A Look Back at 2009

A lot happened around the world this year and for the most part, anyone you ask is happy to say good-bye to 2009. With the economy falling and with the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in years, it's understandable. Beau and I have been very blessed this year and have been largely unaffected by these crazy changes. In fact, it makes me kind of sad that so many people are ready to bid farewell to this year when it has been the best year of my life. Here is a look back at why I will never forget 2009 and all of it's blessings:

January 17, 2009 - Couples' Shower!

I have already blogged about this but again, we were SO touched that so many of our friends hosted and so many others came to the shower thrown in our honor! We loved every minute of it and it was great to see everyone! It was also the last time Beau and I would be in the Holidays' Corpus Christi home before they sold it :-(Sad face for me but they were thrilled to sell! ;-)

March 21 - 22, 2009 - Bride's Weekend!

Some people may call this a bachelorette party, I call it a Bride's Weekend ;-) Full of manis/pedis, dinner and bottle service, my sisters really know how to throw a party! Definitely one of the highlights of my year!

April 1, 2009 - I was promoted!

At the office, I was promoted to Account Supervisor of The Cheesecake Factory business. April was a great month ;-)

April 8, 2009 - New Homeowners!

Yes, we took a risk in the unstable marketplace and (luckily) came out on top. We found the perfect home for us and we like to think that it was much more affordable than this time last year. As I have blogged before, there are SO many things we love about this house - it's really pretty perfect for our growing family :-)

(picture to come)

April 18, 2009 - We were married!

The best 4 days of my life were in Corpus Christ surrounded by family and friends with a great weekend of events celebrating us! A BIG thank you to my parents for making it all happen - we will never forget it! When can we do it again?

April 20 - 26, 2009 - Honeymoon in Tahiti!

Enough said but you can look back to this post for the details  oh and this one too of why this was the time of our lives and why we WILL be returning!

May 2009 - Andrea passed the Texas Bar!

So proud of Andrea for passing the Texas Bar earlier this year! Not only did she pass the Louisiana Bar the year before but this symbolized Step 1 to get her back to Texas. And now, she is happily living in Austin!!

May 9, 2009 - Dr. Amanda Caldwell

Woo hoo! My sister's years of hard work paid off and she received her Ph.D. is Psychology! We were SO proud! So proud we didn't take any pictures? I need to find those....hmm....

May 17, 2009 - Brinkley joined the family!

Our adorable Brinkley who has brought SO much fun to our lives came home! I can't imagine not having him around to torment Shelby and to be such a cuddly lover for us!

June - October 2009 - Beau was at home!

As you all know, Beau travels for a living for his job. So, when he was at home for most of the summer and into fall, I was thrilled! He became the best House Husband: cooking, cleaning, laundry and sleeping. And let me tell you, he is one hell of a napper. ;-) I loved having him home and it's really hard to have him back on the road now. Boo.

Two things about this picture: 1) We haven't even thought about how we want to decorate our master bedroom, hence the plainness - no judgment, and 2) I hope this captures the beauty of when Beau is home. A face-planted nap with his shoes still on while Shelby sits on his butt like a little guard dog. SO CUTE!! (click to enlarge photo)

October 2009 - We are having a baby!

Baby Reynolds is due June 26, 2010 and we couldn't be happier! Happier? No. More patient? Yes. :) This sono has already been posted but once again, this is at the 12 week appt. Next sonogram will be the second week of February to determine the sex. Can't wait!

December 2009 - A White Christmas!

We have had snow 3 times in December, one of which was on Christmas Eve! It was all really pretty - even when we had to drive in it. It's crazy to think that I had a White Christmas in Corpus Christi (2004) before most people my age ever had one in Dallas!

Happy New Year to you and your family and we can't WAIT for 2010! Hoping it's better than 2009 for all!

Nursery Furniture

Very excited to say that we ordered our baby furniture yesterday! We have done plenty of research, and very similar to the bedding process, this actually went pretty smoothly since I knew what I wanted and was able to quickly narrow down the collections. I am just thrilled! It's all coming together just as I envisioned it :-)

This picture doesn't entirely capture what we ordered. There are actually 2 cribs in this collections and OF COURSE the photo features the other crib. Ours is similar with the straight lines, minus that solid square in front and the back of it is more like the top of the mirror and solid on the sides. That's the best way I can describe it all. As I mentioned, we want something not so baby so that this furniture can grow with our growing child if we want it to. I can see this dresser in a teenager's room, can't you?

