Grandma Charla and Blake
Ryan and Blake
Blake throwing the golf ball around and then chasing it....he has tons of energy!!!

We went to my aunt Sandy's house a couple of weeks ago to help her celebrate her birthday. We had a fun time playing outside on the golf course! Blake actually cooperated and let me take his picture several times!

And this is the only boy bedding I sort of like. It's plain and kind of boring, but it's all I can find for now. I know I have many months to go before I make any decisions and PBK will change their patterns like 100 times in between now and then, but this is the fun and exciting part for me and I can't help getting anxious about it!!!!!

So, if this baby is a boy, I'm not sure how he's going to feel about his nursery....But I've got the whole nursery planned out in my head and this is what I've picked. So, it comes in either pink or lavender and I like the pink, Bryce says it's too much...so, maybe lavender (also comes in green, but...eeehhhhh....blah). I'm planning on having the crib as you see above minus the quilt (we never used Blake's quilt, what's the point? I don't even like the quilt that comes with this set) and then I'll also have a twin bed set up just like you see it above--headboard and all. I think it's so cute! With my beautiful 40% discount at Pottery Barn Kids, how can I resist going all out!?! One thing you can't see on the crib bumper is that the other side has the polka dots on it. So, um, yeah...I guess I'm hoping this baby is going to be a girl? Haha! I always thought I wanted two boys because having to brothers would be really nice, but....after seeing this nursery set, I need to have it and that means I have to have a girl...haha! In all reality, though, if it's a boy or if it's a girl, we'll jsut be happy that we have a healthy one! anyway, just wanted to show the bedding I'm hoping to get in 7 weeks when we find out the sex of the baby!!!!

It's Aaaa.....

Face View
Profile View

Well, heck, we don't know what it is yet, but it is a baby and it does still have a heartbeat and it doesn't look like it has Down's Syndrome! All of the measurements came out well and things are progressing quite nicely! I will have yet another sonogram in 7 weeks that will determine the sex! Until then....hhhmmm.....I guess we just wait! I am so anxious to start buying cute little things, but everything is so gender specific! I'm sure the next 7 weeks will fly as my belly grows!

Question of the Day

Do you think 10:30am Saturday morning is too early to knock on someone's door to try to convert them to Johovah's Witnesses? I say yes, my coworkers say no....I'm wondering what the people think....

I had very good intentions of posting pictures this past weekend, but I did not do it. I only logged on to my computer once and that was yesterday to check my work email. Blake was sick yesterday and I had to take him to the doctor. Turns out just like about 80% of Austinites, Blakey Bookins has allergies. They attacked him pretty hard--he's taking an antibiotic to clear up any infection in his throat and ears (they were pretty red), allergy medication and a cough suppressant. He's back at school today now that I know he's not contagious. Anyway, I did not get around to posting at all. I have some cute new pictures to post as soon as I download them.

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow for my 13 week check up and Down's Syndrome screening. So, I will have another sonogram to post after my appointment tomorrow! I have a bit of my energy back, but I'm still more tired than usual, which I guess is pretty normal. I never really had much morning sickness. Some nausea, but that's about it. Nothing ever sounds good to eat, so that's pretty annoying. I try to eat pretty often, but when nothing sounds appealing, it's sort of hard to have the desire to eat anything. Oh, well....this too shall pass.

My mom was in town along with Mimi and Papa last week for my Aunt Sandy's birthday. We had a nice dinner for her Friday night--two home cooked meals in the same week--it was great! I have a few pictures from the party....I don't know what my deal is, but ever since I broke my fancy schmancy camera, I haven't really wanted to use my old crappy one again. Since the catastrophe, I have noticed I haven't been taking my usual quota of pics. Hopefully I'll be purchasing a new camera in the next few months and my normal picture taking will begin again. I need one you can drop more than once....any suggestions?

Ok, well, since I was out yesterday, I have about a million things I need to do at work today! Hope everyone's well and I'll be posting pictures soon!

Today's Bryce's birthday! Happy birthday, Bryce! I'm sure he never looks at my blog, but I thought I'd wish him a happy bday on here anyway! We're going to go to my aunt's house tonight for some yummy friend pork chops, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy--gotta love when Mimi's in town! Bryce has requested German Chocolate for his birthday cake, so his wish shall be granted! I should have some pictures for you soon! Anyway, happy 33rd birthday, old timer Bryce!!!!!

