Watson's Watch

2010-05-24T23:06:00.002-05:00

We took the kids to the zoo this weekend which Clara loved but it was a scorcher outside. It was about 90 degrees with no wind and high humidity. Baby James slept (uncomfortably) for most of the experience

but eventually he woke up to eat and share his "enthusiasm".
Clara loved every animal she could see. She called the tiger a "big huge kitty".
Feeding the goats turned out to be a big hit. I figured that with this shy fase that she is going through that she would have clung to our legs and not gone within 20 feet of them.

We gave her some food and wouldn't ya know it! We could have left her there all day!

I think she'll be asking to go back very soon.

Bouncing

2010-05-23T21:24:00.002-05:00

Many Moments of Two

2010-05-03T22:50:00.007-05:00

The latest sibling photo Baby James enjoying the jumperoo. Clara loves to "help" him jump. I'm sure what she's really wanting to do is slingshot him right out the top of it to see what happens!My Mr. Man is getting so big. 3 months old here.

Nap time with Daddy on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Clara being Clara

Cheesin' for the camera
Helping mom with dinner. "Painting" olive oil onto potato wedges.

dressing herself these days

This was an amazing event I call "Clara's Morning". She got up, DESTROYED her room and by 11:00 put herself down for a nap. What a day...

James is much more talkative these days!

I don't know what she's singing about... but he does.

Update

2010-04-13T22:51:00.006-05:00

I feel like they are already chatting about mischevious things to do ;)

James is growing so quickly and I feel like I haven't taken as many pictures of him as I did with Clara when she was so small. So I'm trying to get better at the photo shoots. This look will pretty much get him whatever he wants, I just hope it's a long time before he figures that out!Bored with pictures.This cracks me up! As if he's saying "haven't you ever seen a baby try to cram his whole fist in his mouth before?" And I swear, for every picture that I take of James, I can find the same picture of Clara when she was that old. Here she is at 2 months.Maybe if I.....just....stretch... Nope, still can't do it.

Siblings?

2010-03-22T22:24:00.005-05:00

When James was born the first words out of my mouth were "he looks just like Clara did". Well, some people see it and some don't but here is the proof that they are siblings. In these photos, James is 2 months and Clara is 3 months.

Baby James

2010-03-10T15:43:00.006-06:00

James Neil Watson

January 22, 2010

8 lbs. 14 oz.

21 inches

We've got a ton of other pictures of him HERE!

This video was made by James' brother Pat

Final Belly Pic

2010-03-10T15:37:00.002-06:00

Taken in December @ approx. 36-37 weeks.

The Nursery

2009-12-11T22:02:00.005-06:00

Me painting the monogram

I wanted a nursery that didn't really have a theme to it. Something "boy" but also cozy and snuggly. I found this fabric in my showroom and couldn't resist. It reminds me of Pop-pop's (James' dad) houndstooth suit jackets with the leather patches on the elbows...sophisticated and timeless.

We will also be incorporating photos I took from the Old Boat Show on Crosslake this summer, this is the one that will go above the changing table pictured below.
I finally finished the mobile this week. Thanks Pottery Barn Kids for the idea! (I could not purchase it from PBK because it didn't come in green, white and brown. That and it cost about $2 to make it!)

"James Neil Watson" for anyone who didn't know.

Ignore this ugly rug, it is temporary and it's going away. I just haven't bought the new one but I have it picked out (kind of a goldy/cream shag)

Sweet Rewards

2009-12-11T21:53:00.004-06:00

We had Owen and William's 5th birthday party last weekend and they had a pinata. I didn't think Clara would be interested in being blindfolded or wacking the thing with a stick but as soon as she watched a couple of other kids do it she was game. After she gave it a good hit she threw off the blindfold and jumped up and down screaming "I did it, I did it!"
Sweet rewards.

33 weeks

2009-12-11T21:41:00.003-06:00

Here's the belly @ 33 weeks. I have an upcoming OB appointment and will find out how much I weigh. So far I am still 10 lbs lighter than I was with Clara.Clara's first live Christmas tree. She thought it was neat that we could go pick out the one we wanted but she was pretty dissapointed when she found out that we couldn't get a pink one :)Clara with the cheesey musical Santa from GG Watson. Edith loved collecting different Santa things and would have loved to see this photo of Clara.The Christmas wreath I made for the front door. I must say this photo looks a bit like something from the front cover of a Martha Stewart magazine. Go me!

November

2009-12-11T21:36:00.003-06:00

Over Thanksgiving weekend Ambuer and I had to take a belly pic. Sam and Clara are one month apart in age and our second babies will be 2 months apart.

28 Weeks

2009-11-01T21:57:00.003-06:00

"TinkerBell" had to get in on this belly pic. I can't believe I'm due in 11 weeks. I'm feeling a lot of moving and kicking and baby James had his first case of the hiccups the other day.

22 Weeks

2009-09-16T22:04:00.003-05:00

Here is the latest belly picture...22 weeks along and counting.

I'm 6lbs. lighter than I was at this point with Clara (below) and it looks like I was a little larger in size too. Funny, since you're usually smaller with your first. I guess I shouldn't speak too soon, I have a long way to go :)

September

2009-09-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

We haven't been taking a whole lot of pictures this summer. We've been at Trout Lake a lot and have just been leaving the camera in a non-sandy place I guess. These pics are from September, now that we are back on dry land we have to make our own fun.

Tickle Tickle! Clara was cooking for James in her new kitchen and made him sit at her little kid table...

I had to get this picture from behind because I thought he looked like "Mr.Incredible" in this chair.

"Kabuzz"

2009-09-16T21:19:00.003-05:00

Remember our parents telling stories about how we messed up certain words when we were little? For instance, my mom says that I pronounced headache wrong...as "headgettid" and Tylenol as "Tynenol". Well, Clara says 'because' backwards...as "kabuzz". Her new thing is also to say "Member?" (remember). Here's a little clip of that plus James and I getting her to say "Don't Have a Cow Man". This is pretty much the jackpot of videos, I can sometimes record her for days and not get her to say what I want to catch on video. Here we have all three!

