjoy a trip without him. I know we have gone away before, but he was younger. Somehow it seems harder now. It would probably good for just me and Eric to go since we will have another baby soon, making it even harder to get away. But I feel like I want to bring Grady. My mom even said she would come to help watch him so we could have dinners alone, etc. It's a decision I have to make soon.

Then in March we will be going to Bradenton, FL. We were going to go to Aruba next year with Eric's parents, but they have cancelled that in favor of FL. The reason is because several of their family members have dealt with some serious illness in the past year. Anyway, a few of them live down that way now (retired) and are planning a family reunion. The ILs realize that they can't ask us and BIL to do Aruba AND that, so they are just asking us to go there to see the whole family. It should be nice in March, so I am fine with that. Plus Aruba would have been crazy with a 2-3 month old. And, selfishly, I would rather take our big trip next summer with MY family. We are still planning on doing our yearly beach trip to the SC shore. We will just plan it late in the summer so we can settle into life with 2 kids.

And this is totally crazy and WAY off, but I am too freaking excited about the concept not to mention it. Eric and I have always wanted to go back to Hawaii (where we took our honeymoon). We particularly loved the Big Island, especially the place we stayed. So we have said that we would love to go back and renew our vows on the beach there on our 10 year anniversary. We didn't know (and still really don't) whether it would work with children, etc. But it is my mom's 10 year anniversary the same year, and when I was in Mass we talked about it, and they love the idea of us all going there (with the kids) and staying at the resort we stayed at and we could renew our vows on the beach. Anyway, it is 2.5 years off, but we would start planning seriously at least a year out, if not more, since it would be a huge trip. The problem is, it would probably be a $15,000 trip. Seriously. That is a lot of $$, but we have always prioritized travel and spent a lot of $$ on it. We will glady do without a fancy car or fancy clothes so we can do it. Anyway, just for fun, here is the resort we stayed at and would be hoping to stay again:

http://www.konavillage.com/

It was pure heaven! We had a hut right on the black sand beach. There were sea turtles just laying around everyhwere on the beach - amazing.

Party: The trial birthday cake for Grady came out great, so it's good to know I can pull that off. I took some pictures I'll try to post. I also finished the birthday banner, which came out so cute. The RSVPs are rolling in. I need to order the wood train whistles and engineer hats as well as the build-a-train kits on Thursday. I am also going shopping for fabric to do table runners for the tables. I am hoping to do either red/white stripes or stars and use the giant blue ric-rac as trim. My dad owns a sign business so he is making several signs for me that say "dining car", "all aboard", and "check-in" (where they will leave gifts and sign something for Grady). The food is planned. Eric has been refining his chili recipe. He makes great chili but never writes down the recipe. So now he has been making it once a week to get it just right.

I have pictures from the past couple weeks but Flickr isn't working for me, so that will have to wait. Be back soon!