A few months ago (yes, I know I'm behind on my posting), Blake went to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday party. Here are a couple of pics of him and all of the kids dressed up like the "engine" turtles!

Ccccchhhhheeeeeessssseeeeeeee!!! Happy Labor Day! I'm going shopping at the outlet center near our house. Please pray I do not kill someone as I'm certain it will be elbow to elbow!

11 Weeks

Ok, so I'm 11 weeks pregnant today (I know there's a picture of me at 11 weeks, but I have pregnancy brain and that's really 9 and 10 weeks....). I thought I'd post a picture of what the baby looks like and what I would look like if I were skinny and had less butt cellulite--haha! It's starting to look more and more human like, so that's a good thing--I was getting worried! Just kiddin....Anyway...so, there's your pregnancy update for the day. I'm sure you're thrilled! More pics to come soon!

Remodeling

So, I had this beloved red twill couch that I finally decided I needed to sell in order to make room for more child junk. I unloaded it to a really nice gay couple who will treat it quite nicely. In exchange, I took my little wad o' dough to (where else) Pottery Barn Kids and bought the beginning of my shelving system. The pics didn't come out too well, but you get the idea. I love love love the shelves and will eventually buy more of them and add baskets and such, but all in due time. Anyway....so, we still need to be able to sit up there and relax and watch TV (especially when Sports Center is on the main tv...blah), but space is very limited in this second little living area. So, my question is....Does the chair look too big in the space and do you have any suggestions on what kind of chair/couch I could put up there that's reasonably priced? I was sort of thinking about getting one of those kinda inexpensive love seats that like pulls out into a twin size bed....but it's like foam. You know what I mean? I just don't know if they really make those or if I made it up, and if so, I really wouldn't know where to get one.....So, anyway, wanted to get some suggestions from the peanut gallery.....

10 weeks
And 11 weeks (a little late, but it's all good)

So, I don't know what's left over belly from Blake and new baby belly, but here are the pics nonetheless. I think the 11 weeks is a bad angle...there's no way I look like that....but whatever. Here are the belly pics! I'll keep you posted on the progress! Just another week and a half until the next ultrasound! Can't wait! Gotta keep making sure that little heart is still beating! The first trimester is so nerve racking, I swear!

Mimi and Grampy came to visit...well, I guess that was a month ago now...wow....I'm late with this post! Blake's daycare closed for a week for summer vacation, so they came to take care of Blake so I could avoid having to take an entire week off of work! Thanks Mimi and Grampy!

Oh The Pain that is Mexican Food

Dear Belly,

Please refrain from torturing me every time I eat Mexican food. I realize that the Mexican folk use tons of sodium and lard to achieve what is the beauty of an enchilada, but it's almost cruel to punish me so! I know I did not need to eat that second enchilada as well as all of the rice and half of the beans at lunch today, but....really, this punishment is a bit extreme! In closing, I would like to mention that I have been trying to eat really well lately and have been trying to include as much organic fruit as possible, so please, have pity on me and make the nauseau go away! I promise I will not live off of Taco Bell like I did when I was pregnant with Blake as long as you don't torment me as you are today.

Your friend,

Lisa

Ok, so I just need to take a minute to brag about my child.....I can't help it, it must be done. He came home the other night and receited The Pledge of Allegiance from beginning to end--including indivincible (I don't know if I can even spell that word!)! I must add that he's not even three yet! I was rather surprised that he had that memorized at such a young age! I guess they receit it every day at his school....I'm not too sure if I really like the idea of them forcing my child to say The Pledge of Allegiance along with some crappy Texas Flag allegiance (I swear, Texas has a lot of pride...it's really to the point of being annoying). I never had to say any allegiances when I was little, so I guess it's just weird to me. Nonetheless, it's pretty cool that Blake can memorize something like that!

In other news.....uuuummm....well, I really don't have any other news. I'm feeling fine, Rocco's good....I'm going to get to have another sonogram in three weeks to screen for Downs Syndrome. Two more weeks until this not so fun first trimester is over! Yay! I'm tired of being tired and not being able to eat properly! I'm ready to have a little more energy again! I bought this pregnancy journal called The Belly Book that I've been writing in. It has places for weekly belly pics, so I've been taking pictures....there's really not a lot of change, of course...I'll post those pics as soon as I download them...well, maybe.....it's just me pretty much standing there looking like a dork cause you can't see any belly. Not sure if you're really interested in seeing that or not. So, um, yeah....doing good here.

