A Very Baby Christmas

Merry (belated) Christmas!

We have finally made it back home after doing the family Christmas shuffle from San Antonio to Chicago back to San Antonio and home again. We are tired and ready to sleep in our very own bed.

Christmas this year with our families had a little different vibe to us this year since this is the last Christmas that it will be just James and I. Next year, everyone will have to come to us because I really don't think extensive traveling with a 5 month old is gonna happen.

Christmas presents this year also had, unsurprisingly, a definite baby tone.  James' mom gave us a Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker. Its a little all-in-one steamer and food processor to make homemade baby food. I'm all about home made baby food too. Healthier and cheaper? Yes please!

James' brother gave me a Moby wrap to haul the little tyke around hands free. I've even gotten James to try it out with a doll and he agreed it's pretty awesome. Now I can get things done around the house while holding Bean.

On the Bolton side of things, my sister loaded the kiddo up on Winnie the Pooh paraphernalia. Bean got some bibs, sleepers, and a stuffed Pooh.  She also gave us some plain white onsies that we will be tasked with embellishing when she comes down to stay in a week. I thought some simple hand embroidery would be cute like this.

Of course Bean got a present from Mommy and Daddy too. A terrifyingly adorable stuffed alligator with a wonky eye seemed perfect to us.

Our alligator still needs a name though. Any ideas? What were some of your Christmas scores?

8 Week Ultrasound - Take 2

Bean has gotten so big! It seems like only yesterday she* was just a speck of dust in mama's eye. Now she is 3/4 inch and growing up so fast!

Everything looked really good today. Heartbeat was in the 160s and everything else looked normal. At this point it is quite obvious to us as parents that Bean is, by far, the cutest little gummy bear to have ever graced this mama's womb. Bean is officially 8 weeks, 3 days old, giving a new (and hopefully permanent) due date of July 24. So, with no further ado, I present the new and improved, BEAN!

We are going to be mailing out Christmas cards in the next several days that announce our pregnancy to everyone on our Christmas card list. I feel comfortable now that we've made it to 8 weeks and everything is going according to plan. So, if you end up on this blog via Christmas card, hello there!


*I feel confident for no particular reason that Bean is a girl, and will refer to her as such until proven otherwise.

Houston, We Have a Bean!

We had our first visit with our midwife this Wednesday and got our first peak at our little munchkin we loving refer to as "The Bean". In the grand tradtion of proud parents wanting to show off pictures of their children, wanna see?

Pretty tiny, huh? According to our ultrasound, Bean is only 6 weeks and some days old, not the 8 week his/her mama thought. Oops! I'm sure it will only be the first in a long line of messing up birthdays, and if you know me at all, you will likely agree.

Beans little heart was flickering away on the screen though, which was amazing to see. And bonus: we get to go back in 2 weeks for another looksee to get measurements and gaze in the grainy black and white screen in a way only another parent can understand. So, December 15, if you could speed up your arrival a little bit, I would greatly appreciate it.

Announcing the News

We've now officially told our families!


I told my mom and best friend, Lauren, the day we found out. We were all in Massachusetts for Lauren's wedding and since I wanted to be able to tell them in person, I decided to share the news immediately. James and I ran out to Babies R Us at 8 am (yay for extended holiday hours!) and packaged up some onesies to give to Lauren and my mom.

Onesie for my mom.

Onesie for Lauren.

The rest of the family we told on Thanksgiving. James' family and my sister and brother-in-law came to visit us. We set up an impromptu family photo to share the news. The video below will explain.

For my dad and sister, I made shirts for each of them that I mailed out. I made sure I was on the phone when they opened them. My dad's just said "Grandpapa" and Alicyn's had a picture of a fortune cookie that said "You will soon become an aunt". I forgot to take pictures, because, well, I suck.

Overall, the generally reaction was first shock, then excitement, kinda like us. We are all looking forward to meeting that little bean that is currently making Mommy so tired.

We are having a baby!

That's right! We are expecting our first little person sometime in July. According to my calculations, on July 9, but I expect that to change after my first midwife appointment. We are very excited about having one on the way, but as with all first time moms and dads, scared out of our minds too.

We hope that this blog will allow us to stay connected with all our friends and families as we prepare for Baby R's big debut. Read along, send us a comment, or hide back in the shadows of lurkerdom. Either way, we are glad you here with us!