Boy Tacos...

Too funny. So a little background on the shirts...Brian and I have dinner with his mom (and Joey) just about every week and one of the places we frequent is Chuy's. Well, every time we eat there Joey makes a comment that he's going to buy Brian a "My taco sparkles shirt" (which happens to be hot pink-insert joke here). Anyway, tired of the constant 'all talk, no show', Debbie decided to buy them Both a shirt. Let me tell you, they looked great! We laughed until we cried. The pictures can be found below-'nuff said:

18 Weeks...

...1 day.


So okay...yesterday was technically 18 weeks...but today is close. I forgot to take a picture yesterday so today it is.
Things are going better...its hard for me to get up in the mornings because I'm so tired but I think that's more from the dogs constantly stealing my spot throughout the night (usually when I get up to use the bathroom) than from any lack of sleep. But, once I get going things get better. I'm not dragging through the days like I was. Also, (Brian says) I'm a lot happier. He brought me flowers again yesterday...what a sweetheart.

That's about all that's new. We're waiting on the 20 week sonogram (April 8th) before we know FOR SURE that we're having a girl, but we're both pretty confidant in the doctor's opinion that we are. I guess we'll see in 2 weeks.
According to the website baby-gaga, Baby weighs in at about 7 ounces (that's almost 1/2 a lb.) and measures 6 inches (which is about the size of a bic pen with the cap on). Also, if she is in fact a girl, by the end of this week her uterus will have formed. Also, the nerves are forming myelin and there are now two layers of skin (epidermis and dermis). She's come a long way since we started (and has a long way to go still), but when Brian and I first found out we were pregnant, she was the size of a period at the end of a sentence "." now she's 1/2 a foot long! Amazing. Oh?! And I almost forgot...according to Parents.com, Baby may be able to hear now. Guess its time to brush up on the ol' story-tellin' voices. :o)

Houston Weekend...

Brian and I drove down to Houston this weekend (Thurs night) to spend some much-needed time with the family. Apart from marking the 17th week of my pregnancy, Thursday was also my step-dad, Paul's birthday. So, Happy Birthday, Paul!
That night we made the mistake of trying to sleep on an air mattress with two dogs (who happen to both have long, sharp nails). Anyway, Brian sent me to the couch, and he ended up on a deflated air mattress (which means, he ended up on the floor).
P.S. not Brian in the picture below...random one from the internet that I found funny.

Friday morning Brian, my mom, Paul, and I all went for breakfast, then Brian and I took off for his Aunt Donna's house. We had a wonderful time visiting with Donna, grandma, grandpa, and Cameron. All too soon, it seemed, the visit was over. Hopefully we'll get the chance to see them all again soon. We were both exhausted (having not slept well the night before) so we rented a room at La Quinta (they take dogs). We slept a little better that night, but I think we were both too exhausted to actually get a good night's sleep.
Saturday we spent with his kids and then with my mom. I miss my mom...wish she lived here. Anyway, she took me maternity clothes shopping and I got some really cute stuff. (Thanks mom). Brian and I also had to buy jackets because it was in the 30s and we brought t-shirts (we should probably check the weather forecast next time).
Sunday we slept a little late, had a great brunch and then spent a little more time with my mom before heading back home. It was a great weekend followed by a wonderful night's rest in our own bed. Man, it was hard to get out of it this morning for work. I needed one more day so I could lay around and be lazy. Stupid working for a living...who's up for some lottery tickets?

Bowling with the kids...

If you're in need of a good laugh, take some kids bowling (or you can just take Brian, he's pretty entertaining too). We had a great time Saturday, bowling with the kiddos. We took them to eat for lunch and then clothes shopping. Joey had fun with the clothes, Brody complained his feet hurt and he was ready to shop for toys (just like a man-or at least just like his father). Anyway, after all that we took them bowling for what turned out to be disco bowl.
Joey's bowling technique was just to try to get the ball down the lane. At one point the ball actually parted the pins without knocking them down. The important thing though is that she had a lot of fun. Brody, on the other hand, practically threw the ball down the lane, but he was careful not to get a line fowl, pin-wheeling his arms at the last second to stay on his feet.
All-in-all a really fun day spent with the kids. Sue is doing a great job with them. They are so easy and fun and happy. I hope my child is that well adjusted.

