Owen's Room Makeover

Well we finally finished decorating Owen's room this past January and now have pictures to back it up.

We decided to leave Owen in his current furnitre so he'd keep something familiar around him when the baby arrives (the crib converts first to a toddler bed and then to a full sized bed later). We are using the bedding from Owen's crib set for Abby's room. So we've changed Owen's bedding/decor from the primary/colors and animals into a cowboy themed room. It now has tan walls with red and navy stensils on the walls and uses a cute cowboy bedding set and lots of our various Texas-style wall hangings that we already owned.

While my parents were here over Christmas they helped us paint the base colors on the walls in both kids rooms. After that we had to paint the star stensils (yes made from scratch) in the room and get all the various wall hangings up and move the furntiture around a bit.

We love how it's turned out. Owen seems to love it too. Every time he goes in he talks about "stars" and "cowboys" and "cactus." Seems to be a hit!

Owen's Original Baby Room

Owen's original room was all primary colors with animals.

Owen's New Room

Owen's new decor is now a cowboy/Texas theme. Don't want him to forget his roots! :)

Pregnancy #2 - 35 Weeks

35 weeks pregnant and officially in the last month. Abby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. Obviously we want her to bake a little longer, but it's now pretty safe to deliver if she does come early.

I was super-swolen by this point in my pregnancy with Owen (as you can see in the pics below - my poor feet!). So far no swelling with this pregnancy which is a huge blessing. At this point I'm about 17 pounds lighter than I was same week with Owen. Let's hope it stays that way!

I am so ready for Abby to be here and to have my body back. This is my last week of work. The person taking over my job while I'm gone is pretty much in charge now and we're just wrapping up training and ad hoc questions. It's also the first week of the quarter - so hopefully pretty quiet and easy. I'm looking forward to the three weeks off before Abby's born to rest and finish prepping. We're pretty well ready as far as set up goes, but there always more that can be done. Is anyone every really ready for the baby to be there. ;)

Only 4 weeks to go to the scheduled c-sectoin on 4/27. So nice to know the b-day ahead of time. Cross your fingers she doesn't come early!

Pictures:

Pregnancy #2 - 35 Weeks

Pregnancy #1 - 35 Weeks

Tahoe Family Vacation

The Family in Tahoe

This past weekend we had a wonderful family vacation in Tahoe. Robbie's parents (Bob and Dotttie), sister Tracy, brother-in-law Mike, and their 2 boys (Collin & Carson) flew in from TX and GA on Wednesday. We had some fun together around town on Thursday/Friday including a trip to the Folsom zoo which the kids loved. Friday afternoon we headed up the mountains and into Tahoe. It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive from our house - beautiful views the entire way.

Our visit to the zoo

Poor Mike had a stomache flu and was pretty sick for the first few days. I doubt he appreciated the pretty drive. :) Luckily he felt much better by Saturday in time for skiing. We also discovered after the fact that at this point in pregnancy I shouldn't have even been in the mountains. The change in elevation triggered tons of Braxton Hicks contractions - every 2-3 minutes. So Robbie and I spent Friday evening at the hospital in Tahoe for a few hours. Abby and I are both ok - I just had to spend the rest of the vacation off my feet as much as possible.


Dotti, Bob, Tracy skiing

Collin & his snowman

We stayed in a great hotel right by the Heavenly gondola with awesome views of the mountains and great access to restaurants, shopping, etc. All the adults (excpet me of course) got some skiing in. Since it snowed hard Saturday night and much of Sunday the skiing on Monday was apparently awesome. Our oldest nephew Collin - who's 4 1/2 - did ski school 2 days. He's never been skiing and it sounded like he had a great time and did very well. Owen LOVED watching the snow and eventually jumping around in the snow. Mike and Tracy celebrated both their birthdays on Monday so we had a nice dinner at Fire & Ice (a mongolian grill style place) and cake afterward. We tried to take the boys sledding on Tuesday, but Owen wanted nothing to do with that. While we were there Carson (who just turned 1 at the end of Feb) also started walking. It was so great to get to share in that!

Carson walking!!

Owen watching the snow

Rob, Tracy, and the boys after sledding

Owen in his snow suit

Owen had met everyone before, but now he's a little older it was really fun to see his reaction. He loved Collin - who was really great with him. He would run after his older cousin just as fast as his little feet could go and laughing all the way. Anything Collin did Owen had to do too. Carson he wasn't so sure about. Usually Owen is great at sharing, but he didn't want Carson near his toys (or any toys that Owen might want). Too much competition? We're a little nervous about how he'll react to Abby after seeing that. Owen has been talking about Nana, Pawpaw, Mike, Tracy, Collin, and Carson since they left.