Nothing much else to bore you with today. It's Friday! Yay! I relish the weekends! I'll post some pictures this weekend and liven this blog up! I've been trying to post a little more often, so....yeah...I'm trying!

It's Me!

Better late than never--Happy Fourth of July! Haha!

As mentioned in the post below, bedtime is not the most fun in our house. We found that Blake was sort of enjoying sleeping in the bigger bed even though it was in the guestroom. Here he is fast asleep, no argument pre-bedtime, just sleeping! It didn't last too long, though....sigh...the novelty wore off and the bedtime drama began again. We recently moved the bigger bed into Blake's room, which has been kind of nice. As soon as I have the bedding all figured out and it looks nice in his room again, I'll take some pictures for you all to enjoy!

Whatever's comfortable, I guess....I put Blake to bed and walked out of the room to the normal screaming and fit throwing that happens most every night at our house at bedtime. I went to check on him after the fit had subsided and this is what I found....he threw all of his blankets on the floor and was too stubborn to put them back on the bed, so he just fell asleep on the floor. Silly kid!

Home Depot, Here I Come!

I never thought our house was the best craftsmanship available out there, but....you know, I tolerated it. Well, until now. The cheap asses who built our house majorly cheaped out on the windows and got single panes!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on, now...that's just cheap! One of my criteria for a new home was that it had double pane windows, because I understand the importance of insulation. Well, I guess I didn't get what I wanted. Blake's room is at the front of our house along with the guestroom/future nursery. I slept in Blake's room last night and let me just say that I got absolutely NO sleep! I mean, I was randomly woken up all night! I don't know what the noises were, but I do know that I have dark circles under my eyes and I feel like poop. I am now on a mission--we are buying new windows. I'm not talking just like some windows...I'm talking like sound insulated, double pane beauties. No more of this loud nonsense! Luckily there are only two windows that we'll have to replace initially. My goal, though is to replace all of them throughout the house, but now probably isn't the best time to be spending money on windows with all of the expenses we're going to be incurring with a new addition. Anyway....I'm tired. I'm irritated. And I don't know where you go to buy windows. Home Depot? I dunno. I hate going to big companies like that for everything...I'm a big believer in small business, but I do want the best price also. The internet has been absolutely no help in my endeavor to find new windows....Does anyone have any suggestions?

Nothing else to really report. We went to a birthday party Sunday, but I forgot my camera, so no pictures for you today. We laid around most of Saturday...Someone at Pottery Barn Kids' idea of taking it easy on me is making me wake up early every weekend for a call in shift. We have to call in two hours ahead of time to see if they need us. Well, the past two weekends I've been scheduled on-call at 10am, so I have to get up at 8 to call in! The weekend before that, I was actually scheduled at 8am! Uuummm.....yeah.....it irritates me to think about it! So, I woke up at 8, called in and they didn't need me, of course. So by that time, Blake's awake, Jackson's up shaking his damn head and we're all just up....sigh...so yeah, no sleeping in. Then Sunday morning I woke up on my own at 8:30. What is this crap!?! I had insomnia when I was pregnant with Blake...I'm not doing it this time. I swear....I'M FREAKING TTTIIIIIRRRRREEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright...Here's Why My Blog Has Been Lagging

Yep, that's right--number two in utero! It's still early, but things are looking really good and I couldn't keep the secret any longer! I'd like you all to meet "Rocco"! Haha! Blake has started calling the baby "Rocco" after Elmo's friend Zoe's pet rock...endearing, isn't it? I'm only 9 weeks along and have an estimated due date of March 20th! We decided to start trying in June and the poof--like magic!

I've been super tired and super lazy, so now you all know why I haven't been so good with the posting lately! I only have three more weeks left in the first trimester, so I expect to start feeling better soon! I've been lucky in that I've experienced no vomiting, just mild nausea and lots and lots of tiredness. It is certainly different being pregnant with a little one running around. I wonder what it will be like trying to take care of them both after the baby is born....Sleeping when the baby is sleeping won't be so simple with a three year old running around demanding to be entertained. It's a challenge I'm up for, though! Bring it on!