The best part about this furniture is the height of the dresser/changing table! Sadly, dresser height was our #1 priority so that wouldn't have to hunch over to change diapers so we totally lucked out with this one being the tallest of all! Tall people success! ;)

 (as always, click to enlarge the photo)

The sale price and after-Christmas special of throwing in the conversion kit for free (really?! that's like a $150 value! score) wasn't enough for Mr. Wheeler Dealer over here. He actually asked them to throw in the mattress for free. And while I had my head buried in my hand with embarrassment, the lady actually agreed to knock off almost 50% of the price of the mattress! Ask and you shall receive, I guess. This is exciting b/c it's some super duper #1 rated by consumer reports mattress and nicer than our own. Ha! This had us leaving feeling like we really got ourselves a deal but really what is shows is the amount of mark up they put on things in the first place!

In the coming months, I'm excited for my glider chair to be back in stock so that I can order it and testing out our navy blue paint colors! We are doing navy walls whether it's a boy or girl. (I LOVE navy and pink together and of course navy and baby blue is pretty cool too).Plus, there is a double chair rail in that room so the navy will only be on the bottom so it won't be too much. I can just see it all come together! :-)

Oh, and the jury is still out on the scary gorilla cute monkey.

14 Weeks (or the many faces of baby)

 How your baby's growing:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

I don't buy peaches or lemons but I really thought a peach was the larger of the two. My mom pointed out that we may just be used to Texas peaches down here though ;-)  

Sweet or Scary?

I think I know your answer but let me explain! Ok first, I am 99% sure of how we will decorate the nursery and I assure you it is nothing less than tasteful! We are going with a simple, non-nursery feel so I thought perhaps the one punch of "nursery" that we could throw in is an oversized stuffed animal. And then I saw this! It's too much, isn't it?! When I first spotted it, it was on a top shelf in a dark storage closet at Beau's office today. They are moving offices and trying to get rid of things so we were there to pick up a laser printer and cartridges (something else we don't need). And how random it that they had this?! Anyway, when I first saw it, it looked like a sweet monkey!! We get it home and it looks like a HUGE gorilla!! He's sitting on a queen sized bed mind you (and has breasts larger than the average woman). Yikes. He was free so we can get rid of him but you know giant stuffed animals are expensive!

I wish I had video of Shelby's reaction to this guy. haha!! Scared out of her mind, which may be symbolic of our child's reaction to it :-(

Christmas Recap

What a wonderful week we have had! We hosted Christmas Eve at our house (when did I grow up??) and had Beau's family over for dinner. Everyone chipped in and brought food making the whole thing very easy and very delicious!! I couldn't have asked for more except for better weather for their drive home. While the constant snow that day was SO cool to watch, the weather continued to get worse. Ice covered the roadways, the snow storm made visibility tough, etc. It was a scary time including his brother having to pull his dad's truck back on the road a couple of times. Thank God everyone made it home safely!

First thing Christmas morning we headed to DFW for our flight to Corpus! Beau and my dad surprised my mom and I by flying Beau and I home for Christmas. We were originally not supposed to see them at all, which in my entire lifetime I've never been away from my family for Christmas. I don't really know how I thought that would work. We had a slight flight delay but made it home in time for their annual Christmas Day lunch - AMAZING! My parents continue to out do themselves - how does that even happen?! Hope no one ever expects that of my cooking!

After lunch we opened gifts, which is always a treat. I received much-needed maternity clothes and gift cards for more much-needed maternity clothes ;-) Oh! And I got THESE! (the second pair, that is). I really never dreamed that my Mom Santa would surprise me with these but I'm just thrilled! They are everything I hoped they would be! ;-) But really, my mom and I are so baby-focused right now that I really didn't expect anything non-baby so it was quite the surprise!

The whole weekend was just great. We had our Surf Club fix and overall, the weekend was too short. I got to see my sister Amanda one last time before she moves to Columbus, OH. :-( It was good to see her. She plans to come home for the birth of the baby...we will get her home one way or another! Maybe Andrea and I just need to keep having key events happen in our lives to get her back here to visit! :-)

I'm super sad Christmas is over. No more Christmas music and time to put away the decorations. Boo.

Helleau 2nd Trimester!

I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning! I just couldn't wait to read this week's update and see what's going on inside of me! But wait. My book introduced me to the second trimester but Babycenter said I'm in the last week of my first trimester?!  I'm glad they don't teach "pregnancy time" in school - everyone would fail. Ugh. Anyway, see below for this week's update! The rest of the chapter was filled with stretch mark and mammary gland talk. Boo.