We miss them tons already and can't wait for the next visit. Robbie's parents will be here when Abby's born - so we'll see them soon. But who knows when the next time we'll see Tracy/Mike and the boys will be. It gets tricky when we're on opposite coasts and with kids. Hopefully soon!

Owen Update - 20 Months Old

Owen is 20 months old this coming Monday! It's amazing how fast this time goes and all the changes. He seems like such a little boy now with thoughts and opionions all his own that he expresses quite clearly.

He is talking tons, mimicking everything we say (including his first swear word "S@*#" which sadly was a mimic of me). He's starting to learn numbers (he can "count" 1-5 - still figuring out the general concept tho). He's learning shapes - identifying triangles, squares, circles, and stars. He can also correctly put the above shapes into the corrsponding holes in a little toy truck he has. He'll try all the wrong holes first so that he can say "No" on each one and then "Yes" when he gets to the right one. And he's starting to understand colors - he can say all of the colors. The only ones he identifies correctly most of the time are red, white, and purple. If he's not sure of a color he always says pink. He can name every kid in his class. He also knows his friend Alexandra's name ("Alet") and loves to spend time with her (below is a pic of them playing in a clothes hamper together).

He's starting to understand giving commands - and in fact is getting quite bossy. He'll say things like "Dada... sit... lap." Which translates into "Sit down Dad, I want to sit in your lap." And lately he seems obsessed with anything about cleanliness (garbage truck, trash, dirty, yucky, clean up, wipes, etc.) The latest things that impressed us the most were naming a keypad (saying "keypad") in a restaurant that the waiters use - he said it and pointed it out long before I noticed it in the room. And the other thing was that it was sunny on Saturday but rainy on Sunday. Sunday we were eating lunch and he pointed outside and said, "Rain, rain, go away."

He continues to be mister activity. He doesn't walk anywhere - it's run everywhere. In stores when we let him walk - holding our hands - he wants to run or hop down the aisles. The hopping gets a lot of chuckles from passers-by especially since Robbie hops with him. I get commands to jump as well - but no way is that happening at the moment. He's also learned how to kick balls - which he loves to do all the time now.

He continues to be daddy's boy. But this has improved somewhat. Owen and I both had President's Day off but Robbie was working and then the following Saturday Robbie was gone much of the day skiing. So I got two days of just me and Owen which was awesome! We had tons of fun - getting together with Ariel & Alex and with Michelle & Angelica. We hit the park and the zoo and a tea house. I think this time of just the two of us really helped because now Owen doesn't scream (as much) when I try to "take" him from Robbie. And he picks some things to do with Mom even when Dad is around. It's awesome. Last week we were watching Elmo together (which he is now obsessed with and has to watch every day when we get home) and he spent the entire show snuggled up to my belly - even though Abby was kicking him the entire time. So cute!

My favorite latest ritual is at nighttime... We have a book about going to sleep with lots of different types of hugs and kisses (fish kisses, gorilla hugs, polar bear hugs, snake hugs, etc.). Every night as Robbie gets ready to take Owen upstairs to start quiet time we spend a good 5-10 minutes doing variations of all these hugs and kisses (going from Mom to Dad) to say goodnight. I love getting the snuggles.

Pregnancy #2 - 31 Weeks

Well it's official... I am 7 months pregnant and in the single-digit countdown for weeks left to go. Technically it's 9 more weeks, but since we're doing the schedule c-section 1 week early, for all practical purposes it's only 8 weeks to go! We are now scheduled for the c-section for April 27th at 7:30am. So barring Abby coming early or other emergency c-sections forcing a reschedule we now have a general idea of the birth date!

Abby measures over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds. She is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's moving tons - much more than Owen did. This makes me a tad nervous - because Owen's super active, so what does that mean for Abby? Yikes! I was hoping for a mellow one. :)

I'm feeling great. The swelling I had with my first pregnancy hasn't started yet and it had by this time with Owen, so cross your fingers that we'll avoid it this time. I'm actually tracking 4lbs lighter so far this pregnancy but with a bigger belly (in my opinion). My nesting instincts are kicking in full force, manifesting in baking (I never bake and I've made pies, cookies, cupcakes, etc. in the last month or so). I'm also hitting the organizing-like-crazy stage. We've finally organized our office! I also tackled Owen's clothes and Abby's clothes/closet/drawers this past weekend. This coming weekend I'm tackling the garage.

Here come the pics...

Pregnancy #2 - 31 Weeks

Pregnancy #1 - 30 Weeks

Pregnancy #1 - 31 Weeks
Pregnancy #1 - 32 Weeks

Owen Update - 19 Months Old

Owen is 19 months old today so I thought I'd give a little update on him and try to record some of the cutest stuff of late.