Baby Watson #2

2009-08-10T12:11:00.004-05:00

Well, here it is, the baby's first photograph. We had our ultrasound this morning and the tech said that everything seems to be measuring at about 17 weeks which is 3 weeks less pregnant than the Dr. thought. I was thinking that they had overestimated so I was anxious to hear from the ultrasound this morning. Instead of a Dec 30th due date, they're estimating more like January 18th but the OB will confirm that this Thursday. Clara thought it was a treat to get to see the baby on TV! She kept pointing to the screen and saying "Want it!" and "Baby brudder". Yep, that's right...it's a boy!! Here is the photo to prove it and if you can't see IT well,...I'm not going to point it out. I'll give you a hint...2 round butt cheeks, 1 little boy part.

Teeth!

2009-07-31T20:18:00.005-05:00

On Clara's 2nd birthday she finally got her last 2 year molar for a total of 20 toddler teeth! She had to show me her full set. "See Mommy, I got 'em all!"

I will do a birthday post when I get all the pics from my mom. Stay tuned!

Fun at the Lake

2009-07-09T22:03:00.010-05:00

I really need to update on a more regular basis. The way I've been updating, it takes me two hours to decide on the photos to use, upload the photos and then write everything and I usually do 3 posts in one night! If I would just take 15 minutes every other day and do it...I'm such a procrastinator. Anyways, here's all the fun we've been having up north at the cabin on Trout lake. The next three photos are courtesy of Aunt Molly.

Clara in her spiderman life jacket which used to belong to one of the twins. She calls them both "Owen" because she can't say Will yet.She insisted on being naked outside for a while so we cropped this photo for modesty reasons. She was giving the lake a good ol' flash. Nothing it's never seen from all the boys before.

Fun Aunt Molly taught Clara how to do 'Hand Farts'...here's the concert!

This is our friend Michael from Hawaii, he just turned 1.

Every year on the 4th of July, Cross Lake puts on a race called Grandpa's Run for the Walleye and they also have a race for the kids called the Sunfish Dash. This is Clara's second annual race.

What she was really looking forward to was playing in the park after the race. She's finally old enough to climb up the stairs to the slide by herself. A girl on a mission.

My new favorite photo

The day wouldn't have been complete without Clara's first ride on a jet ski.

The little peanut couldn't get enough.

This is what the lake looked like for most of the time we were up over the 4th. Amazing water that I can't ski on because I'm pregnant. Of course it will never be this smooth again when I'm not pregnant :) It was so peaceful before the boaters came out for the day.

This is looking across the lake into the Whitefish channel.

All Things Bloggable

2009-07-09T20:51:00.003-05:00

On the days I have off from work we always try do get outside. However, finiding FREE things to do besides going to the Como Zoo every day are hard to come by. Lately I have been setting up the sprinkler in the backyard which Clara loves (but only when I run through it with her). She would much rather steal my towel and lay on my chair when I'm not looking ;)

We've been debating on having Clara's hair cut this summer. It's been hanging in her face and she rarely lets me put pig tails in it anymore so I took matters into my own hands...she now has bangs. Turns out that there were about 13 hairs total that were actually in her eyes so it wasn't something I could save and I'm not considering this her first haircut.

We pulled out the infant car seat the other night so we could loan it to some friends here from Hawaaii. Clara took one look at it and said "MINE!" So she sat in it, read books and ate goldfish. Ahh, the life of a toddler.

A few weeks ago at the lake there was a get together and Clara got to hang out with her rarely seen friend Ellie. I think she is about 18 months older than Clara but they became best buds that night...the only two little girls at the lake among 8 little boys.

About 4 weeks ago Clara climbed out of her crib (and didn't have a graceful fall). That afternoon we turned her crib into the toddler bed and bedtime has been a nightmare ever since. Coupled with the "terrible twos" it hasn't been the best phase we've seen out of her and hopefully it's just that, "A Phase". Yeah, she looks all cute sitting there in the big girl bed. Sleeping in it...NOT SO MUCH!Story time with Grammy and Pop-Pop at the lake

Cravings

2009-07-09T20:41:00.002-05:00

So my most favorite thing to eat this pregnancy has been anything Mexican! I remembered a recipe that my Aunt Rosie showed me over Christmas vacation last year. I have made it a couple of times but forgotten how good it is. Yay for the Chilaquiles! Fried corn tortillas with taco and chili sauce, topped with ranchero cheese and an over easy egg. This is actually the breakfast version but it makes a great dinner too!The dish is served with sour cream and refried beans which Clara couldn't get enough of.

Announcement

2009-06-11T22:44:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know already, James and I are expecting the second addition to our family in December. I was surprised to find out that you start showing a lot sooner the second time around and had to have James take the first belly pic. Here's baby #2 at 11 weeks!

First Pool Party

2009-06-11T22:29:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. Life is crazy with little Clara and well, I'm lazy. Sometimes the idea of going ALL THE WAY downstairs to update the blog makes me just want to stay on the couch. So here is the last 2 months of our lives in the next 4 posts.

The Zapzalka's invited us over for the first grill out of the summer. This is Clara's first time in a pool, willingly anyways. Something we tried last summer but she wasn't too fond of. Seems to me like she's changed her mind!

1st Taste of Summer

2009-06-11T22:15:00.004-05:00

First summer trip to the lake and Clara's first ride on the tire swing. Props to James' brother Pat for this photo. Clara kept screaming "FUN!" "FUN!"

Wagon ride up the gravel road.

Still a little chilly out on the lake but we couldn't resist the first pontoon ride of the season.

Clara's cousins insisted on teaching her how to fish...

she had a ball!!

Trip to Aberdeen

2009-06-11T21:47:00.006-05:00

Beautiful peacock at Story Book Island Clara was actually too short for the mirrors but had fun laughing at daddy and grandpa.
How much do you think it would cost to get one of these in my backyard?

Boys will be boys.

Pop-Pop's Birthday

2009-06-11T21:36:00.004-05:00

Clara just wanted to get her little hands on that cake. She kept screaming "CAKE, CAKE!" The birthday boy.

Yeah, good ol' chocolate cake! MMmmmmm...