The Greenbelt...

For my birthday, Brian and I met up with Gina and Adam and took the dogs down to the Greenbelt. It was a new experience for the boys and they had a blast. The water was so cold that when we took our shoes off and stepped in, our skin turned pink and our feet went numb, but it didn't stop Stanley and Lefty from having a ball. They would have chased their toy all day (in their new life vests) had we let them. Stan's old vest was chaffing and Lefty needed one period because he has a habit of dropping the blind side of his head into the water so he half drowns. Anyway, we set off with the spankin' new vests, a new toy, a Gina as our guide.




At one point in our journey, Brian almost had to jump in and save the boys from drowning. They found a ridiculously huge stick that they decided they wanted to chase. We decided to let them go after it a few times without the vests (it was a whole get them dressed again and then carry the wet vests decision)...but it was almost a horrible mistake. Neither dog would let go and both were pulling the other under...standing on the bank, I ripped Brian's glasses off his head while he started pulling off his shoes (I was seconds from pushing him into the ice cold river) when the boys made it back far enough to grab one stick end and drag them in...






Bless Brian's heart, he doesn't know how close he came to catching pneumonia. Anyway, we were able to wear ourselves and the boys out thoroughly, so, mission accomplished. In fact, Stanley was so sore that he's had trouble with the stairs the last 2 days...

Lefty's Helping Hands...

Lefty decided to help Joey clean up the balloons that Brian and I left in his room. Stanley, though excited at first, scampered as soon as the first balloon popped. It took some serious coaxing to get him out from under the bed (I think he thought he broke Joey's stuff). Lefty on the other hand was more that happy to break everything Joey owned.
If you watch closely, he has so much fun that even a bag of McDonald's gets ignored over the balloon popping fun. Enjoy...we did.

Birthday Surprises...

Brian and I decided to decorate Joey's room for his birthday (March 11th). We blew up 50 balloons (by mouth-almost passed out) the night before and stashed them in our closet. After Joey took off for work in the morning, we took each balloon out (3 at a time because full balloons are hard to carry around) and put them in Joey's room. Then, we used some toilet paper to wrap his bed and furniture (I say we, but that was all Brian). To top things off we went across the street to my office, blew up 20 large balloons with helium and let those go in his room as well. When he got home he called Brian to ask if we killed a clown in his room. Fun times.





Brian and I weren't there because we were at the Toyota dealership buying our new Rav4...pretty sweet. Apparently our credit's not as bad as we had assumed. We decided that we had to get another car before baby girl makes her appearance. You know, the whole child safety thing. Anyway, we're pretty excited. Not only is it a brand new car, but Brian actually has car insurance!!! Really hit the big-time here.
To prove how mature he is, we drove down to San Antonio to take care of a minor in possession of alcohol charge he had from 1996 (he's 35). The judge was nice and didn't make him pay a fine and we got to try out our new car on a road trip...good times all around. Oh?! And did I mention, the color of the car...Mica. It was meant to be.

16 Weeks...

and it's a girl! At least we think it is. Dr. Cowan and his nurse looked and said they didn't see any boy parts but cautioned us not to paint the room pink until our 20 week sonogram when the sonographer has a chance to look. Most likely though, it's a Madelyn as opposed to a Maddox.

Silly Dog...

Thought I would share Lefty's morning. There's a lot I could learn from that dog. Apparently, Lefty crawled into the duvet cover that was laying on the floor, waiting to be washed. He usually sleeps under the covers but this time crawled inside. Brian and I started calling his name and...well, he put up a good fight trying to get out. But here's where I could learn from him...
...he woke up in one of the worst ways imaginable (to me anyway). He woke up confused and lost, but (if you'll watch the end of the video again) it played no part on his attitude for the day. He was just as happy this morning as he is any other when he simply crawls out from under the covers. Maybe I need to start my day a little differently and give thanks that I'm awake (no matter what condition I'm in) instead of being upset that I have to get up, or annoyed that Brian has the most annoying alarm in the world. :o)
Really though, how great would it be if everyone had the patience and attitude of a well-loved dog? Stanley too. His brother practically jumps on his head, knocks him over, pushes him out of the way and it doesn't even phase him. They're such good boys...I don't know what I'd do without them. I love those dogs.