So, how is the Reynolds Family celebrating such a milestone? Well, Beau and Brinkley are hunting, I'm cleaning the house and Shelby is sleeping deep under her blanket. I know, I know, enough excitement to go 'round!

New this week:

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

Also developing this week: your baby's vocal chords. Because sound can't travel through your uterus (your baby's current habitat), you won't be able to hear any sounds or cries just yet, but oh boy (or girl) — those vocal chords will get a good workout once that baby is born. 

My book tells me we are a peach but the babycenter photo is a shrimp (you are 0-2 babycenter.com), I am changing things up a bit and showing you my non-alien looking baby! We are making progess - your eyes are no longer on the sides of your head!!

Boots with the furrrrr

Beau gave me these for Christmas (he doesn't know it yet) and I just love them with both leggings and jeans. I could wear them every day! [side note: leggings are the new black for me, I am late to the game and just discovered them ...... sooo glad they are in style in time for my pregnancy]...

But are they too similar to these - which I'm hands-down-in-love with AND that also happen to be 50% off??

I didn't think I could fall more deeply in love with boots but I have! I love them all. Tall, short, heels, flat, aaagghhhh! It's overwhelming, especially because Beau tells me that we need baby furniture more than boots. He's so silly. Anyway, I'm not going to get them but a girl can dream...and she does.

Sono #2

Beau and I went for our second sonogram yesterday and it was so exciting! It's amazing how much clearer it was compared to the first sono done at 7 weeks. Here are some of the pics below. We also got a DVD of the baby in motion and the water ballet post below is true! It's so pretty to watch! It looks like the crown to rump length is just under 7 centimeters, or the size of a lime. See, the experts really DO know what they are talking about ;-).

Now I ask you, could this look any less comfortable?! If I was him/her, I would totally turn around and use that weird bump as a pillow. Silly goose. My friends also shared with me that the baby is now peeing on it's own. Yay. BUT, it swallows it. Nay. My confusion is that if I have the means to dispose of it, then there is no need to swallow. I mean, I am in the bathroom 20+ times a day after all. What's 1 or 2 more times? Oh well, it's not my place to argue with God.  

Enjoy my little photos!

Stare Down

These two boys just get each other. When Beau is in the room, Shelby and I are invisible to Brinkley. I suspect this conversation was happening in their heads....

Beau: I love you, Brinkley Bear...

Brinkley: I love you more....

Beau: No, I love you more!...

Brinkley: No, I love you more!...

12 Week Update (or the beginnings of a squirmer)

These weeks are really flying by! I'm still very lucky with little to no nausea. The worst thing is that I can't shake these headaches. The doctor said they are probably caffeine related (have I already told you that?), regardless every morning I feel like I drank a bottle of crown the night before. Not that I've ever done that (I don't really like liquor) but you get the idea. They are intense!

Some days I feel like I really show a lot and then other days (like today), not so much. Beau is starting to see it though - so that's cute (and validating!).

Off to watch "All the President's Men"....Beau and I have come to the conclusion that we could spend the rest of our lives watching movies and seasons of TV series and not see everything. Better get started now! ;-)

Here is the weekly update:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

I need advice...

I have wanted to get my engagement ring re-sized since last winter when I realized that it almost falls off when my fingers are cold and shrink. Now that I'm ready to take it in, I'm pregnant and Beau tells me not to get it re-sized b/c my fingers will swell and then the ring won't fit at all. And I agree with  him. But it's to the point where it falls completely to the back of my finger and I have to remove it altogether to type. And this scares me b/c I will be in back-to-back meetings before I realize that I left it on my desk. Scary, I know! And you know that feeling when you look down and your ring is gone? That 1/2 a second heart drops to chest moment? I have about 10 of those a day. So, to re-size now or re-size after I'm with child? I don't want to lose it during these winter months but I don't want to be without it when I'm uber-pregnant in the summer. Thoughts?

This is how it has been worn during this very cold week in Dallas. It's a little gripe but a dilemma nonetheless...

11 Weeks (or how she's already a water ballerina!)

 Are you getting tired of these updates? A part of me feels like this 9+ months will take forever but the other part of me thinks that I can't even keep up with these weekly posts so at this rate, the baby will be here before we know it! I have a sonogram a week from today. I'm excited! Still a little fearful of bad news but for the most part, the fear has subsided. Well, only to be replaced with other fears, like keeping him/her alive when its born and I already know I'm going to worry that he/she isn't breathing during the night. Ugh.