Haven't You Always Wanted a Monkey?

2009-04-01T23:34:00.007-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, this crazy world went and got in our way again. It's been sufficiently dealt with, and we're back in blogging.

This past weekend Clara and Becky went to the Minnesota Zoo for the annual Farm Babies thingamajig. For starters:

Clara was a big fan of the little chickies. She kept trying to reach through the glass and pet 'em.

She never really wanted to pet the animals, but she liked feeding them. Kind of like when she gives Allie treats at home.

Clara got to go with her Fun Aunt Molly and her cousins Will and The O-Man. Will even got to milk a goat!

Wait, you want me to put my hand on what?

Other than that, life with Clara just keeps on rolling along. She's turning in to quite a strong-willed little girl, I suspect she gets that from her Mommy. She wants to wear Becky's shoes all the time now, we just couldn't resist testing her skill at walking in heels. Turns out she's a natural!

As you can see, she's apparently already quite comfy in heels.

Judging by the ol' clock in the lower right hand corner of my screen, it's time to call it a night. From Miss Clara to all of you, have a lovely day!

Good Conversation

2009-03-16T22:57:00.003-05:00

I've been dying to get Clara on video talking on her "cell phone" (James' old phone) so here it is...Please excuse my own cell phone conversation in the background, she caught me off guard.

Clarabelle

2009-03-16T22:51:00.007-05:00

Well Clara is taking to her new daycare very well these days. We recently switched her from an in-home daycare to a daycare center called Tooterville. Here's a picture of her on her first day holding the new lunch bag.We felt that it was time for her to be in a more educational surrounding and when we recently heard her trying to sing her ABC's (she made it to G) we were satisfied with our decision. Here is a scan of her first art project...I was tickled to have something to hang on the fridge!

She has become officially known as the sweetest little girlie and very diligently blesses our sneezes and kisses our booboo's. She has gone potty on the potty and knows that we wash our handies after. She can almost get through the entire song
"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and I quote:
"Kinkle, Kinkle witta tar
how I woner whatchu ahh
up a buppa buppa high
Like a buppa......ky"
It just melts my heart to hear her sing that.

Monday, Monday

2009-02-10T22:21:00.004-06:00

Since I no longer work Mondays (my company had to cut hours) I've been able to have a extra day with Clara, a blessing really. Yesterday we spent the afternoon filling valentines for her daycare friends.

Clara's never seen a Reese's PB cup before so I think she thought the foil was part of the treat. It must have smelled so good she couldn't help herself.

She was so helpful!

One More Step

2009-02-04T22:04:00.004-06:00

On Sunday night we lowered Clara's crib mattress to the lowest notch before she changes to a toddler bed. James said the other day he saw her try to throw a leg over to get out so we figured it was time.

I think we will "give her" a big girl bed for her second birthday. The front piece just comes off the crib and three sides make up the bed but of course I will get creative and make her a comforter and pillow so it's more fun. :)

Wisconsin Dells!!

2009-02-04T21:26:00.008-06:00

This last weekend we ventured up to Wisconsin Dells for our first waterpark experience with Clara. We were a little worried and I had prepared myself for the worst considering we had quite a time getting Clara to like the water last summer. After a few minutes of watching Daddy splash around she wanted to try it out for herself. Afterall, this was a bathtub three-bajillion times bigger than the one she had at home :)She splashed around in the waterfall...
and found a beach ball that was just her size.

We went on this trip with our friends, the Harveys
This is Jenny with Nathan

and this is Chris with Mathew...

he wasn't too thrilled about being in the water.

Mom's and kids.

Clara actually liked the waterslides she just didn't like getting up to the top because you had to walk through so much falling water to get there.

She's not real keen on getting her head wet lately.

At another one of the parks included in our stay they had these water swings that were a big hit! Clara loved dragging her feet in the water. At yet another waterpark we found the water fountains which are much like the lawn sprinkler at home (that she loves).

She could have stood there all day

Daddy was tons of fun to hang out with...

and was tall enough to help us shoot baskets. Lookout, I think we may have a basketball player on our hands! (At her 18 month checkup she measured in the 110th% for height for her age! We're hoping she'll go pro)
If you can't tell, she has the biggest grin on her face in this picture.

On our way home...
Thanks Harvey's! We had a great time!!

Those Look Like Comfortable Shoes

2009-01-27T21:11:00.006-06:00

We're preparing for a trek to Wisconsin Dells with the Harveys, and of course that means we need to make sure our swimsuit still fits!

Me Clara, you Daddy Who Brings Me Goldfish Crackers!

And of course, what good is a swimsuit if you don't have a stylish pair of water shoes to go along with 'em?We just couldn't resist testing these out in the tub, first.

Otherwise, life with Miss Clara just keeps on rolling along. Every day it seems like she's in to something new, or saying a new word. She's become very opinionated, and has absolutely no qualms about ordering Daddy around (sounds just like the OTHER woman in my life! Now let's hope Becky never reads this!). Every day after we get home from work and daycare, it's "cookies" followed by "show" followed by "basement" which then leads to more "show". I've been showing her a lot of Sesame Street videos on Youtube, she recognizes Elmo, but I'm still not sure how she feels about the rest of 'em.

Let's see...

Ha-ha, no one suspects the cute toddler in sunglasses. The world is mine, you hear me? MINE!

Wow, I think we may need to start watching this one a bit closer. Tendencies for world domination usually start showing up around 18 months or so, if I recall. That will about wrap things up for this Clara Update, she did want me to post one more picture of her, in fact she was most insistent:

Night night!

Oh Yeah, This Just Happened

2008-12-15T21:16:00.008-06:00

Would you trust this face to use a big girl potty? Me neither, but that's what Miss Clara did tonight!!!

Becky and Clara were sitting on the couch tonight, and Clara kept saying "potty". Becky asked her if she wanted to go sit on the Big Girl Potty, to which Clara replied "yeah". She then slid off the couch and padded in to the bathroom, where she lifted the toilet lid. It was all downhill from there, as Clara sat on the potty and very intently tinkled in to the bowl. Tinkle is serious business, people.

