lucky lucky girl

i don’t know who’s luckier- jovie or me?

The Mr. has taken 11 trips down under since february.  this year will be the 3rd anniversary in a row that he will be spending in Sydney. difference is, this year I get to be WITH him!!  (lucky 13, indeed!)

i have been talking and hoping for this to happen for months; and was getting more and more hopeful.  when i finally told jovie that it looked like it was going to happen and that i’d be gone for almost 2 weeks, she asked who was going to stay with her.  then when i answered gramma & grampa, she squealed in delight and declared how lucky SHE was!

we are also very lucky that aunt barbara will help (we are so glad she lives in GA now!) when i told her she was going there and going to have a lot of fun, her first words were “yay! i really hope i get to see her library!!”   (so barb, if you’re reading this….)

i am super lucky that with all of his travel this year, The Mr. was able to cash in his miles and fly me first class!!

extremely lucky that i have a very good use for the money mommy (and daddy) was able to leave me/us.  i have always wanted to honor her somehow; and she was thrilled with her trips to Brazil & Rome/Jerusalem.  she also knew how much i LOVE to travel.

i could not feel more lucky to have the chance to travel with The Mr. yet again, and couldn’t be any more thankful to gramma, grampa, & aunt barbara for making this happen.

i cannot wait to experience this whirlwind of travel!

jovie will definitely miss us.  but fortunately she is not worried about that (just yet). she is completely excited to see everyone and asks me constantly when they are coming!  (not when i’m leaving….)

she has already informed me that grampa can only get donuts twice.  once they can go there; and once he can bring them home.  oh and only go to partner’s pizza twice, too!   (so grampa, if you are reading this….)

she is excited to go to the library with both gramma & grampa and aunt barbara.

she’s looking forward to showing gramma & grampa her new “piano” so she can practice.

she’ll have a lot of fun! (but it’s not a vacation, you guys!!!) and i’m pretty sure i/we will too!!!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!

a few words

a quick post- no pix (sorry to The Mr.) but i did want to address this lil’ ol’ blog once more before the video goes up- which means the bean will be SIX. (gasp!!)

i should say a lot, and share a lot, but i’m running out of time (said video, party planning, household life, family time, etc….)

jovie just had a GREAT time with her wonderful Aunt Barbara so that The Mr. & i could have a GREAT time overseas.  [thanks again!!!]  luckily for me, i got to take another advantage of all the traveling he does, and i was able to join him in Munich.  he left the day before father’s day, and i’m so very happy (and lucky) he didn’t mind extending his trip a tad so that i could visit him when his project was over.  he took last monday off and we were in Salzburg.

We had pretzels, brats & beer a few times; once in the Olympic Stadium as we watched USA/Germany in the world cup (so! much! fun!).  the other time in a biergarten in Englischer Garten.

we walked and talked and enjoyed many nice meals & treats.  it was wonderful!

no worries-  jovie & aunt barbara also had nice meals & treats, though a little less scenic.  they had a blast.  we had a blast.  WIN-WIN.

we are so so very lucky that so many people love jovie enough to let us have vacations!!!

so we came home & vegged out in front of USA/Belgium & then tried to play catch up at the end of last week, complete with yesterday’s very fun Fourth of July! jovie enjoyed s’mores at the firepit, sparklers (!!) & our backyard neighbors’ fireworks (let them break the law).  we had a great time!

hopefully all y’all have been having as good of a summer as us…..

next post will be the video!  stay tuned…

 

13

so 13 months came and went on sunday.  i said repeatedly how i needed to post.  to commemorate the number 13 of course.  but as you see, i didn’t.

as i mentioned in a recent post, i’m likely not going to go around and tell everyone that jovie’s 13mos old.  i’ll just say a year.  but still- 13 is kinda special.

here are some random goings-on:

1. just this morning she decided she knew how to crawl down the stairs.  & successfully did 4 of them on her own- i wasn’t even prompting her.  in fact, it’s been over a week since i tried to guide her down the last time.  guess she figured out now that it’s the same as getting down from furniture….
2. which she does ALL. DAY. LONG.  she’ll crawl to the window and stand up. and crawl to the couch and stand up. and crawl to the chair and stand up.  and crawl to the ottoman (aka baby gate) and stand up. 
3. she LOVES music.  when we sing to her, when we play it, when there’s a musical chime like if we reboot or something.  she’ll stop what she’s doing, give a little wiggle & a smile, and be on her merry way.
4. she is starting to cruise ever so slightly.  especially to get to the computer at one end of the couch.  she did better before she knew how to get down from the couch…. but now she knows it’s much quicker to crawl under my legs and stand up again to get to it.
5. yesterday she began to let go w/ one hand while standing up on me and/or the couch.
6. her bangs are ridiculously long.  too bad i can’t keep her cute all day long with a barette….
7. because she’ll eat it.  truly- she ate her barette!  so for the last month, we are probably more diligent than we need to be- but man, that was crazy!  she seriously ate that thing w/o any problem or our knowledge.  she was in the backseat while The Mr. was taking her to the park.  in less than 5 min. he noticed it was gone.  surely she didn’t eat it. not that quickly nor silently.  we tore the car apart several times.  just to be sure.  well, a few days later….. it was confirmed. so now she can’t wear one when she naps or rides in the car.  oy vey!
8. and now i see how easy it is. b/c she swallows a lot of her food whole too!  especially the yummy stuff.  (baby raviolis that i still have to quarter, veggie puffs from gerber that i have to break in half, etc…)  
9. she finally began to suck from the sippy cup spout.  i wish i had any kind of mechanical knowledge so i can invent the sippy cup that lets one or 2 drops out and that’s it.  b/c she’s been sucking it for quite a long time.  but every time i’ve tried the plug, if she wasn’t getting any, she didn’t know to suck.  so when i show her how to do it and start sucking in my cheeks, she just gives me her adorable goofy grin and laughs.  we’re still working on doing this more consistently.
10. recently she has taken to some links that she has.  you can usually find her crawling around with one in each hand.
11. after waiting for about a month for that tooth to finally poke thru, she now has an even set of teeth.  4 up top and 2 on bottom.  complete with spaces. 
12. it’s easy to get her to giggle these days, and i do it often.  it’s so adorable & surprisingly quiet.  i know she can be quite loud.  in her voice, and of course her cries/screams!  (she has never had that cute newborn cry). 
13. yesterday she ate PIZZA for supper!   did y’all hear me??  (unfortunately, it was “light on the sauce”- so i hope next time she’ll also enjoy it).

so now that she’s as old as she is, i just don’t ever think to have the camera poised on her so often.  all i have is video of the pizza.  i didn’t grab my camera. 

but here are a few recent shots of her, her rings, and her mess of hair!

t minus 10?

of course we can ‘t hold anything too firmly; but um, guys???—-  we’ve got 10 days left.

how’d that happen??     i remember the excitement of the last 10 days of school.  i remember saying to The Mr. there’s only 10 days until we get married!!!  (that was LOTSA 10 days ago!!!)  10 seems like a very quick number, no??

usually 10 days can fly by.  but i hope this won’t.  people ask me if it’s dragged on or gone quickly- and for once, i say that “it’s gone by appropriately”.  which is surprising.  The Mr & I talk a lot about “gosh: where’d the time go”…  yes. we’re already old fuddy-duddies.  but we were that way well before we decided to have a Little Bean. 

everything up to this point has been appropriately timed.  i hope LB will stay on schedule.  I really would be sad to miss out on my last 10 days of being w/ The Mr & by myself.  i want to enjoy my last 10 days just as i would before in the summers.  which is great.  b/c 2 weeks is about my limit for being in the house w/o going stir-crazy. 

i know i have been incredibly fortunate thru all this.  any complaint i can make is pretty minor.  i know there are lotsa women who want it to be over with by this point in their pregnancy.   they’re huge. uncomfortable. swollen. hot.  miserable… i consider myself very lucky.  i’m totally fine w/ carrying LB.  in fact, i may even miss it.  the bean has been very very good to me.

so— am i/are we ready?  sure. but that doesn’t mean we’re rushing it!!!         

 

smorgasbord

can i just say that’s such a fun word??  go ahead- say it out loud.    i now remember that word is in a disney movie…. which was it?  beauty & the beast?   i love when fun words are also in lyrics.

i digress……..

this will be a smorgasbord of topics.  no good title to fit it; a smattering.  odds & ends. whatever.

The Mr. is the clever one.  I feel like as I get bigger I get less funny!  But i know some of you are reading this to know how things are going.  we leave the humor to dad. 

in a nutshell (& the reason why there isn’t a post every day) i/we’re doing great.  i definitely have a pregnant belly.  so i’m growing.  i can’t imagine being 3 months bigger!  (course i couldn’t really imagine being this big, either)

i am starting my 3rd trimester today.  (!!!!???!!!!)  ok.  say that with me:  (!!!!???!!!!) 

i know i’ve mentioned wanting to feel little bean.  s/he’s a good listener b/c i am.  even The Mr. can enjoy the kicks and things.  he likes to listento LB.  says it sounds funny to hear baby move.  in case you didn’t catch it from before, LB has even kicked daddy!  that was hilarious. i think we both just stared at each other cracking up.  i mean- what else couldja do?

we all enjoyed a fantastic easter.  we appreciate Little Bean’s gramma & grampa very much for the gifts!  LB now has a place to sleep….  a beautiful crib that fits well and looks perfect in the nursery.  But the importantthing (according to grampa) is the bike trailer he bought ben for his birthday!  and it’s big enough that i’m sure LB could sleep in that as well. 