Here is the weekly update from babycenter.com:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

It's Christmas Time!

Beau and I had a great day yesterday Christmas shopping and picking out things for our Christmas decor! We had a lot of fun and Beau was just thrilled about the 50% off everything sale at Hobby Lobby. Just kidding, but I loved it! We spent forever in there! I feel like one should be careful in Hobby Lobby - too much time and you are bound to start liking things that are NOT your style. Like ceramic dogs and boot-shaped vases. I started thinking like a 70 year old do-it-yourselfer. Many times I had ideas to "create" but Beau quickly brought me back to reality ;-)

Here is our mantle - really the only completed thing in the house....yes, Shelby and Brinkley get their own stockings this year. These pics were taken with my phone so they are blurry but you get the idea...

The tree finally has a spot in the house after SO much back and forth about how the tree is too big and there is no space for it. Ugh. That's what we get for buying this tree last year before we bought the house. It's 6 feet wide in diameter - good grief, what were we thinking?! Anyway, it's up but we were quickly distracted by hot chocolate and movies that we rented. Ornaments are going on today - promise! Here it is - the only place it would fit - right in the middle of EVERYTHING:

I'll post this one but I feel weird about it! I look goofy and I really just look like I've eaten too much ice cream instead of showing! Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving in Austin

So much to update!

I mentioned that we had a fabulous time with my parents, sisters and their boyfriends over the week we were in Austin. Here is a picture of us (sans Rogan who met up with us later) after Thanksgiving lunch at the Austin Club - it was wonderful!

Saturday night we went to Bobby and Holly's wedding. Beau has been friends with them since college and after seven years of dating, they did it! It was a gorgeous wedding! They had it at this tucked away villa in the hill country that looked out over Lake Travis. They definitely get the best wedding location award! :-) Here are some photos - please note, I decided to wear my Thanksgiving outfit b/c the dresses I packed were not sounding fun for an outdoor winter wedding! Regardless, isn't Beau a stunner?!

 

Holly is a beautiful girl anyway but as a bride she was just gorgeous!! This is really the best photo we have of the couple. Beau was distracted by the open bar soon after this was taken and the camera became an afterthought. ;-)

The Welcoming Committee

Aren't they so cute? Wouldn't a nice plant in the corner complete the picture? Let's all just agree now that I would kill the poor thing. Hence, no plants.

A few quick updates

I have SO much to blog about! From Thanksgiving in Austin (simply wonderful) to the first snow today in Dallas (too cool!), we have been busy. But I want to include pictures, which Beau needs to send me. Sooo, another time. But I CAN blog about our 10 week appt! Yes friends, we heard the heartbeat for the very first time this past Monday! I'm thrilled that Beau could be there - he won't be at most of my appts since he travels during the week and can only be there on Fridays. And (of course it would happen this way), my doc's office is closed Fridays. Poo. I won't bore you with the details of the incompetent nurse who fished around in my arm WITH A NEEDLE for my vein only to send me to a different lab. If that doesn't exude confidence, I don't know what does. I digress.....

I am 10 1/2 weeks but here is my 10 week update!

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

P.S. My doctor is the coolest, most relaxed guy in the world. He totally keeps me grounded. Massages? Sure. Headaches? drink a caffeine drink a day if needed.Tequila? Only 1 shot a day...KIDDING. Just making sure you are paying attention ;-)

The Creeper

Have I confessed yet to the Blogging World that we now allow Brinkley to sleep in the bed with us? It's SO bad of us to start this 3 weeks ago now. He was so well trained to sleep in his doggie bed NEXT to our bed. Now, he sleeps at the foot of the (queen) bed while Beau, Shelby and I work our way around him. We are nuts, I know. But I love having all my babies together!

Please note, I said that he sleeps at the foot of the bed. However, this is what things are starting to look like in the morning.....

He is such a little creeper! He does this little army crawl when he thinks we aren't looking - it's so funny. I promise I won't keep posting pictures of Beau asleep. But that's what I do when he's asleep and I'm not in the mornings. I play with my camera phone ;-)

9 Weeks

I know for most people, these updates are old since so many people before me have posted the exact same thing...but just remember, this is for my mom as much as it is for you ;-) Also, I enjoy looking back on my blog from time to time and see where I was and what I was doing at any given point and I have no doubt that I will continue to do this post-prego. And who knows, perhaps Baby ReyRey will do the same....