For starters, rumors of my blogging demise have been greatly exaggerated (Becky).

It's six below zero outside, and I think I may be the only person in Minnesota who LOVES IT! Our program for turning Clara in to a true Minnesotan continues, we took her for her first sledding adventure on Saturday afternoon! We went with the Harveys, Clara always has a ton of fun hanging out with Nathan and Mathew.

Other than sledding, we're just continuing our Christmas preparations. It's been so much fun actually having an excuse to look through the toy ads now! Clara has already learned how to say "Santa", and she tells us every day that the Christmas Tree is "pretty!" I promise, there will be many more Christmas pictures on the way, we just need to get off our tinsel-coated ho-hos and get a-snappin'!

Gratuitous Clara picture to follow:

Fall Fun

2008-11-02T20:41:00.003-06:00

James decided to rake yesterday so Clara and I took advantage and she jumped in!! Suprisingly she loved it! I thought she would whine about it since that is the phase she is in right now :) James would throw her in then she would climb out.Of course we had to sport the new hat and matching legwarmers (yes, legwarmers).I can hear her saying, "these are the coolest things in the world".

"Look, aren't they cool?"
THE END!

All of October

2008-11-02T20:18:00.008-06:00

We visited the Pine Tree Apple Orchard and couldn't pass up this great photo opp. She was the cutest pumpkin in the patch. This photo has a great potential of making the Christmas card. Or this one's pretty cute too.This was Clara's first trip to the Children's Museum
She had a blast in the little kids room, there's tons of stuff to climb on and test out your walking skills.oh..., and slides.

This is the new snowsuit that Grammy J and Pop-Pop bought for her. She was so excited to have it on she ran around the house for 20 minutes in it.
Here we are having the last boat ride of the season.

It was a little chilly that day.But the fall colors on the lake were beautiful
Where did the summer go.....

She's Walking!!

2008-09-21T20:53:00.003-05:00

Last Friday, September 12, Clara started walking! She had been scooting around the furniture and taking about 5-6 steps on her own but she is now a full fledged walker. I got a couple of great shots last weekend. It's not often that a toddler stays still for this long so I had to take advantage.
We decided to take some friends of ours up to the lake and let Clara hang out with someone her own age. Aaron and Kristy have a daughter Hana who is a month younger than Clara and they had a ball riding in the wagon and running around together.
We went for a walk up in the woods and Aaron found a hollowed out tree stump on the trail. It was just the right size to stick the girls in and take pictures. This one will probably make it on the Christmas card.
It was a beautiful weekend and a great ending to the summer. The next time we visit the trees will be a different color.

Flashback

2008-09-21T20:40:00.004-05:00

The other day I was thinking about how big she is in her highchair now and how when we put her in it for the first time she was barely peeking over the tray. These photos were taken 6 months apart. She now sits tall, drinking from a sippy cup, blonde whispy hair, pink painted toenails. What a little lady she is.

A Month in Pictures

2008-09-21T20:26:00.006-05:00

It's been over a month since our last post and I feel like a slacker. Things get pretty exciting when a baby starts crawling, they're not a baby anymore and they want to get into everything. However, there was one thing she wasn't too sure about...Trout Lake. It took us all summer to get her in the water but we finally did it with a little coaxing. And once she was in she loved it just as much as I knew she would. Here's a high five to celebrate!
Hangin' out in the wagon on the beach.
She didn't mind the life jacket and the lull of the boat engine eventually put her to sleep
but not until after she got to drive the boat with Pop-Pop and honk the horn.
Here's evidence of the curiosity in everything...she's found the pots and pans. It's not very quiet around here anymore and the tile floors don't help with the clanging.

2008-08-06T14:00:00.012-05:00

So the big day has come and gone. The big number ONE! Everything turned out including the magnificent "caterpillar cake". I used the Betty Crocker Bake and Fill cake pan so that I could have dome shaped cakes. I read some reviews on the pan and was a little scared about tackling the project for such an important day but it turned out to be a cinch to use. And so yummy!! Every dome had a different cake flavor with different filling, and it was really fun to make.

After all of the domes were filled I trimmed them so they would fit together and then frosted them.

Feet and spots were applied along with eyes and antennae.

Voila!! A birthday caterpillar!

Clara had tons of fun toddling around in her tutu.

No explanation needed for the following :)

Splashing in a bucket of water, trying to wash the chocolate off. This ended up being more fun than function. We threw her in the tub before it was time to open gifts.

Best. Commercial. Ever. (Aside from anything with Cinnamon Life, that is.)

2008-08-05T21:07:00.004-05:00

We probably watch too much Discovery Channel around here.

Our personal favorite is Adam & Jamie from Mythbusters right at the end. Jamie kind of gives Adam a "dude, what the hell?" look.

P.S. This in no way indicates any inkling on my part to resume blogging, as Becky has informed me several times that I am just not funny.

Red Knees

2008-07-16T00:05:00.002-05:00

Baby girls is finally crawling!! I know she's a late crawler and I wasn't sure if she'd ever crawl before she walked. I never worried and to be honest I was thankful for the 11 months where she was immobile. It allowed me to get things done without having to worry where she was and what she was getting into. Well, obviously she is loving her new found skill, poor girly has beat red knees to prove it.She's always on a mission to find something to play with. It is a relief in some ways because before she could crawl she would always get bored when we put her in front of her toys to play while we wanted to do dishes or cook, etc.. She would end up crying for attention because she couldn't go anywhere on her own.
That's no longer an issue. Keeping anything in it proper place has now become an impossible task!