between the crib and the glider that aunt jo-jo & aunt kelly lent us—-  that kid will be very prepared to sleep.

we have an understanding.  mommy likes to sleep.  Little Bean is living in mommy (therefore learning from her) so LB will also enjoy sleeping in!  that IS how it works, right?  The Mr. thinks i should be able to talk to baby telepathically.  you know, since we’re connected and all.  so surely it will develop sleeping patterns from me. (and please not daddy!!!  who else in this world can hear cat paws on carpet????)

so, we’re all doing well.  we have a dr’s appt on tuesday.  hopefully there will not be any april fool’s jokes goin’ on. 

guess that about wraps up things to share. thanks for reading!

who’s your daddy?

so, little bean…  do you sometimes wonder who that is w/ the deep voice that hangs around all the time?  do you wonder about who it was you kicked (!) on Saturday?  do you wonder who that was that you moved while he played soccer?

tho’ your daddy somehow duped meemaw into thinking he’s “mr. romantic”, let me assure you he’s not.  however, he is thoughtful & extremely helpful.  you’ll see very soon that he’s pretty funny.  sometimes too funny.  (don’t expect any serious answers to come from him!)

he’s the kind of man who will let me cheer loudly when clemson makes it into the finals of the ACC basketball tournament for the first time since the 60s.  he’ll cheer w/ me. but i’m always the loudest! 

he’s a man who let’s me entertain, even tho he would rather just have a quiet night at home.  he’s a man who enjoys my paprikas (as will you, i’m sure) and doesn’t mind doing the pots & pans after i make a mess in the kitchen over said paprikas.  he’s a man who likes the challenge of stacking said dishes in the drainer… all at once.  as high as it goes!

 

he will complain & carry on when i want to eat in the dining room.  but then he doesn’t mind washing (and drying) the china as well.

he’s the man who comes to my rescue anytime he feels we need it.  he worries about how we’re feeling in the day, and always asks how our day was.  if i felt you.  if we’re ok.

he’s the one you hear laughing really hard at some silly shows like “always sunny in philadelphia”.  he gets stressed out by LOST, and laughs like a 10 year old to America’s funniest videos.

he’s the one who lets me sleep late & takes care of the “kittens”.  he’s the one who has only slept till 8 twice this past year.  he likes to talk about how these things “build character” (he’s got quite a lot of character).   how many times has he traipsed through the woods and climbed trees so i wouldn’t worry about losing yiminy?

he will do anything to make us happy.  remember that one time i said that lemonade would taste good & he grabbed his shoes and left?   

watch out, tho’- because he can’t wait till you start doing all the chores with (and then FOR) him.  he likes to tell you that you’re coming out punished.   (um, don’t worry b/c he’s the one who lets me wear the pants.)

he’s the one that is extremely excited to meet you.  he’s jealous b/c i get to spend all my time with you.  [that’s why we’re very happy you kicked him last night.  he wants to be a part of this].  he’s the man who keeps telling me that i can “have the night off” so he can take care of you & wake up with you. 

he is beside himself to know that you’ll be here soon- before we know it.

be good to your daddy.  he’s the best man i know!

PS- all he wants is a lap cat.  the 2 we have do not meet that description. we hope you will enjoy all the cuddling he wants to do!

doctor, doctor- don’t tell me the news….

we had an ultrasound last week- a full anatomy scan.  we don’t want to know what we’re having, so we turned our heads at the appropriate time.   (like we woulda been able to tell anyway!).

 LB didn’t move near as much as the last ultrasound we had when the dr. all but had to chase it!  but we did see a flip in the finale!  and it crossed its legs. (and arms????)

dr seemed pleased w/ how things were developing.  good heartbeat & all that jazz.  it still sounds like thuds, but i have to admit, i didn’t giggle near as much as i normally do during the heartbeat time!

like mom, LB isn’t very photogenic (this time)…  they even took a picture of the foot.  and you can’t make that out, except that it says “foot”. 

other than all that, i’ve been extremely fortunate, and continue to feel well.  i went to a “moms in motion” class last week and will go again tomorrow.  i don’t do near enough excercise!!! 

just b/c some of you may be wondering: 

i’m beginning to show.  not feeling the little bean quite yet.——my only 2 complaints so far have been that my legs sometimes hurt at night, and my gorgeous acne is still here.  sorry y’all-  ‘fraid there’ll be no “pregancy glow” for me!

but all seems well, and we look forward to march when they measure my “fundus”…  i can’t help but love these pregnancy words!   As my brother Danny would probably be saying right now:   “there’s a fundus among us”  although he’d probably also tell us to name it puddintain!

more on names———     LATER.