Every Saturday morning, I wake Beau up with "Happy Xth Week!", which would totally be sweet if it was after 7am. ;-) My earlier-than-ever bedtime has me waking up at the earliest hours ready to conquer the day. The sweetest part of my morning updates is that no matter how early it is, Beau always kisses me and says, "Happy 9th Week, baby...zzzzz....."

Fruit Time!! This week, we're a grape.

 New this week: Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

12 short hours

Last night on my way home, Beau called to tell me he had a surprise for me. What could it be?! Did he train the dogs to cook me my 3 dinners an evening?! An invention to speed up pregnancy?! Did he go grocery shopping on his own?! ...... Alas, so much better than any of this....he started our very first fire in our new home! Isn't it pretty? :-) Love him. xoxo

And 12 very short, very sleepy hours later, this is what I awake to....my husband and my Shelby just devastated that I have to get up for work. Their sadness was almost too much to bear. But seriously, do you know how hard it is to drag myself out of bed away from this coziness?! Shelby is such a snuggler, she likes to spoon :-)

8 Weeks (or My baby is losing its tail!)

A little update on the little somethin' I've got cookin'.....I'm doing better with my energy level but am still eating crazy amounts of food! Eating isn't even fun anymore b/c I'm ALWAYS hungry so it seems like more of a chore than anything. I'm having daily headaches, which I can't believe I forgot to talk to my doctor about when I was there this past week. I'm assuming that it's b/c I need to drink more water, which I'm beginning to work on. Other than that, I'm having fun with it all!

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby - about the size of a kidney bean - is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Wiggin' Out

But not for the reason you may think! Last night, I went to my first-ever Wig Party in honor of our friend Trish's 30th Birthday party! I had so much fun and I'm so glad I went! Beau was in Austin this weekend so (while he was greatly missed and I was asked 100x where he was) it was great to be with my girls!

I went over to Nikki's house early and hung out with her and Thea, which I haven't done with girlfriends in so long! It was nice to lay around and chat...well, I "lay", they were buzzing around being productive. :)

We soon headed to Madison Ave., this month's hottest bar/club in Uptown, which will no doubt quickly be replaced by some other new place before Christmas. Ha! I'm so cynical. But seriously, you should have seen the traffic to get into that place when I was leaving! McKinney Ave. was practically shut down. Sorry, back to the story...

We had such a great time dancing and being stared at by all the non-wig-wearers. Their sad looks wishing they could be friends with us was almost too much to take. Ok, I'll stop. But seriously, a great night and thanks to Thea for the fun pictures and my awesome virgin cocktails! I think I was drunk on O.J. ;-) Happy 30th Birthday, Trishy!!

I don't think we ever successfully got the whole group together. It's like herding cats.

Life might just be better as a readhead! ;-)

WTF will never be the same!

My company has a Work Time Fun (WTF) event about once a quarter and they vary from Cinco de Mayo parties in the park to the occasional big event like everyone heading out to Sneakie Pete's on Lake Lewisville. They bring everyone together outside of the office and are always a good time. This past week, we had our first ever "mystery" WTF event where they simply told everyone to meet outside in front of our building at 1pm and to dress comfortably. I'm still in amazement at how they kept this a surprise from everyone!.....

Three charter buses awaited us, each with snacks and a keg of beer. For about an hour, they drove us past everything from a putt putt place, to top golf, to Dave & Busters...Finally, we pulled into the parking lot of North Park mall. The surprise? A big "Thank You" from RAZOR to the employees for our hard work - each one of us received $200 in North Park Gold and about 4 hours to play. What a treat!! It was fun (and very different) to shop with co-workers. I bought sweaters but my favorite story of North Park Gold being well-spent was a group that headed to the patio of Kona Grill for drinks. :-) That probably would have been a part of my plan too about 2 or 3 months ago!

Everyone had a great time and I will never forget that day! Truly special! Philip, a co-worker and friend, and I joked that we could hear Oprah in our heads, "YOU GET $200! YOU GET $200! YOU GET $200!". hehe...

Here is a shot of Anna, Carissa and I coming off our bus. I'm sure we will be seeing this picture again in a staff meeting....

Finally, I will never forget the VP/Operations pumping the keg like it's something she does every day - too funny!

Is this really happening? (or First Sonogram)

I went to my first doctor's appointment this morning and I am pleased to report that Baby Reynolds has a strong heart beat of 143 and everything looks great! Dr. Jacoby was wonderful about everything - even caffeine and sushi and he says that he gives an epidural at 1 cm., all of which makes him the new man in my life! Just kidding. But he did say that one cup of coffee every once in a while and smoked salmon and tempura sushi rolls (not raw) are fine. They also gave me a fun little gift bag of pregnancy stuff. I was very disappointed not to have found a crib in there.