4th of July

2008-07-15T23:24:00.006-05:00

I have to begin my post with this cute photo taken by uncle Pat. She looks ready for a parade. Every year Pop-pop signs the grandkids up for the kids race at the Grandpas Run for the Walleye in Cross Lake, MN. This was Clara's first race and she had been training for this for a while.
The first heat was 0-5 years
She started off at a sprint and when rounding third base, became more interested in the dirt than running.
She didn't come in last though...James says she won her age group...0-1. He was a proud papa that day.
During the adult race the twins were caught up in catching dragon flies. I couldn't figure out how they were catching them! They are fascinated with bugs and dinosaurs.
I'm gonna take a wild guess at this because the way I tell them apart is that Owen has a small scar on his forehead which I can't see in the photos. I think this is William
and this is Owen.
After the race we went back to the cabin for a dip in the lake. Clara isn't too thrilled with the thought of getting wet in a bathtub the size of a small town so she settled for sunbathing on the boat.
She liked the big flag better than the mini one. I think it's because the boys kept fighting over them and she knew she had the upper hand being the girl.
Not so much the upper hand here.
On Sunday we packed up to go home and as I took the suitcase out to the car I heard, "Aunt Becky, where you going?" I though the tree was talking to me and I was right. The boys are 3 1/2 and they can climb trees? I have no idea how they got up there.

SD Trip 6-13-08

2008-07-15T23:05:00.009-05:00

Our big trip to South Dakota last month was a big opportunity to get in a bunch of firsts with Clara. This was her first time swinging and she loved it. She's growing so fast that there aren't a lot of things that she looks small next to anymore but she was swimming in this swing.
She also had her first sliding experience. She gasped for air and we just knew it "tickled her tummy"
I talk a lot about rights of passage for kids and this definately was one of them. Everyone knows that your first toddler cone at none other than the Zesto is the biggest day in any kids life. Too bad she won't remember

Or maybe it's ok that she won't remember...this was the 'brain freeze' face before she started crying.

Clara with Uncle Chris
Hanging out with grandma on our last night.

Working On It

2008-06-19T21:50:00.004-05:00

The little "feathers" on Clara's head continue to grow. We're working on the shampoo mohawk during every bathtime now. I believe this is a right of passage, we all have a photo of ourselves with the same hairdo but I don't think she cares too much. She has enough for a pigtial though! I was so excited when I discovered that she could have a girly decoration in her hair. I swear I could have this girl decked out in pink from head to toe and strangers will still ask "How old is HE?" Hello!! See, the pink! Hopefully this new found piggy will help.
These days Clara has become a picky eater but apparently this is only at home. I asked daycare if they could make me a list of what she would eat for them because I was having trouble and she said "Oh, she'll eat just about anything we put in front of her". Ahhrrrrr! What a stinker, she'll only eat bread and butter and bananas for me. She came home from daycare one day and they had added a check to her t-shirt. Read closely below.I'm planning Clara's first birthday and thought it would be cute for her to wear a tutu. I'd been looking online at these cute "1st Birthday" tutu sets but most websites wanted $40-$50 for them. Well if you know anything about who I am, I can't justify that when I could try to make one. Here it is, rhinestone 1 iron-on for onesie, tulle and ribbon for a tutu...$17 total. Call me if you want one too!! It was SO easy and fast to make. I can't wait to take pictures of her in this.

Summer Is Here!!

2008-06-04T23:25:00.005-05:00

We started what we think may be "summer" at the cabin a couple of weekends ago(Memorial weekend). The weather was beautiful that Friday when we arrived so we got the red wagon out of the garage and took Clara for a ride up the gravel road to visit the neighbors. She LOVED it! She had a ball throwing all of her toys overboard along the way. We ended the long weekend that Monday morning with a great big helping of Pop pop's pancakes and sausage. She had two whole cakes! I think she may have a hollow leg.
This last weekend my parents drove up from SD to visit. They spoiled Clara with a couple of toys and lots of hugs and kisses.
She is starting to pull herself up on things and showing much interest in walking. If you hold her hands she will walk accross the room after a toy but the little stinker refuses to crawl.

Baby sandals are SO CUTE! If you look closely you can see the red painted toenails.
She is starting to get a little bashful. I think it's so cute when she burries her face in my shoulder when someone makes her smile. Here we are playing "creep mouse" (a tickling game)

The Best of Times

2008-05-20T22:50:00.009-05:00

Clara is such a happy little girl and it doesn't take much to entertain her. She loves to read, go for rides in the car, pet the dog, screech at the kitty, point at herself in the mirror, and wave goodbye. She plays "so big" on her own now and it's so cute that she remembers how to do it every time you ask her. I want to spend every waking moment with her so it's tough for me to get to the computer to update the blog so I appologize for the once a month post. At least you get to see a ton of pictures right? James' brother took this photo the day after she turned 9 months.

I try taking pictures of her and sometimes I get lucky but most of the time she tears down my "backdrop" and decides to roll over or put her hand in her mouth :)

The "two-tooth" grin
Her sleeping positions have become hysterical, she's a very active sleeper. Last week she was suffering from a cold and really just wanted to snuggle with mom. I brought her into our bed and I have to say, she's like sleeping with a tornado. Arms and legs, hands and feet everywhere!

We were feeling like we didn't have any toys for the poor girl last weekend so we picked up this scooter. I didn't think she would be able to sit on it yet at 9 months but she balances very well and she loves it! Thankfully she can't move it forward yet we haven't baby proofed the house.
Cookie face

Bath time is the ultimate in Clara's life these days. There is nothing more important at that very moment than her bath. She loves standing at the edge of the tub and watching it fill with water.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

She's starting to show interest in walking so we take her hands and try to get her to take a few steps. I think she may bypass crawling totally and go straight to walking.

OOPS!

At least she's having fun!

Sooooo BIG!

2008-04-20T21:39:00.007-05:00

Carrot face, lookin' sly. Since this picture was taken she's pretty much completely on people food now. We have toast and bananas together for breakfast and tonight she had her first hamburger on the grill. I gotta say, it's much easier to prepare meals knowing she's eating what we are and I don't have to puree in advance.

Clara was missing her Nuk, when she found it in the folds of her blanket we snapped this photo.

She's sitting up in the bath now too.
This is her first shampoo mohawk (we don't have a lot to work with yet).
This is the "Sour Face" She does this while breathing loudly through her nose.
What a goober.
Here she had her first bite of ice cream. It must have been really cold on those new front teeth.

See the tiny had pointing at the mobile? She had no idea that I was standing in the doorway watching her watch the bunnies floating in the air.
I was trying to get some good pictures for her nine month photos but this is the best I could do. She is becoming more and more distracted these days and doesn't love the camera as much as she used to. I'm sure it's just a phase, I will try again next weekend.

