Thanksgiving with the Harper Family

We split this Thanksgiving between the two sets of grandparents and started the week off with Rachel's parents at their condo in St. Augustine, Florida. Got warm yet cloudy weather for most of the time we were there, but that didn't stop us from going to the beach, swimming in the (indoor) pool, riding on the boat, or playing outside!

Harrison and Dada at the beach

Tired from chasing birds

Showing Grandpop how to do the climbing wall

Long line at the snack bar! Clyde had to sit down he'd been waiting so long...

Playing in the tunnel

Mama's sneaky shot

Reading himself a bedtime story

Enough with those baby books -- the pictures took up too much room anyway


At the beach again -- windy today!

Look at that adventurous little face :)

Thanksgiving with the Higgins Family

We spent the second half of Thanksgiving on Tybee Island with Chris' parents and sister and her husband. Weather was beautiful but cold! Our condo was a short walk to the beach, so we went over a few times each day. Harrison "accidentally" got in the ocean with his clothes and shoes on, chased more birds, enjoyed his evening baths in a Jacuzzi tub (wasn't too sure of the jets the first night but was totally sold on them once he saw how awesome the bubbles were), and joined a drumline. We did some good eating -- went to the Crab Shack (touristy seafood restaurant on the island -- miniature alligators included in the price of admission, which was free) for lunch one day and to Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah) for lunch another day.

Harrison saw a Japanese family posing and wanted to do it, too

And then expected Mama and Dada to pose with him

Pointing out the "dar" (stars) and "muh" (moon) with Aunt Katy

"Mama, let me show you how this works... There's this little button down here..."

"Are you sure you're ready for this? Because it is wild."

"So you push the button and then hope the bubbles don't take you down!"

Drunk on butter and salt at Paula Deen's buffet.

He's got baby rhythm!

12 Weeks Down / 28 Weeks To Go

Yay for me!

Chris and I are delighted to announce that we're expecting our second baby! Due date is May 23. I'm through my first trimester now, so here's the info to catch you up on our thoughts until now...

Mid-August
Should we try? Well, we'd like the kids to be 2 or 3 years apart... Okay, yes, let's try. Maybe it'll take a while...

Mid-September (~4 weeks)
Pregnant! So that did not take "a while." Baby number 2 could possibly be born on Harrison's second birthday! What have we done? We've stolen Harrison's babyhood and his birthday from him! He only gets 8 more months of being the only one and then he has to share us (and we have to share him). Up until Harrison was born, I was worried about having to share Chris with him and having to share him with Chris, and I'm having the same worries for this baby already! Chris at least got a say in adding to our family -- Harrison got no input.

Mid-September (~4 weeks and 1 day)

Maybe I'm being stressed about making Harrison grow up and be a big brother because my hormones are teaming up against me? Yes. I feel good about this now. We wanted the kids to be close in age because they are gifts to each other in addition to being gifts to me and Chris -- we want them to overlap in friends and activities when they're young and when they're old. Besides, if you're going to have 5 or 6 kids, there's just no time to space them out more than 2 years apart. ;)

Late September (~6 weeks)

Superhero sense of smell has kicked in. When I was pregnant with Harrison, I could smell things from days prior (seriously -- I would know when someone had walked through a stairwell at work with a box of popcorn -- they did not need to actually be in the stairwell right then for me to smell the popcorn). I also remember commenting on someone's coconut cake and then realizing how freaky that was for them since the cake was in a closed styrofoam container. That was before I had a toddler at home -- now I swear I can smell a dirty diaper from across the playground. Oh, and I can smell the chewing gum in my purse everytime I open the drawer I lock it in during the day, which is not good because sweet things made me nauseous with Harrison and are starting to do it again this time.

Next day update : The chewing gum scent has now permeated the little paper calendar I keep in my purse -- I got a whiff of Positively Pomegranite Orbit when I was checking dates to get together with a friend. Ew. Who thought "Positively Pomegranite" would be a good flavor of gum?

Next week update : The chewing gum is no longer in my purse.

