Baby Love

On the eve of Ben's 9 month-day I was lucky enough to get to hang with one of his BFF's, Riley. Riley was born on October 24th and is the sweetest baby! He is a tiny man like Ben was (though it's still impossible for me to remember Ben being that small only 9 months ago). Riley was so alert and is pretty much a stud. Thanks so much for letting me hang and take his picture!

Click here to see more pictures.

A mini social

For all you moms out there, check this out! The mini social is a website with adorable things on sale for a limited time only! Check out these sweet rubber ducks on sale! Word on the street is that they were originally $48 (seriously?) and are now on sale for $9! So cute!

Don't join if you can't control yourself, but if you want some awesome deals feel free to tell them I (lwolcott28@hotmail.com) refered you! 

In all seriousness, there are some really great deals on there (especially for girls right now!) and some great ideas for gifts! Check it out!

These are a few of my favorite things (Part II)

1. Ben's Boppy Newborn Lounger. My friend, Lauren, gave us this. Ben loves to lie on it and it helps me be able to get thing done (including shower).

2. The E*TRADE commercials with the talking babies. My favorite is the one where the baby sings The Book of Love. I like to drive Nate crazy by singing that song to him. I'm not sure why he hates it (with my American Idol voice).

3. Complex 15 face lotion. I use to think this was such a splurge (it costs about $8.50). I have used this stuff since high school and it is just as awesome as it was back then. It is made with a lot of water and is on the thin side. My face just sucks it up! 

4. My camera. I'm still learning how to use it, but it takes great pictures on it's own. Even I can't mess it up!

5. The Oball. Here at Casa de Lyons (that's Spanish) we call these Wonka balls. Cooper goes crazy for them and they are less expensive than most poor quality dog toys. Good luck finding them because we may have just bought the entire stock!

Introducing...

Bennett Nathan

February 6, 2009 (1 month early)

5 lbs 14 oz 18 7/8 inches

He's finally here! Bennett is a man of his own ideas. We went into the doctor yesterday (Thursday) for my regular appointment. Unfortunately my BP was really high. Dr. M decided it was time for Bennett to make his debut (and for me to be induced). 

Of course after we checked into Labor and Delivery my BP fell way lower than usual and my labs were great. They were about to send me home when the little guy's heart rate fell really low. I also started having contractions. When Bennett heard they were about to send me home he decided it was time for labor to start. 

To make a long story short, I got my epidural late last night and slept really well. I woke up this morning and Dr. M decided to start me on a low dose of Pitocin (I wasn't dilating very fast). As soon as they started the Pitocin, Bennett's heart rate dropped again so they had to stop immediately. I was told I would most likely be needing a c-section (something I was totally fine with) but they were going to break my water first. 

After breaking my water, I dilated super fast (6 cm in about 45 minutes). It looked like Bennett was coming on his own. I slept again until I was too uncomfortable. I started pushing a little after noon and Ben arrived at 12:16! 

Because he was so early I didn't get to see him right away. The NICU team had to check him out but he was great! He's a very sleepy little man but we love him so much already! I will post more pictures as soon as I have more free time! 

Identity Crisis

No, we are not naming the little guy Cletus. That is just his nickname in the womb (Cletus the Fetus). His first name has been picked, but the middle name is still being worked on. I know some people may like Cletus (Dukes of Hazard fans?) but seriously people, we are not that cruel.

We are almost ready!

Since baby Cletus could be here at any time (hopefully not anytime soon though) we have been getting ready! We have the Pack n Play up and ready in our room, clothes are washed and ready. The nursery is getting oh so close! Check out our idea board here.

Thanks to all your help, here is what we have thus far! As you can see, we are still working on a few little decor items but I love how it looks. Any ideas or suggestions?

The color in the pictures isn't great (I took them at night) and the photo quality isn't the best.

This is a room view. You can see the paint job (I love it). We went with the blue over the orange to make it more soothing. Anything to get the baby to sleep! The shelves by the glider are not at all complete. 

Here are the pictures we ordered! Thanks for the input. We went with the smaller size and relocated them from over the crib. They are perfect!

A close up of the bedding (from Pottery Barn). Unfortunately I realized the sheet is inside out so the colors aren't quite as bright as they should be. We loved the monkeys but didn't want to go overboard with a theme. I think it worked out well.