Easter Update

2008-03-27T23:08:00.007-05:00

Here is Clara in her first bonnet this spring. Can't wait until it get's warmer so she can wear it in the sun.

Gettin into the Easter spirit with bunny pj's

We visited Pierre for Eatster and got to spend time with grandparents, great-grandparents and Aunt & Uncle

Clara reading her favorite book, Put Me In the Zoo by Dr. Seuss

Clara's first Easter basket. It was just her size...
...but not big enough for all of the Easter eggs we found!

Surveying the treasures
The following are just randon picks from around the house. I call this one "The Thinker"

MOM!!! I'm DONE!
The first spring outing...notice it still wasn't warm enough to go out without the snowsuit.

Shredding magazine pages is a new favorite. Forget the expensive toys!

The Cheese!

2008-03-04T22:00:00.004-06:00

This is officially the "say cheese" face. How can you resist this?

We have transformed the pack-n-play to a play center which she is not too fond of thus far. I think she has figured out that it is a way for mom and dad to have her self-entertain so we can cook, do laundry and clean.

I can hear her saying "what am I supposed to do now?"

We were having dress up this day. Trying on outfits that she is about to grow out of, making sure that she at least gets a picture in it before we have to pack it away.
When I get ready for work in the mornings, Clara sits in her little chair in the doorway to the bathroom. She watches as I put on makeup and do my hair and often falls asleep to the white noise of my hair dryer. On this day she was fussing so I gave her a graham cracker and at this very moment she couldn't decide which was more important, sleep or the cracker.
Clara loves her stacking rings. I can't wait for her to figure out the concept of stacking them so she can do it herself. Watching a child learn really makes you wish you could know exactly what they are thinking at every moment.

The Joys of Clara

2008-02-19T21:23:00.009-06:00

Well, I don't have a lot to report tonight. Clara continues to be such a joy in our lives and makes me smile every second of the day. Coming home to that face smiling at you, so excited to see you just warms my heart. It's a feeling that can only be known by those who have children, a feeling that I would recommend to anyone :) Here are the latest pictures in the blog 0' Clara.

She gives big mouth kisses on your cheek. Oh so cute.
Being cute

We're trying to get the little stinker to roll over. Still no luck but we're practicing.

My mom taught me how to crochet and this was the first thing I made. Clara loves to help by tangling up the yarn.
We're also working on using a sippy cup. She now refuses to take a bottle at daycare so on to the next step.

Cutie Clara. There's a 4 year old girl, Morgan at daycare that calls her that. Every morning when I drop her off, Morgan comes running to greet us yelling "hi cutie Clara!"

Clara is practicing her standing up too. Playing in her crib

6 Months Today!!

2008-01-25T18:29:00.000-06:00

Our baby Clara is 6 months old today. She's groing up so fast... 17 pounds and 2'2" tall. :) I've been feeling the preasure of getting photos taken of her but there is never a right time and when there is it doesn't last very long. Those of you who have children know what I'm talking about. They could be in the greatest mood ever but as soon as you put a camera in front of them they have a meltdown. Well, today I decided to see if I could be the photographer and it worked! I got her right after nap time...

It's a good thing I got what I did, a wardrobe change was not in the cards today.

Miscellaneous Clara

2008-01-21T21:48:00.000-06:00

Baby Clara is getting so big! She has found her feet and won't let go, forget toys! She has started babbling with consonants now. So instead of ooohhhh, aaaahhhh, eeehhhh, she said baba! Now we're working on mama but she's not going for it yet. OK, maybe don't forget the toysFun in the tub, she loves the tub! ( Notice the two teeth)Playing in her jumperoo, I think she could do this for hours.

Naughty or Nice

2007-12-26T22:42:00.001-06:00

James' Christmas gag gift from sister Molly. Read the labels closely...

Christmas 2 in 1

2007-12-26T22:20:00.000-06:00

Clara's first Christmas was a success. She got everything she asked for from Santa. Mommy and Daddy Santa gave her the Sound Lights and Motion crib thingy and she was mesmerized.

Grammy and Pop-Pop Santa gave her a tummy time mat

and a toy ring set that she proceeded to try and shove into her mouth.Gandma and Grandpa Santa gave her the Rainforest Jumperoo.

Check out this concentration!

Clara being cute

When we visit the Watson side we have to go sledding (or Slidding as Pop-Pop says) on Christmas moring after we open presents and have brunch. Grandpa Watson found their old baby sled and dug it out so Clara could join in the fun.

I think she had a great time!

The Novel

2007-12-26T21:19:00.000-06:00

I title this The Novel because that's what it will be. We haven't posted in so long I feel terrible for those of you who check for new pictures on a regular basis. Well, today is your lucky day!! We have so many things to talk about, where to start?

Eating solid foods is getting interesting. We've had to start fooling her into eating her vegetables. She's had enough sweet tasting fruits that she doesn't like the greeen things anymore.

A lady that works in my building brought her a pair of bunny slippers and she had a great time trying to pull their ears off.

The week before Christmas Clara's cousins, Owen and Will turned 3. This is a photo of her joining in on the gift opening. James' brother has taken another beautiful pic.

A couple of days later we discovered why her cheeks had been so rosy.

Clara has two teeth! The bottom front two. What she got for Chrismas were her two front teeth! I tried to take a picture but she got ticked at me when I stuck my finger in her mouth to try and hold her bottom lip down with one hand and take the photo with the other.
Clara is getting better at sitting propped up, mostly in the corner of the couch. She's only self entertaining for about 10 minutes and then she gets bored and cries.

Some of the best pictures I get are the ones of her sleeping in her car seat. She sleeps so deeply that I can do things like this!

Since we're on the subject of feet... she's found hers. This was the first time she pulled off her own sock.

Then she sacked out with dad on the couch.

When I had gone out to do the last minute Christmas shopping I found these. I realize it's the dead of winter but how cute is this?

'Til Christmas...

