It's a Boy!

That's right, the ultrasound showed we're expecting another boy. Bryant is thrilled to be getting a brother. He's already been talking about what he'll teach him.
Yesterday was our nine-year anniversary. It was a pretty good day. The weather was absolutely perfect - mild and sunny in the morning and warm enough to wash both vehicles by the afternoon. Jeff took the day off. After my appointment in the morning, we went to Sears and lo and behold, the crib we had priced only weeks before was on sale! That plus a $50 gift cheque from Fidelity (for joining the Healthy Baby Program through our health insurance), we were able to get it for a steal. Only one more big-ticket item to get (a car seat/stroller travel system). Hopefully we'll get that for a good deal, too.
For lunch, we went to Olive Garden and had the best service I think we've ever had at a restaurant. The food was really, really good, too. All in all, it was one of the best anniversaries we've ever had.

Hot, hot, hot!

It is nice and toasty today - 82 degrees. No coats for us. I bought plants today for our yard. Bryant comes home, does his homework, then he's outside until we call him home for dinner. Beautiful, beautiful weather!

Valentine's Day weekend was as backwoods as you could get. We stayed in an RV park where the permanent residents read like characters from a book. I couldn't have made them up in a million years. They were strange and widely varied and I loved it. I really wanted to stay longer and learn their stories. Jeff took Bryant fishing on a small motorboat on this lake that was never any more than three feet deep. It was too shallow to use the motor near the dock, so Jeff had to paddle out to deeper water. They didn't catch anything, but they saw bald eagles all over the place. The RV park owners suggested they use live bait - minnows - and when the boys got back, Bryant boasted he 'caught' a fish. With his hands. In the styrofoam bucket of minnows. Ewwww! Bryant loved it so much, he came home and told everyone who would listen about it.

For lunch, we drove past the only restaurant listed on the website and determined the drive to Gainesville wasn't too far after all. The building looked like a soft breeze would knock it over. After we ate, the boys went back out on the lake and I took some much needed quiet time. I also met pretty much everyone who lived there while sitting around the firepit. They were some of the most colorful people I've ever met. So, while it wasn't the most romantic weekend we've ever had, it was a lot of fun.

On a sad note - we decided to find Chipper a new home. Fortunately, we found a really nice family who are active enough to keep up with him. Bryant was upset at first, but he now agrees it probably was a good decision. I'm not missing the dog hair and whining and picking up doggy messes. My house is quiet again.

Tomorrow is another ultrasound. Hopefully we find out what we're having!

Ultrasound pic!

Here's our little munchkin at about 12 weeks. They've moved my due date up to August 8th because the baby is bigger than they were expecting. We've also got video, but posting that is a little beyond my skill right now. Bryant loved watching the baby move around. He actually insisted the other day that the baby sleep in his room. I persuaded him otherwise.
Morning sickness has finally passed, for the most part. I'm still a little queasy every so often, not nothing like I was. I've got more energy and can finally get off that darn couch! Of course, my emotions are in high gear.
We bought a play pen on Saturday. It's so cute! We were originally going to get a very basic one because we're cheap and there's a lot we have to get. But lo and behold, as we were perusing Sears, we found a Winnie the Pooh one with all the bells and whistles for the same price as the basic ones we've been pricing. It comes with a bassinet, changing station, mobile, and hanging storage. It's set up in our livingroom right now. I just don't want to take it down right now.
We've decided on a color scheme for the baby's room. Bryant's room is in red and gold, so the baby (boy or girl) will have blue and silver. It's a nice, neutral backdrop for the Winnie the Pooh accents we'll be using.
The next ultrasound is in four weeks, on our anniversary. We're pretty sure we'll be able to find out what we're having. My friends keep asking me if we know yet because they keep finding the cutest baby things on sale. I just want to know so I can start putting things together and washing the baby clothes we actually kept.
And now for the weather... it's cool. It's been really cold the past week. Below freezing temps at night and only reaching the 40's or 50's in the afternoon. Today I was finally able to wear sandals to the bus stop again. My poor fruit 'bushes' didn't fare so well, though. We forgot to cover them and now they're brown and dying. Just like the rest of our yard. Hopefully, with a little TLC and warmer weather, we'll get it back to where it needs to be.

Bryant earned an award at school for showing respect to his fellow students. He was handpicked by his teacher. We attended an award ceremony and watched the principal present Bryant the award. Along with the award, he received a gift certificate to Sonny's Barbecue. We took him to dinner that night to reward him and gave him a Nintendo DS accessories kit that included a carrying case, car charger, cases for his games, screen protectors, and a few other little things. We're very proud of him.



Jeff kept very busy over a three-day weekend last month. He got very ambitious and painted our livingroom (light yellow), kitchen (light green), and family room (light blue). We love the colors. And the best part is I can actually scrub the walls now - hurray! Jeff had to do some fancy footwork to reach some of the more inconvenient places. I wasn't able to do much to help, so he did the majority of the work alone. Everyone is impressed by how clean his lines were and I was even asked if we had it done professionally. It looks great. Now I have a million things to hang back up on the walls and I have no idea where I want to put everything.
It's a long weekend for us and we'll be enjoying the nice weather in our fifth wheel. Jeff found a place not too far from here that promises to either be extremely backwoods or pretty good or both. We'll be having Valentine's dinner at the only restaurant listed on the website (no pictures). It'll be an experience, to say the least. Fun, fun, fun!