So, I guess this is really happening! I will feel much better after my 12th week when risks go down but until then, I will be preparing (and planning decorations) for this exciting time in our lives!

Here is the sonogram. Isn't he cute?! Just kidding. But Beau and I think it's a boy. Despite the fact that it doesn't have private parts yet. He/She is looking to the left, sitting upright with a little nub arm sticking out. The Monday after Thanksgiving I get to hear the heartbeat. Oh, and the due date is officially June 26, 2010. But who really delivers on their due date?! My Mom said I was 4 days late, which if this baby isn't headin' out the morning of the 26th, we're going to have words. More later! :)

Questions & Updates

I promise I won't always talk babies (yes, I will) but lots of changes going on now....

First, I get a lot of the same questions from people – here are some of my favorites:

When are you due?

            Around June 26^th, 2010

Do you have any symptoms?
            Yes, the typical 6. EXHAUSTION, frequent urination, crazy emotions, nausea, lots of saliva and sore boobs. I have a new respect for expecting women! I was going to be the fabulous prego chick in heels and skinny (maternity) jeans, dancing the night away with my girl friends (w/ a water in hand) proving that nothing has to change just b/c I’m with child. Ha! I’m still “fabulous”….if that means unbuttoned jeans under a baggy shirt, passed out by 8:30pm on the couch, saying ‘no’ to social events that begin after 8pm, but if I do make it out finding the nearest bathroom in case I need to hurl and the nearest chair  b/c I just want to SLEEP. All the time. If that isn’t fabulous, I don’t know what is ;-)


Do you miss wine?
            Yes. Do you know me? I also miss soft cheese. Sushi. Coffee. Crab & shrimp. Corona Lite. And I also miss anything else that I can’t have that I don’t even know about yet ;-)


Were you trying? / Was it an accident? / Were you surprised? / Did you mean to get pregnant?
            Really? Have some tact! I totally get the curiosity b/c a) everyone knew/thought I didn’t have baby fever and b) we never told anyone we were planning for this next step. It was very important to both Beau and I that we keep this between us in case we struggled with it. I just had this feeling that it would take us a long time and we didn’t want anyone (our parents) expecting a “Good News!” call every time the phone rang. So yes, we were “trying”.


Second, here are some things I have cried over that would NEVER have had me crying 2 months ago:

• The DMV closing at 5 when their website says 6 and me showing up at 5:15 - tears
• Almost getting mowed down in the parking lot of said DMV by a distracted motorist on his cell - hysterical
• Getting confused by the stupid Parker/75 pass over and ending up heading South when I was trying to go North on 75 - emotional breakdown
• (P.S. the top 3 all happened in the same afternoon - NOT a good day!)
• Biggest Loser voting off the girl that lost her husband and babies in a car accident - actually I would have cried at this anyway
• Beau not being "excited" enough about baby talk - was I expecting a ticker tape parade? Yes.

Last, here are some changes being made around the house:

• Beau and I are switching sides of the bed! He is closer to the bathroom and walking ALL the way around the bed to get there seems impossible at 2am. In fact, I just lay there debating whether I should climb over him and whether that would make him mad. ;-) Sooo, why do I have to pee so much when nothing is even pushing on my bladder yet??!
• We are keeping Brinkley outside during the day more so that he can use more energy and be calmer in the house. I’m still trying to figure out how we will have a baby crawling around with our two dogs – they lack any concept of personal space!
• We now have a baby-mobile! My parents so kindly traded us their Yukon for my Camry. I should have thrown out baby talk years ago! J

Graduating (or We're Having a Baby!)

Can you believe in less than a year I went from reading....

The Knot.....

to The Nest.....

to The Bump?!

 Beau and I have never really been ones to waste any time when we want something but really?! Wow! We couldn't be more excited to announce that we are expecting a baby in June 2010! It is very early (probably too early) to be telling people but we are just thrilled! I am 6 weeks and 2 days along (or Paw Caldwell would say "you're going into your 7th week" ;-) ). I don't really like to get all sappy in public but feel that it needs to be said....we are truly blessed to have God right there on board helping us make every decision we have made recently - with this last one really being something out of our control! It hasn't escaped me that this is such a blessing and completely out of my control and for that we are truly thankful.

Soooo, is this the part where I compare it to a fruit? Why not?! And so begins the blog subjects that I never anticipated writing about.....

This week we are a sweet pea!

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape! His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long.

How cool is that?