Four Months

2007-12-02T21:36:00.000-06:00

Clara is now four months old and we are loving every minute of it. She is so entertaining and keeps us on our toes with what she's going to do next. I could sit and watch her all day and really wish I was able to. Thanksgiving was a great vacation and from work and daycare. Here are some photos of our trip to Pierre.
We are now working on the whole sitting thing. She's not doin' to bad!Here's Clara with Grandma Eich

Great Grandma Malsam

and Great Grandpa Malsam (he was teaching her how to Polka)

James' brother Pat (the wedding photographer) took this photo of Clara and Grandpa Watson at their Thanksgiving.

So I have to put a ton of photos on this update because it's been so long since we've written, so here goes...

I can't usually get Clara to smile for the camera because she still can't figure out what the big black thing that flashes at her is.

She has now figured out that when you holler and daddy taps your mouth it makes a funny noise!

This is the usual look when taking photos. I'm not complaining because she's cute as heck but it makes me look forward to when she will know the meaning of 'say cheese'.

Grandma Jane let Clara borrow her rattle from when she was a baby. She loves it,

Sometimes, she sleeps with it.

When we had Clara's 4 month check up she weighed 14lbs.14oz. The pediatrician said we could start feeding her rice cereal if we wanted to. Of course we couldn't wait to get home and try something new.

She looked like a little mouse in her new chair. I love how her tiny fingers just peeked over the tray.

Mmmmmm, cereal!

MORE PLEASE!

Halloween Buzzzzzzzz....

2007-11-13T22:10:00.000-06:00

Clara got to be two things for Halloween this year. We had a costume party on Oct 26th for our friends so Clara and I were bumble bees and then on the 31st she was a penguin.
The first weekend in November we traveled to Sioux Falls to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Eich. We got to visit Ambuer and Clara got to meet Sam. Sam is just one month younger than Clara. Too bad we don't live in the same town, they could be great playmates.Clara and her Glow Worm friend.

I remember these from when I was a kid, I didn't know they still made them.

Still Growing

2007-10-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't have a lot to report tonight but Clara is really keeping us busy. She's so entertaining especially in the mornings. I wake up every day to her cooing and talking to herself in her crib...what a wonderful noise to wake up to;) I love going in to get her up, one look and she lights up with a huge smile, she's so happy to see us. This stage is so fun because she smiles at everything; after she yawns, after she sneezes, after she toots...she gets that from her dad. She's so funny. Here are some new pictures. I have to explain that she is fascinated by the t.v. We've had to start turning it off because it's all she wants to do. We don't like that she wants to do it because it's probably not good for her but I had to snap some pictures because she watched this guy cook for 1/2 hour!

Getting ready for winter has been tons of fun, look at this hat!!But until winter gets here we'll settle for Halloween. I don't think she likes this one much.

Clara got this new toy from her great Aunt and Uncle and she's crazy about it. It's a spider with eight legs that crunch and squeak and play music, oh such fun!

And she loves to shop! Look at this diva with her cute jeans and stylish boots. (It's a miracle I got this picture, she can only sit like this for about 2.5 before she topples over)

We decided to borrow a Baby Bjorn from Pat and Nicole because all day Saturday she wouldn't let me put her down, she just wanted to be a part of everything. So all day Sunday she sat in this and watched me vacuum, do the dishes, wash some laundry and make the bed. She had a blast and then she fell asleep. She was right where she wanted to be.

Head Up!

2007-10-15T21:38:00.000-05:00

Well, here she is holding her head up. She's growing so fast and unfortunately a lot of it is happening at daycare. When I get home at night I feed her and then she goes to sleep. I can't wait until she's awake for longer periods of time so we can play at night. We do get some time in with her while she gets a bath, Clara loves bath time. And on the weekends I don't want to do anything but spend time with her. I completely understand why people don't come out of their homes after they have children, they are so fascinating to watch and interact with!! Laughing and talking with mom.

Grandma Watson's friend Ginger knitted her this beautiful blanket and bonnet.

Trying on a winter hat.

Back To Before

2007-10-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I've survived my first week back to work and it pretty much sucks. It's very hard to be there and be happy when there is somewhere else I'd much rather be. I hate that I have to miss out on every yawn, every coo and blessing every sneeze from 8:30 to 5:30. It breaks my heart that someone else that I just met and has no ties to my family gets to witness this happening. So James and I are trying our hardest to come up with some alternative money makers so that I can stay home. It may take us a while but we would rather be home with her instead of leaving her with a daycare person, I don't think I realized how hard it would be until I had her. Ok, enough of my sobbing...here are the latest pictures of the cutest baby in the world.

Hangin' out with mom the last week at home together.

Playing on the couch

"Tummy Time" (my new favorite)

Naping with dad

Kickin' in the bathtub

Drying off with our froggy towel

The End is Near

2007-09-24T21:39:00.000-05:00

The end of my maternity leave that is. This is my last week at home with Clara and I'm dreading Sunday evening. I'm excited to have the social interaction that work brings but I'm getting worried about how Clara will adjust to her daycare lady. We found a great lady to take care of her but I get scared knowing that she won't see my face for 8 whole hours. I'm all she knows all day and now it's suddenly going to be someone else. Oh what I would give to not have to work. She is so much fun, and I would never get bored staying at home for good. Who knows, someday maybe that will be the case. So anyways, here are some new pics this week. She is two months old tomorrow and we have a Dr.'s appointment and her first shots. Yay!sweet dreams

kissy face

Joys of Baby

2007-09-20T22:56:00.000-05:00

Well I don't have a lot to talk about because my days are pretty much filled with the same...eat, sleep, change diaper...eat, sleep, well you get the point. But then I thought about it and realized that most of you don't need to have anything to read, you really just want to see pictures of the baby! So here are the latest photos of Clara.

On this day we were having a fashion show, trying on all of the outfits she hadn't worn yet and taking pictures. This was my favorite because it has matching sandals.

Clara has already been to her first Twins baseball game. She slept the whole time and even made it on the jumbotron ;) She's already a star.