We will find out the sex of the baby, but it won't be for a long time--another 11 weeks!!!!! For now, we'll wait....blah! I work at Pottery Barn Kids--it's so hard to be around all of that cute nusery bedding and not want to buy it! I have my perfect girl's nursery all picked out...I'll have to post a picture later. We don't have a preference on the sex of the baby...healthy is all we ask for! I want either for different reasons. We'll see what we get! Can't wait!

I'll keep you posted with belly pics as I start to grow....actually, the baby belly never really left from the first time around! Haha! So, yeah....we're excited!!!!!!!!

Blake and his Woman

Blake was invited to a birthday party of a girl who is in his class at school. To my surprise, when I called the mother to RSVP, I found that not only is Haley Frost Blake's friend at school, she's his GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Uuuuuuuummmm.....he's two!!!!! He talks about Haley all the time at home and I just figured he liked her.....the other mom informed me that Blake is referred to in their house as a boyfriend! Isn't that hilarious!?! I guess my kiddo likes the older women because Haley turned three today. This was the best pic I could get....they were really into eating their cake! It was fun to go to the party and see Blake interact with all of his friends from school--one mom even told me Blake is so well behaved every time she sees him at the school...I almost questioned whether she knew which child she was talking about or not, but I just let it go...lol!

Barnum and Bailey Came to Town!!!

Blake and Matthew before the circus
The circus!
The elephants!
And Blake's favorite....the tigers!!!!

These pics are pretty old, but it's no secret that I'm behind on my blogging. My friend Hollee and I took our boys to the Barnum and Bailey Circus not too long ago! It was just as I remembered it--very classic circus! We had a fun time and somehow escaped having to buy a $20 spinning light thing! Yay!

So, I've majorly neglected my beautiful blog lately....I'm sure you're all bored to tears with it. Well, I promise soon I'll have some really fun posts for you, but for now, you'll just have to wait. I also noticed that I haven't posted many pictures of myself lately. I will work on this, I promise!

I haven't talked about my job much at all lately either. I've been with my company now for a little over a year! I'm doing property research (chain of title reports, in case anyone's familiar with real estate junk) right now. It's not completely my thing, but the company's so great to work for, I could never think about leaving! I celebrated my 1 year anniversary at Pottery Barn Kids in May as well! Let me tell you what a year working for Williams Sonoma, Inc. with a 40% discount will do for your house! I've cut my hours down pretty significantly, but I do still enjoy going in and working there.

Let's ssseeeee.......I guess there's nothing much else to talk about. Bryce is still doing his thing...you know, the four wheeler and that kind of stuff.....boy stuff.....But, yeah, we're all good....Uninteresting but good!

Nothing New to Report

Nothing major going on around here lately. It's been raining and raining and raining! We had like 2 days without rain, so I was sort of thinking we might be past the raining thing, but...no...it was pouring when I got up this morning! I always hate when it rains in the morning...that just means more time added to my morning commute. At least it's summer time and schools' out--that means 20 less driving minutes. Isn't that ridiculous that it takes me 20 MORE minutes to get to work when the kids are in school!?! They should really start school at about 11am so that those who are going to work don't have to deal with the additional traffic. I live 13 miles from work and when school's in session, it takes me 45 minutes to get to my office!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ridiculous! One of the main reasons I want to move away from Austin. We have NO freeways....It's just not easy to manuever around this city. The roads are very inadequate! Ok, that was my rant for the day.

Blake has started potty training at school. My grandma was here last week and attempted to get him out of diapers, but he was sort of stubborn about it. He's cooperating quite nicely with his teachers at school, so that's a good thing. I took him potty before we left for school, put him in underware and am hoping for the best! This is definitely one benefit of Blake going to a small school--they're really able to help a lot with potty training and they're able to give individual time to him to help him succeed. So far, so good! Let's all keep our fingers crossed that he keeps up the good work and that buying diapers for him will be a thing of the past!

Other than that, nothing to report, really. My dad and Mimi were here last week to watch Blake while his school was closed for summer vacation. I have a few pics I need to post as soon as I get a minute to download them. We had a nice time with them at our house!

Birthday Dinner

My cousin Ryan and I share our birthday--8 years apart--and it's sort of an annual tradition to go to Benihana for Japanese hibachi. This year we went just a little late because we couldn't coordinate our schedules. Here's a picture of the crew after dinner! Brad, Ryan, Sandy, Blake, me and Bryce. We had a really fun time!