The other side of the room. The dresser will also be used as the changing table however we don't have the things for it yet. The pictures over the dresser will have a black and white picture of each of Cletus's cousins. The huge Boston Terrier stuffed animal is from Pottery Barn and was a definite must buy! My mom and I made the curtains out of two euro shams we bought at the Pottery Barn outlet. I love them!

The glider (BRU) and side table (from Ikea). I'm not sure about the lamp but we haven't found a different one yet (except maybe this one).

We can't wait for the little guy to be here to see it!

Talented and Gifted

On the 12th day of Christmas I thought I would share some of the most awesome gifts I received this year. I know that gifts are not what Christmas is about, but they are still fun! I won't list everything, but these are some fun ones!

I am definitely one of the luckiest girls in the world. Nate loves to pick out gifts for me all on his own (and he's good at it). This year was difficult with me being pregnant (no clothes) and on bed rest. He really had to dig for ideas!

For a long time I have wanted a record player. I have no musical talent whatsoever (just ask my former students) but I do love music! Nate got a really great deal on this turntable/CD player/radio. I love it!

To go with the record player, Nate got me a bunch of records of my favorite artists! Two James Taylor's (my absolute favorite), AC/DC, Motley Crue (okay, that one may be more of his fav than mine) and some jazz. It's so fun to listen to the old LP's and listen to the crackle they make. I love it!

Nate also got me a flash for my SLR camera. I have yet to use it (there isn't much to take pictures of sitting on the couch) but I can't wait! Now people might mistake me for an actual photographer (or Nate's dad).

Have I mentioned that I love to cook? Again, not a lot of cooking going on from the couch, but I can't wait to get back into it! To make waiting that much harder, Nate bought me a new set of Rachael Ray pots and pans! 

Nate and I also raked in the baby goods! We got all sorts of equipment (Pack n' Play, swing, bouncer chair) and clothes galore! Here are a few of the cuties our spawn will be sporting.

And finally my parents got my two fabulous gifts (really many more, but these are my favorites). My dad got me a facial from Lynn, the best facial lady in the world! I cannot wait to be back in Portland so I can use it! My mom made Cletus the most amazing blanket. The little man will be coming home from the hospital in this! It's so soft and comfy!

Cooper wanted to model the blanket.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Christmas special! 

Please excuse photo quality.

It's good to know...

That while I can't sleep, my hands have no problem sleeping. 

A Year In Review

January

• Brought in the New Year with Nate's family!
• My parents came to visit the grand ole' city of San Antonio.
• I quit my job (actually in December of '07) and enjoyed some very much needed "me" time.

February

• I got a part time job. Way better than my old job!

March

• My niece, Makena, was born!
  
  
  
• Nate and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary.
• I flew home to Oregon to meet Makena and help celebrate Drew's 2nd and Luke's 4th birthdays.
• Nate and I went to Seattle for Nate's cousin's wedding. It was a Hindu wedding and was so gorgeous (and the food was awesome). Nate was a groomsman and made an awesome speech at the Sangeet (which he wrote minutes before on a napkin).

April

• I attended my first Fiesta celebration here in San Antonio. 
• Cooper had his toe amputated. Sad!

May

• Nate turned 28!
• My parents came to visit.
• We decided we wanted a baby!

June

• We went to San Francisco with Nate's work team (they won a regional contest). We were able to see Nate's sisters (Suzanne and Jessica) and Brent. We saw my forever friend, Becky (seriously we've been friends for 28 years)! And we got to go to Alcatraz. My favorite place ever!
• I got knocked up.

July

• We celebrated 4th of July with our Texas friends.
• Morning sickness kicked in (and is sadly still sticking around- although better- in December).
• We told the families we are having a baby!
• I turned 28 on the 28th!

August

• I traveled home to Portland and we took a family trip to my parents' cabin in Black Butte. Sadly Nate couldn't take the time off and join us but he will be there in 2009!




• We found out we are (almost certainly) having a boy. I was shocked!

September

• Nate and I flew to Boulder, CO for a friend's wedding. It was so gorgeous! 
• I went to a few very fun baby showers!

October

• I went back to Oregon to see the family and hang out with my dad after his surgery. 
• I had a big scare on the flight back to San Antonio and had to go to the ER in Denver. By myself mind you. The people at the hospital were so nice to me!
• We found out we are definitely having a boy! He's quite the show off!