Mid-October (~8 weeks)
Had my first "being pregnant makes me stupid" experience this morning when I got lost in my parking deck at work. The same parking deck I have parked in for about 5 1/2 years now. The same parking deck I parked in yesterday and every day before that. Now that Harrison is in school, my arrival time at work has gotten pretty precise, so I'm usually even parked in almost the same spot each day. Oh, well -- all that didn't keep me from forgetting to go up the ramp and then having a minute of panic as I wondered where in the world I was. At least I haven't been as nauseous as usual today -- that has got to go! I will take stupidity over queasiness anyday -- even if it means that everyone else has to suffer now instead of just me. :)

Mid-October (~9 weeks)

First trip to the baby doctor! The whole crew went -- Mama, Dada, and Harrison (who was a hit, of course, with all the pregnant ladies in the waiting room). They did a sonogram to count the babies (only one!), see where it is stationed, and look at some other stuff that I didn't understand. Then we talked to a doctor who gave us her best guess at the due date (which is the same date I had calculated, so maybe I could have a second career as a due date estimator if this gig at Coke doesn't work out). Yes, the due date is one week after Harrison's second birthday. No, we did not intend for them to be quite that close. Chris thinks the baby will come on May 18, though, so our May schedule could be... May 16th -- Harrison's birthday. May 17th -- Our wedding anniversary. May 18th -- Baby #2's birthday.

Late October (~10 weeks)
I figure that everyone who has seen me in the past few weeks has to know that I've got another baby in there -- there is no stopping the belly this time. Some non-maternity pants are already too little, and I've even worn maternity pants a few times. With Harrison, I felt like I showed sooner than I really did (I thought it was obvious by about 4 months but really people didn't see it till more like 5 or 6 months). With this one, my tummy has conceeded defeat and has already started bulging -- this baby doesn't have any "super-strong" abs to fight against like Harrison did -- it's already stretchy! So the swelling belly plus the fact that my changing shape is concentrated just at my belly right now (has not yet reached either set of cheeks, which a co-worker so frequently commented on the first time) is broadcasting my news. Oh -- and the lady who runs the sandwich shop in my building has to know because she rings me up anytime I get breakfast or lunch from there. She's thinking, "This girl is totally knocked up -- she went from a bagel once a week to a breakfast burrito and cheese grits every morning." With this menu, all four of my cheeks will be plumped up soon!

Early November (~11 weeks)
First day of wearing maternity pants to work. I've been dabbling in my stash of maternity clothes in the evenings and on the weekends for a week or two now, but I haven't worn them "out" until today. Ahh...

Someone I worked with when I was pregnant with Harrison told me that she started wearing her maternity clothes as soon as she felt like it with her second baby -- no need to stuff yourself into uncomfortable pants that leave marks all over your belly, especially when you already have comfortable clothes just sitting in your closet. My ever-expanding belly thanks me!

And this morning Chris came over to rub the belly and say, "Good morning, Baby." :)

November 8 (12 weeks)
And now the whole world knows!

Mama, your belly will be bigger than mine soon!

Happy Halloween!

Harrison was a knight in shining armor -- he slayed many dragons and rescued many damsels in distress. He also touched pumpkin guts, which proves his bravery more than anything else. We went to a friends' costume party on Friday night and then to the neighborhood costume party on Saturday. The neighborhood party had the kids bob for stuff (fake apples, rubber duckies, plastic spiders -- but Mama steered us clear of those) out of the fountain. Harrison thought the game was throwing things in the fountain, though, so that might make for a difficult disciplining session next time he wants to throw things in the fountain and it's not Halloween. The kids also decorated pumpkins with stick-on faces and crayons and had a costume parade. Harrison loved parading (again we ask -- whose child is this??) and wanted to keep going around and around even once it was over.

The pre-costume outfit -- a little bit "Grease Lightning," no??

The knight and his chariot.

Preparing to bob for apples at the neighborhood party.

Huh -- I have no sword for stabbing, so how will I ever get one?

Thanks, Grandpop!

This is awesome!