It's Still Warm Here!

I was looking at photos of kids in the snow and laughed because Bryant went to school this morning in shorts and a t-shirt. We're enjoying the weather. Jeff now plays tennis every Thursday evening at the amenities center with one of our neighbors. Bryant spends all day, every day outside. I hardly see him some days.Besides that, we're living life and trying to wrap our minds around the fact we're finally having another kid. Bryant really wants a brother and refers to the baby as "him". I asked him "What if it's a girl?" and he told me he didn't know what he would do. He's so excited. I've been telling him stories about when he was a baby and he just grins when I tell him how all over the place he was. Darn kid.I'll be having my first ultrasound this Monday to confirm we're only having one. A friend, who has twins of her own, keeps hinting she thinks we might be having twins. I don't even want to think about that possibility right now. I'm not all that sick anymore, just hungry all the time. And very tired. I have to make sure I take a nap before Bryant gets home so I can make it the rest of the day. Especially for piano lessons.I'm officially 10 weeks along and my jeans are no longer comfortable. Which really stinks because for Christmas, I asked my parents for a gift card to Eddie Bauer to buy jeans that fit me really well. That didn't work out. Speaking of Christmas, ours was pretty good. No snow. We have had fog, though. Bryant finally got his coveted Nintendo DS along with a Pokemon game. He takes it everywhere. I love that it has a headphone jack. I don't have to hear it. I got new dishes and flatware. LOVE THEM!!! Jeff got a table saw and scroll saw. He spends so much more time out in the garage than I've ever seen him do. He spent hours cleaning it up to make room for his new toys. Then he made trophies for the Pinewood Derby and one to take to work. They look amazing. He literally spends most of the day out there making stuff. I've started a nice list of projects for him. We harvested our first orange off our orange tree (bush). It was so good. We were disappointed there was only one, but we can't expect much from a tree that only reaches our knees.No photos today. I'm rapidly running out of steam and am extremely hungry all of a sudden. I'll post some later.

Surprise!

We have some great news! Bryant is finally going to be a big brother! When I found out, I nearly fell on the floor. We had pretty much figured one kid was all we were going to get. We're still in shock, especially since I haven't been pregnant in eight years. Yikes. We got rid of most of our baby stuff a couple of years ago, so we're starting from scratch again. Morning sickness is hitting me hard. It wasn't this bad with Bryant. Our plans have all been changed, too. No more LASIK for me this summer. No cross-country road trip to Utah in late July-early August. That's when I'm due. Plus, every bit of extra money will be going toward preparing for baby. Thank goodness for tax returns!

Halloween

October has come and gone and so has our spooky holiday. Bryant was Indiana Jones. He looked great. I made a canvas goodie bag and Jeff made a leather whip for him to carry. The whip was confiscated soon afterwards. I guess we should have realized whips and seven-year-old boys don't mix. The streets were filled with trick-or-treaters - many of them without jackets, since the temperature didn't go below mid-sixties. As usual, Bryant and I went out while Jeff stayed home and handed out candy. We were gone for over two hours. At the end, Bryant was complaining about sore feet, but we had a lot of fun. The neighbors here love to go over the top with decorations. Even the spiders joined in the fun - see the photo? That was from the tree in our front yard!

Happy October!

The weather is beautiful here in sunny Florida! The high is in the mid-eighties and the skies are blue, blue, blue. We've had a rough few weeks. I bruised a nerve in my right wrist rendering me next to useless for about three weeks, then I got sick. And as everyone knows, if Mom doesn't do it, it doesn't get done. So I'm still playing catch-up. Fun.
The dog-training is going very well. I'm about ready to switch Chipper back to a regular collar since I haven't had to do any corrective training in a few days. He's calmed down quite a bit, even though he's still one of the most hyper dogs I've ever seen. He's so darn cute, though.
We found an awesome spelling website - SpellingCity.com. Love it, love it, LOVE IT! Bryant has never liked studying his spelling so much. And it works. His spelling tests come back so much better. Now to improve that handwriting...
Jeff is now a Premiums Manager at work. New team, new responsibilities. He's enjoying himself. He loves doing new things. He might complain about all the work he has to do in his new role, but he loves it.
Piano lessons aren't doing so hot for me. I've lost several students due to financial reasons. I still love doing it, but I don't think I'll continue teaching after this school year. I'll have finished my children's writing course by then and I'll have been published (fingers crossed) at least once.
Bryant is growing out his hair. It's driving me nuts. I want to cut it so bad. I made a deal with him - either I cut it or I style it. I had to go out and buy hair gel. He's seven years old and I spend more time on his hair than I do on mine some days. I have to make sure I get his 'wave' right. That's what he calls his cowlick. It's the best looking cowlick I've ever seen and frankly, I'm a little jealous. When his hair is short enough, he doesn't even have to comb it to look good. He's going to be such a ladies' man when he's older.