November

• My mom came to visit and we worked on the nursery. We went shopping and had a great time!
• I found out I have PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) and was sentenced to bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy.
• We had our very first "grown up" Thanksgiving with Rob and Christine!

December

• My parents came to visit for Christmas! It was an awesome time!
• My baby is still cooking!

My Favorite Things: December

I've decide to make my (short) list today and recap the year tomorrow! I really am loving life right now. It's just a little lacking in the excitement area. In no particular order....

1. Christmas decorations are everywhere! Nate decorated our house this year (while I advised him from the couch). He put all the decorations in the great room so I could enjoy them all while I bed rest it. It definitely makes bed rest more enjoyable when you have a bunch of Christmas reminders to look at!

2. I continue to receive many wonderful things from friends and family to keep me occupied! I've read so many books and magazines, spent hours on the phone and played endless games of catch with Cooper.

3. I bought myself a photography book and am kind of starting to understand my camera. Thanks to sister-in-law, Suzanne, I now also have a photography DVD to watch. I will be an awesome photographer before this baby is born!

4. I got to see the little (big) man twice on the big screen. 

5. My absolute favorite thing was having my parents here for Christmas (more on Christmas to come, I promise). I always knew I was their favorite, but the fact that they drove to Sacramento just to fly out here (due to snow and airport problems in P-town) to see us solidified that fact. My parents are the best! We made an awesome Christmas Eve dinner, spent a leisurely day opening gifts and spending time together. It was hard to be away from my sisters and their families, but having my parents here made it awesome!

6. Christmas ('nuff said).

I promise I will update with some highlights of Christmas (and my very unique gifts courtesy of Nate) and nursery pictures (courtesy of my parents' hard work) asap. It's hard to get myself off the couch to take pictures! 

What did you all love about December? 

 

You may see me on the news.

You know those stories? 5'2" woman gives birth to 15 lb baby? That may just be me. We had our doctors' (yes 2) appointments today. They did ultrasound number 9 or 10 (I can't keep track anymore). Apparently our baby, at a mere 31 weeks, is 4 lbs. 2 oz. That is give or take 10 oz. Please don't let it be give! 

Everything else looked great! They still don't think I'll make it full term and said they will snatch the little guy (or big guy as it may be) around 38 weeks if he hasn't come yet. We go back to see the doctor next week and have ultrasound 10 or 11 on January 22. 

Life in the Fast Lane

That's how I describe my life lately. Cletus and I are doing pretty well. We are 29 weeks along as of yesterday. I'm trying to stay positive about this bed rest business, but it is getting kind of hard. I am oh so excited for my parents to get here on Monday and entertain me. They have decided to forget my sisters and spend Christmas with their favorite daughter. 

Cletus and I had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning. My blood pressure was high (despite my medication). That was discouraging to hear! My excuse is that my appointment was early in the morning and the medicine hadn't kicked in yet! I refuse to believe that this kid is going to come this early (if I develop pre-eclampsia they will take the baby right away)! My protein is also a +1. I think it has to stay under a +3 (but I'm not a doctor so don't quote me on that). They had me do a 24 hour test and hopefully that will be okay! I also had to take the nasty gestational diabetes test today. I did appreciate how they call that sugary, liquid jello tasting drink Glucola. It kind of made me feel like I was drinking an orange soda. I wasn't. 

Please send little Cletus your thoughts! He needs to keep cooking and we don't want them to take him anytime soon!

These are a few of my favorite things.

Life on the couch has led me to spend much time searching Etsy. I know I've mentioned this fabulous website many times in the past. For anyone not in the know, Etsy is a website where you can buy and sell all things handmade. You can find an abundance of fab things. Here are some of my favorite things.

This cardigan is gorgeous! Oh how I wish I could make one myself. It would be so cozy with jeans and some awesome flats. It's yours for $235 at Keep & Share's shop.

With a baby on the way, this idea really strikes a cord with me. What a fun, fashionable way to display a little family history. This would really be something to treasure for years! It's available at Almost Sunday. The best part, during the month of December a portion of the shop's proceeds will go to The Smile Train!

I must have babies on the brain because another favorite is this Mother's Love Necklace from ArtWark. I also love anything with birds (as my husband can attest).

And the bird theme continues. In addition to birds, I love the color orange! This pillow 

is $28 from Joom.

And if you don't like birds as much as I do (like my sister, Megan), check out these perfect notecards. 

(These would make the perfect teacher gift!)