A Busy Saturday...

Ah...what a fun day we had. Brian and I got up this morning, went to breakfast and then decided that a trip to South Congress was in order. After all, it is Saturday and that's when all the fun vendors come out. So we stopped by the ATM, pulsed some cash and off we went. After about an hour of shopping (in which we bought the boys ties, and Brian got a new belt and a really awesome belt buckle), we went into a little art shop that I like to visit...and...Pregnancy Brain strikes again!!!
While in the store I realized, hey, where's my debit card...oh right...it's in the ATM still (I hope). It seems that in all the confusion of using an ATM machine (being facetious) I walked away without my card. Ugh. So as a solution, Brian and I spent the next hour driving between Frost and Chase Banks, canceling cards, pulling money, and depositing into another account. Ah...all's well that end's well right?
Once our finances were back in order we decided that it was a good day to take the boys for some ball throwing. We picked up the dogs (and Joey too) and made our way behind a nearby high school (which forbids dogs on the grounds) to throw the tennis ball a few times. It sure did tire them out. Stanley couldn't even stand up to drink towards the end (but that means he had fun, right?). As if that wasn't enough, we took them into Petsmart (their favorite store) where Stanley was more than happy to model a tutu for me (sometimes I wonder about that boy).
To top it all off, we met up with Brian's mom and we all had an awesome dinner at Trudy's, full of laughing and good-natured ribbing. I really love the weekly family dinners we have.

15 Weeks...

Things are getting better day by day...pregnancy brain is fun. I can barely remember to brush my teeth in the morning...much less be counted on to remember where I put important documents at work. I've exclaimed more than once, "Why am I in charge of important papers?!" which is luckily met with laughs and stories from my boss of how stupid/forgetful she got while pregnant.
I think the best is that as my energy levels have come back and my misery has faded, my sense of humor has returned. I missed that the most. I love to laugh and didn't realize how much I had missed it until the last few days when I've done nothing but. I haven't really done much crying...a little, but I've been so happy lately. Baby is getting bigger...at least I am. :o)









From the Weekly update I get:
Baby's head is now resting on his well-formed neck instead of directly on his shoulders like Igor. He's beginning to grow eyebrows and eyelashes this week. (All the better to give you that "Mom, you're crazy" look when he's a teenager.) The hair on the head also begins to grow and, with some creative styling, you'll be able to turn those locks into a Maddox Jolie-Pitt faux-hawk some day.

Although baby's eyes are sealed shut, he's now able to sense light. His eyes and ears finally look like real baby features now. As your baby practices sucking and swallowing actions, he may actually hiccup. You'll know he's had one too many shots of amniotic fluid by the steady thump-thump you feel.

Over the next month, baby will grow faster than ever, so make sure you load up on enough nutritious food and fluids to support his growth. Your baby now measures nearly 4 inches, about the size of a Kit Kat "finger" (regular-size, not the Big one you get at the movies), and weighs almost 2 ounces.

Pregnancy Brain...

...Its a real issue and boy do I have it. I can't remember ANYTHING. I've misplaced my phone (once in a puddle of water in the parking lot) every night for the last week. Each night before bed Brian and Joey have to help me find what I did with it. Then yesterday I had to go to court to file some evictions. I got to the courthouse around 4:00 and while I was waiting to file my paperwork the urge to pee arose, like it does every 15 minutes (apparently, Baby thinks my bladder is a pillow). So anyway, I go into the bathroom, drop my pants and looking down I realize that I've had my underwear on inside-out ALL DAY and never noticed. I must have peed 30 times before that, and nothing. Also, it wasn't like it was just regular underwear, these had ornamental buttons on the front that had been pressing into my stomach all day.







Ok, so aside from losing things and not being able to dress myself...things are going pretty great. I'm definitely not as tired or moody as I have been (and Brian really appreciates that) and I'm not as sick or bloated either (and I like that). I can actually go to bed after 8:00 and still function the next day...I didn't think I'd ever see those times again. NOW it's getting to the fun times...lots of laughs, mostly at myself...but you know what they say, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."