Just Get on the Plane: Babymoon '10

Oh my goooooosh, did we ever have a lovely vacation in Cabo.
To anyone reading this who might be afraid to leave their child to get away with their husband for a few days, I feel your pain and say just get on the plane and you will feel better. I was more anxious to leave JM this year than I was last year when we went to Mexico. I was worried that, being older, he would miss us. The truth is, apparently he didn't ask for us once while staying at my mom's. Then again, he was doing this:









and this


Meanwhile, Mike and I were enjoying the best all-inclusive I have stayed in, hands down. We went to the Barcelo Los Cabos Palace Deluxe, which was recently remodeled in San Jose del Cabo, so we got a sweet deal on a gorgeous experience. The hotel grounds were modern and elegant and the food was phenomenal. We were lucky enough to spend two of our days there camped out in a bed-like palapa on the beach, where the cushioned setting was pretty damn sweet for this pregnant lady's back and a wonderful place to drink the morning coffee whilst whale-watching. Mike very much enjoyed the top-shelf beverages at every turn. We did yoga on the beach. We ate a lot at some very very nice a la carte restaurants. We both were so relaxed and happy during our 5-day stay that we didn't even leave the resort. Neither of us has ever done that on a vacation, before. I hope we get to go back someday!

For the record, if we ever travel abroad during the Olympics, again, we are bringing our American flags and red, white and blue. Half of Canada was staying at our resort and they brought the Canadian pride, with flags hanging from their balconies, a wall to wall packed on-site sports bar with everyone wearing Canada gear for the Canada-US hockey match (we won, for the record and felt weird being one of three Americans there watching). This crazy guy was wearing maple leaf pants and had a flag wrapped around his neck and spent the morning with a drink in hand dancing by the pool. The US has gotta represent!

Anyway, we came home to SNOW?!!! In Austin?!!! In almost March?!!! There were snowmen all the way up our street... It was crazy, but didn't get in the way of our homecoming and already melted.

The first time, ever I saw your face

Meet Noodle!

We had our 24 week anatomy scan bright and early this morning and got to use the 3D technology to see our little one's face (side note: did that GE commercial a few years ago with that song not just make you sob? it did for me). They didn't have the 3D ultrasound when we had JM, so it was very cool to be able to see our baby this way. Doesn't he or she look so sweet and snuggly in there all curled up?

Baby looks great. Weighing in at a whopping 1 lb 12 oz (60 perc) 150 heartbeat. 4 heart chambers. Nice looking femur, etc. Bladder with urine inside. All good stuff. We are so blessed. Noodle didn't unexpectedly flash the goods or anything, but I also tried not to look. Mike says it looks like a girl. I still stick with boy. Really, with this picture, it could go either way. What do you think? I can't wait to kiss that little face.


P.S. We just got back from Cabo last night at 11. I'll write later with pictures and more details, but here is a preview/ 24 week belly pic. Don't I look relaxed and like I just had a nice whopping helping of fresh guacamole?

The bull goes to church

It started off just like any morning. We had milk and instant oatmeal, then got our day clothes on and rushed out the door. "We're going to church!" I said to JM. "Fire?" responded sire, referring to the big red fire truck he likes to play with in our church's nursery. "Well, today we are going to play with choo choos, just you and mama," said I, trying to set the scene that because of Ash Wednesday, it would just be us, a bag of goodies and a fun pew to play in for Mass. No nursery with fun toys, like he usually gets on Sundays (thank God).

Now might be a good time to mention that as time passes I'm noticing that our son, like his birth sign, the Taurus, is quite determined and well, stubborn and even bull-headed at times. In the future, when he's in academia or the business world, I am sure this will lead to his success, but now, it can be trying. As it relates to Ash Wednesday Mass, we walked in the door of our church and since we were late, came in at a very quiet moment where they were doing a reading. JM took one look at the place, which also happened to be packed to the rafters and responded much in the same way that a cartoon cat would if you tried to put him in a bucket of water, or more appropriately, like a child possessed by a demon. "This is not the fire truck church place!" he said to me in screams and fits. Oh, and may I mention that our church is under construction and basically a big gym at the moment? No cry room. Sound echoes dramatically. And it was cold outside. There was nowhere to take him. In the back of the building, I pulled out fruit snacks... books.... Thomas the train figures he usually loves to play with. No dice. He wasn't having it. The tears just kept flowing, his cried getting more and more hysterical and we were obviously making a scene, so we went to the parish center.

"Okay, God," thought I. "We are on the church grounds, just not in church. I will just sit in this quiet classroom. JM can color and I will say a prayer." JM was not having it. The shrieks and tears continued as I still tried to woo him with my bag of goodies. No dice. He wasn't buying it. So we went home, where he continued to throw himself on the ground and cry for another 30 minutes. JM: 1. Mama: 0.

So far, these tantrums have been minimal and thankfully not long-lasting. Today's was the worst one ever, by far. Normally he is pretty well-adapting. When we have playgroup, he doesn't care where we are, as long as there are toys. When we go to the gym or church nursery, he could care less that I am leaving him. Generally, he's pretty easygoing, but a few weeks ago, I tried to take him to a new place to see this childrens singer and just like church today, he took one look at the lady singing and burst into tears. So basically, he likes routine, people he knows and may break down upon new situations where there are no toys involved.