Barnum and Bailey

Blake and I went to the circus with my friend Hollee and her son "Masseu" aka Matthew last Thursday. We had a fun time! I hadn't been to the circus in ages! It was pretty much the same as I remembered it, but still fun. I have more pics that I need to download....I'll upload those when I get a chance!!!!

Happy Belated Birthday

Hola! Well...this is a little frightening, but this is my 666th post! Yikes! Not a lot going on right now. We're getting ready to have dinner with Sandy, Ryan and Brad (my aunt and cousins) at Benihana for mine and Ryan's birthday--we share the same birthday, though we're 8 years apart. I've been salavating all day thinking about dinner, so I can't wait to eat!!!! Hopefully Blake does well....it's a long dinner--Japanese hibachi in case you're not familiar with the chain. So much yummy goodness...I can't wait!

My actual birthday was a bit on the not so good side. I took Blake to school just like I do every day and when I got back in my car to go to work, my car wouldn't start! I wouldn't do anything.....I had a dad at Blake's school help me, but we couldn't get it to do a thing! I had to call someone from work to come pick me up--thanks Hollee--and had to just leave the dumb car at the school all day. Luckily it just turned out to be a bad battery and was easily fixed, but....that was quite a bummer! I had to cancel my dinner reservations at Ruth's Chris so we could deal with the car....it stunk, really. So....yeah...happy 28 to me! Maybe 29 will bring some better luck, we'll see!

Hope everyone's well....I'll post more pics soon!

Uncle Aaron Came to Visit!!!!!!

Aaron came to visit for my birthday party in Port Aransas! We had a fun time! I have beach pics, but they're on the camera I broke. I'll have to see if I can upload them or not....Anyway, here are a few pics from Aaron's visit!

The San Antonio Zoo

We went to the zoo in San Antonio last weekend. It was pretty hot out, but we had a fun time! Blake was really excited about seeing all of his favorite animals!

Father's Day

Blake wasn't exactly cooperating with the pictures today. He made the hat for Bryce that he's wearing at school for Father's Day!

Blake and Grampy on Blake's 2nd birthday

Haha...ok, this picture isn't exactly the best, but....yeah....

Well, I haven't posted in quite awhile....I broke my new camera and I've been pretty upset about that. I've reverted back to the old piece of poop camera, so....blah! We've been up to quite a bit, but I wanted to post some Father's Day pics in honor of those father's out there!!! Love you all!

On The Road Again!!!

Well, I'm not sure if I'll have time to edit and post any new pics for you all, but I wanted to write something while I had a chance! Bryce, Blake and I will be packing up the car and heading North early Wednesday morning! We didn't have a chance to see Bryce's family in Ulysses, KS while we were there for Christmas due to a blizzard, so we're going to take a week off from work and go for a graduation and a wedding reception! I'm very excited to get to take this little vacation! If you're not familiar with Ulysses (and why would you be?), it's in Southwestern Kansas--we'll actually have to drive through Greensburg in order to get there. When we go there, it's truly a vacation. If you've never seen the middle of no where, go to Ulysses! When we're there, we dont' have access to a computer, our phones are on roam....there's not even a Wal-Mart!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, this will truly be a get away, that's for sure! I should have tons of new pictures to post when we get back!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mother's out there! My Mother's Day was great! We had a nice relaxing morning and then went to my Aunt Sandy's house for a wonderful dinner! It was an over-all great day!

Nothing much exciting to report today...I'm just at work taking a little break to update my loyal readers! Hope all is well!!!

Well, I knew this day would come, I was just hoping it wouldn't be quite this soon! Blake was determined to get out of his bed the other night and he finally figured out how to do it! Here he is in mid-escape! He won't stay in bed anymore. It really sucks! He hates going to bed and has always thrown a major fit at bedtime. Now I have no idea how this bedtime deal is going to work. I can see that my evening time alone is going to be non-existent because I'm going to be arguing with my two and a half year old about bedtime! Ugh....

Big Boy Transformation

Blake's Bed Before....
Blake helping Daddy convert his bed into a toddler bed
And the end result!

Blake and Jackson sometimes wedge themselves under our bed...not sure what the fun in it is, but apparently it's a popular pass time in our house!