At the end of December he moved up from the Teddies room (12-18 months) to the Puppies room (18-24 months) at daycare. He LOVES his new room. The room itself is bigger and the activities even more planned. They also practice even more self-help skills - for example, in this room after eating lunch the kids scrape their plates into the trashcan and then take their cups and plates to the sink. How they get all the kids to do that is a mystery to me. :)


He had is 18 month appt at the beginning of January. Height: 32 1/2in. (80%), Weight: 23lbs 11oz (50%), Head: 19in (80%). He did very well with his shots. The doctor at that appt. said that between then and 2 years of age they have a "language explosion." Since Owen already seemed to have tons of words, I was curious to see what that would look like. Well the words have definitely increased. He now tries to say everything we say.


The word of this week is "octopus" which Owen says in varying ways but seems to stick mostly with "optumus." Too cute. He's learned "please," "thank you," and "your welcome" - so adorable to hear him using these polite words in his tiny toddler voice. Cuter when he doesn't quite get them right. Sometimes he'll hand you something and say thank you (more like tee-too).


He's still hugely a daddy's-boy. Up until about a week ago it was getting stronger and stronger. To the point where he wanted absolutely nothing to do with me and would cry if I tried to "take" him from Robbie. But starting about last weekend he finally started showing interest in doing things with Mom. Melts my heart that he'll play with me and sit next to me when Robbie's in the room now. Not all the time, but I'll take anything I can get.


He is mister energy. Very Forest Gump - everywhere he goes is is "runnin'!" And now he insists on not being carried everywhere - wants to get there on his own steam. He has to hold our hands if it's outside of the house - which sometimes results in a battle of wills as to where exactly we are walking. Even in the house he'll take our hands and say "walk" and lead us all around. Every person we pass he'll say to them "walk" which basically means - please acknowledge the fact that I am awesome and walking here.


Below are some pics from his Puppies class. The group pics they're doing baby yoga. Owen's in the red shirt and black pants (the one not really participating at first - he often does his own thing). He's starting to learn the names of the teachers and his little friends. He's always so excited to go see "Kiko" - his friend Niko as well as Jack and Collin and Daniel. Quite the ladies man, we walked in to pick him up the other day and the whole class happened to be walking through the halls. They have to hold hands with other kids and Owen had three little girls all holding on to him. Too cute!


Love him more every day!

Big Week for Kristen (Lots of Stuff to Celebrate)

Last week was a very big week for me with lots of fun things to celebrate!

4 Year Anniversairy

First we had our 4 year wedding anniversairy. It was actually on Thursday (I still can't believe it's been 4 years already). I have to say that the first 4 years have been very smooth - although with lots of big milestones (moving to CA, buying a house, Owen, 2nd baby on the way). I married the love of my life and best friend and still feel that way. Marriage up to this point has been awesome!

We celebrated on Saturday. Our friends the Tribbles came over to babysit Owen. Robbie took me out to a special dinner at one of my fav local restaurants (Bidwell Street Bistro). So yummy! And we went and saw a movie (He's Just Not That Into You) which is always a special treat. The movie was really cute - very like Love Actually. Highly recommend it. It was great to get out just the two of us. That only happens about every 3 months or so.

32nd Birthday

I celebrated year 32 on Saturday. So our anniversairy dinner was a bit of a combo celebration. So far I'm really enjoying my 30's. But I have to say that I see b-days a lot differently now that I'm a parent. I see mine more from my parent's perspective. I just can't imagine Owen at 32 and married with kids. Got lots of great gifts from the family and lots of warm fuzzy b-day wishes from various friends/family all over. :)

Lamaze Mommy Lunch/Suprise Baby Shower

Per previous posts, we still love to get together with the friends we made in our lamaze class when I was pregnant with Owen. Now 3 out of the 6 of us ladies are pregnant with our 2nd. On Friday I met with all the ladies for a lunch. I always look forward to catching up with them. They suprised me with a baby shower while we were lunching. Garian made the cutest 3-tiered "cake" of baby diapers (that's in the middle of the table in the pics). And the girls chipped in for lots of fun girl-baby gifts. All but one of us had a boy for our first, so they were all as excited to buy girl stuff as I am to get it. Had a wonderful time with the ladies!!!!

3rd Trimester

I officially hit the 3rd trimester of pregnancy on Monday. So we're finally in the home stretch, so to speak. At this point Abby is pretty well developed and just working on packing on the pounds (both on herself and me). I get to look forward to just getting bigger and bigger. I'm really looking forward to meeting my baby girl in just a few more months. I go on maternity leave starting at the end of March - so it's coming up soon.

Department Award at Work

I normally wouldn't mention this - not that I'm not proud - just don't enjoy bragging. ;) But it added to my highly enjoyable week so..... I got a departmental award (given out quarterly) at work for a brown bag presentation I put together and devlivered with a co-worker on the focal processes (yearly reviews). I was really proud of that presentation, so it was really nice to be recognized for the hard work that went into it.

All in all, awesome week!!!