So anyway, we never got our Ash Wednesday ashes. I hope God can give me a dispensation for my failed attempt. I tried.

Happy

Starting off with Mike coming home early on Friday, leaving me time to go get a pedicure and hit DSW, the weekend started off on a high note and remained constant. The sun finally shone after days of rain. The Winter Olympics started. We borrowed SeaJ's truck and picked up JM's new bedroom set from JC Penney. Never in a million years would I have thought my snobby self would buy furniture from Penneys, but I have to say it's really cute and seems to be well-made. Plus, it was dirt cheap.

Yesterday, I had to hustle both boys out of bed (JM too, why on the morning we have to get up, early?) so we could have a quick Valentines breakfast and then hit the road to cheer on Auntie Lauren running the Austin Half Marathon (her first!). Lauren looked great, the weather was perfect and Mike and I both swore we'd be out there next year (he seems to think we are running the full. With a 7 month-old and an almost 3 year-old, I will be happy with a half, methinks). After the race, we joined Lauren and her roommates and mom and Art for brunch at Z Tejas. Considering we were there for close to two hours, I must say JM had one of his better restaurant showings; mostly due to a few factors: 1. between the "muffin and fruit" course and actual entree, they were constantly bringing out different foods for him to try. 2. 10 different people to keep him entertained. 3. Sitting by the window where he could see some restaurant cats lying in the sun. Nice job, son.

Valentine's Day was really perfect! Between the nice morning outside and brunch, JM took a long afternoon snooze and I prepped dinner. We went to church and came home and I made a steak dinner. Over steak, mashed potatoes and asparagus, red wine and Pellegrino, we had a nice chat, then I put on my new Valentines gift Snuggie (love it), and enjoyed some cherry crisp a la mode and we watched the Olympics and called it a day. Not too bad.

I think part of the reason I am so chipper today on top of the nice weekend is that it is a short week for me. We leave in a few days to take a babymoon and go to Mexico for a last hurrah before Noodle makes her appearance and travel for us becomes close to home and probably kid-oriented. I am really anxious about leaving JM and worrying that he'll miss us, but excited to go lay around for a few days.

A poopy day

I'm not going to lie. In the world of motherhood, today has been a pretty crappy day, figuratively and literally. I won't get into the gory details of the literal translation, but will say I spent much of the afternoon cleaning up poop. I also have another damn runny nose which has rendered me congested and sleepless, my back hurts, a disposable diaper wound up in my cloth pile and exploded all over my washing machine and my angelic toddler has been testing my limits and had the nerve to laugh at me when I tried to put him in a time out after he was banging shut the upper dishwasher drawer full of dishes.

Kristin Armstrong had a really good post the other week regarding bad days and wisely noted that when you are having a day like this that the cure-all is acts of kindness. I think she is on to something there. I propose that in addition to this, a good dance party with your toddler also helps. Madonna has a new video DVD out and Mike put it in our Netflix queue, so sire and I let loose to a little "Open Your Heart" and "Like a Prayer" tonight. Hopefully the adult themes in both of these videos have not scarred him for life.

Also, laughter. It is impossible to be grumpy when you see your son come around the corner attempting to walk in your high-heeled boots.

Xi Xi (Bachelor spoiler)

In my boredom over the long, drawn out drama of tonight's Bachelor episode (seriously, if Ali comes back and we have a repeat Jillian-Ed situation, I will vomit into my mouth a little bit), I went onto the Nest Two Under Two board and can I just say that I can't wait until June when I get to meet this baby? Just thinking about having two sweet little babies makes me so happy. Right now I am not thinking about nighttime feedings, nor schlepping loads of baby stuff everywhere, nor my blasted evil breastpump.... I am feeling an abundance of love and letting myself be excited! I can't wait to meet Noodle and kiss his little toes and snuggle him all.day.long! I hope that didn't make you barf in your mouth a little... :) And, yes, Noodle totally is a boy in my mind. I've got 95% boy feelings and 5% girl. It could be interesting come June!

I can read a rainbow

reading rainbow
Originally uploaded by our "nut" house

JM is talking up a storm these days. Sometimes we have no idea what he's saying, such as when he walks up to you and says "choo choo poos" which took me a few days to decipher, but means that he wants a peanut butter spoon (I sing the "peanut sat on a railroad track" song when I make peanut butter, so hence choo choo) and poos is a bit of a dyslexic pronunciation for spoon. What? You've never heard "a peanut sat on a railroad track, his heart was all aflutter, along came a choo choo train, toot toot, peanut butter?" Well, obviously you never went to the bakery with my Grandpa, nor attended Jack and Jill pre-school. It's a good one! I digress. I can assure you that many times he mixes up his colors, but JM's getting pretty good and this time he was spot on! I want to remember his sweet little voice and cute mispronunciations, forever (green= dee, yellow= allo). Love him!