Find them here, here, or here. And I have to be totally honest. It was very difficult not to include one with birds! Who knew birds were so popular!

A Rock and Roll Nursery

I need some advice! We are looking for some artwork for Cletus's nursery and have found a few options on Etsy. If you need a reminder, here is our nursery idea board. We ended up painting 2/3's of the wall light blue and the top 1/3 is white (see the bottom picture).

Nate and I love these prints from Etsy seller johnwgolden.

The problem with them is they are only 5x7 (and $32 for the set). We would frame them with a much larger frame but I'm worried they will look too small on a whole wall (above the crib).

We can buy each print individually in 8x12. Nate would like to substitute the following picture for the amp.

The 8x12 prints are $30 each (so $90 for all three) and are an odd shape to frame with store bought frames (not custom frames). 

Do you think the small pictures are a better choice or are they too small? We know these aren't typical baby pictures, but then again, Cletus is not your typical baby! Thanks for your insight!

28 weeks

Nate and I had our weekly doctor appointment today. We saw the specialist for ultrasound number 8. Baby Cletus* is doing great! He's short and fat! He's measuring 2 lbs. 11 oz. which Dr. M says it totally normal. He's gained almost a whole pound since our last ultrasound 3 weeks ago. She couldn't tell how long he is but he's only in the 12 percentile for femur length. Poor guys doesn't have a chance with his short parents!

Everything else looks great! The baby has flipped himself around and is moving all the time. He's kind of folded in half with his little feet up by his head. Nate thinks he looks like my dad. Here is the latest picture of the little guy!

Stay tuned for ultrasound #9 on December 30th. 

* No, we are not actually naming the baby Cletus. We have had  many confused people! We call him Cletus the Fetus (Cletus for short). I just wanted to clear up any confusion!

The Great Name Debate

Since Nate and I have now been told that we could technically have this baby anytime between now and March (hopefully closer to March) we have been talking names. We have three names in mind but both like different ones better. Take our poll and help us pick out a name!

Thanks!

Lucky Number Seven

Today Nate and I met with the specialist (high risk pregnancy doctor). We didn't learn much, but we did get to have an ultrasound. It was our 7th ultrasound (most people get between 2 and 3). The little one seemed quite big at 1 lb 12 oz (the doctor said that's normal). He was very sleepy and kept yawning. We also decided he definitely has mom's nose. We can't wait to meet him!

Here is a new picture of the little guy.



And stay tuned. We have ultrasound number 8 on December 10th!

Life these days

It's funny how you think of so, so many things you want to and "need" to do when you can't do anything at all. I am now 25 weeks pregnant (a little over 6 months) and have just been sentenced to bed rest. As far as people being on bed rest go, I'm a pretty good candidate. I'm usually pretty happy not doing anything. I love to read and watch just about anything on TV. I cross stitch (no, I'm not an 80 year old woman) and love other crafts. I should be okay.

So I sit here on the couch (as of now I am allowed to bathe and go to the bathroom) and think about the far, far away date of March 3rd. The date our baby is due. That's over 3 months away. We will see how much TV I can handle and how many books I can read. I'm sure my blogging will become both more frequent and more boring.

I appreciate any distractions or creative ideas of things I can do. I'm sure Nate would appreciate any encouragement or ideas for him as well. For now he's stuck working, taking care of me and Cooper and keeping the house clean. I'm not sure which of us hopes March 3rd gets here faster.

Monkey Business part II

I almost forgot! Here is the cutest little monkey picture I found on Etsy. It is so perfect for the room!



It's from seller rkdsign88. She has a ton of great children's artwork!

Monkey Business

As Nate would tell you, I'm a planner. I know I still have 4 months until the baby is here, but we have already started- and almost completed- the nursery. In fact my mom flies out next Thursday to help with the finishing touches! I can't wait!

Nate and I already purchased the big ticket items and just need to throw everything together. I love looking at baby nurseries and really love a modern look that still says baby. I decided I needed some help, so I called on fellow blogger, Bryn, to help me out. Her house is gorgeous and very relaxing. She seemed the perfect one to give me some ideas for a great baby room!

Here is the idea board she came up with! We already own the crib, dresser, bedding and glider and I just purchased the little side table- it is so perfect!




Here is a picture Bryn found for the paint inspiration (from Martha Stewart). I love the two colors and the simplicity of the lines. What do you all think? Should we play it safe with blue or be bold with orange?


Thanks Bryn!