Of course we have to support all Minnesota teams. We got her all dressed up for the Vikings opener and she slept through the game. She takes after me, that's my weekly nap time in the fall too.Sleeping like an angel.Hangin' out with grandpa Eich

Playing in her papazan chair. (This thing is awesome! Thankyou Auntie Nicole and Uncle Pat for loaning it to us.) Sleeping again.

My new favorite picture. Could you say no to this face?

Long Time Comin'

2007-09-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been forever and this may be the longest post to date. Clara Ann Watson was born July 25th, 2007 @ 9:37 AM. She weighed 8lbs. 12oz. and was 21 inches long. The labor wasn't too bad (I can say that now because I've forgotten most of it) but I know it will be a long time before I do that again! But it was so worth it...because she is so amazing and being a parent has come so naturally. You know how when you get married you have that weird feeling of being someone's spouse? It's kinda wierd to say "this is my wife/husband". Well, I thought it would be that way about saying "this is my daughter" or about being a mom but it's not, it's like Clara has always been a part of us. I was worried about what our lives were going to be like after the baby was born...if we would still have some of the freedom that we had before. Even though we wanted a child, it's still the biggest life change so I was scared that we would never get to have the kind of fun that we did whenever we wanted. It doesn't even matter anymore...I've completely forgotten what my life was like without her. SHE is by far, the coolest thing we've ever done.

So here she is...Baby Clara

Adjusting to a new baby hasn't been too difficult, I'm definately one for being prepared so we had everyhing we needed and I thought that we did a pretty good job at being ready. What we weren't ready for was having to stay an extra day in the hospital. Clara had jaundice and had to spend some time under the lights in the nursery. When we came home with her she still had to be under the lights so they sent a bili-bed with us, James called her the "blue light special" :)

Finally after a week at home her bilirubin levels started to go down and the jaundice went away. We laugh at the shades she had to wear ;)

Since then she's had her first outing... the traditional first bath in the kitchen sink... she hated it!And her first trip to SD to visit grandma and grandpa Eich and the Great g-ma and g-pa Malsam. Clara is the first grand child and great grandchild on my moms side.

She is also the first grand daughter for James' parents...I don't have a picture of both of them with the baby yet but grandpa Watson is pretty tickled with her, he's wrapped around her finger already.

James' parents have twin grandsons, Will and Owen. They are 2 and will be fun playmates for Clara someday. Right now they love looking at her feet!

We just spent the Labor Day weekend up at the cabin with them and Clara was able to wear her new swimming suit given to her by Katie Ortman. We didn't get to do much sunbathing though, it was a little too cool outside for baby.

At the present time I am still on maternity leave which is a blast. I spend my days catching up on sleep, looking for daycare and taking pictures of Clara. We've also done a lot of window shopping, we've gotta get some miles on that stroller before winter hits.
Here's a picture of the new family and a recent picture of the baby, then I think I have to be done for this post. I will have more later...lots more.

Final Belly Pic?

2007-07-07T21:49:00.001-05:00

Well here's what we hope to be the final belly picture...the end is in sight and greatly anticipated. Luckily I have had a great pregnancy and I'm actually NOT miserable or desperate to get this kid out of me :) Although the heat has made my feet swell to the size of my calves and my toes look like little sausages! I'll be happy to wear my heels again when this is all over.
The bag is packed and the car seat is ready to go to the hospital. The evenings have become quite uncomfortable beginning just this week. The baby is moving farther down and leaning forward is sometimes painful. For those of you who haven't been pregnant I describe it as this...put on a pair of jeans that are 2 sizes too small, button them and then sit down. Yeah, not a great feeling but in this case, worth it. I'm still sleeping great at night except for the 3 bathroom runs I make and I still get around pretty well during the day... I can't complain.
Oh yeah, we are totally finished with the nursery. All of the painting, primping, sewing, organizing, washing and folding is done. Here are the final pictures.Hopefully there are only 13 days left (or less). We'll see if the doctor has any info for us on Tuesday. We'll try and call everyone ASAP when the baby is born. Wish us luck; this may be our last post until we have pictures introducing the little one.

We're Back!

2007-06-06T00:05:00.000-05:00

Hey, it's Becky here, posting as James. Apparently Blogger.com has decided to permanently forget my account information and login id stuff. Anyways, we 've fianlly come back after a long, long hiatus of getting this house ready for baby girl Watson. This place has never been so organized and can you believe I still have things on the 'to do' list! It's looking great so I have some progressional photos here of the nursery. It's not totally finished but you'll get the idea. But first I have to post the latest belly picture along with the one we took 3 weeks ago and never got time to post.

Today

3 weeks ago

This is about when we started painting the nursery back in March

This was after the paint job and we got the furniture put together

And this is how it looks now. Grandpa Watson finished putting up the crown molding and I stenciled her name on the wall and made a mobile. Since this photo was taken I've also finished the crib bumper in the same fabric as the window valance (it has little pink bunnies on it).

After we paint the crown molding and window trim, and get a matress to show off the crib bumper, we'll post a picture of the final project. It has been so much fun to work on!

The Original Pilsner

2007-04-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

Hi-ho, this is Kermit THE Frog speaking...oops, sorry about that, I went and channeled my inner Sesame Street again.

Anywho, at Molly's request I'm posting...something. On with the baby news!!

Thanks to the industrious industriousness of Grandpa Watson, the crown moulding is going up. It's incredible to look in this room of our house and see a crib, changing table, fresh paint, etc. and know that in a few months somebody (other than me) will be making use of them. Of course, Feet (that's our nickname for her, on account of her non-stop dancing in the womb) really won't be too interested in the decor, but it's more for us to enjoy anyway.

Furthermore, we've gone to great lengths to keep me away from the miter saw, as my idea of handiwork is "hey, check out what I can cut!" followed by a loud vulgar ripping sound. That, or Becky coming outside and exclaiming "what is that block of Cheddar doing on the saw?"

Ahem.

This is me prior to heading outside to work. Or at least pretend to, while my dad does the lion's share:

Could just be me, but I'm still not convinced the tool belt goes around your neck.

Anywho, as soon as the construction is finished, we will be posting pictures of the (we hope) finished room, so stay tuned!

We're still alive

2007-04-19T21:26:00.000-05:00

Well, we've waited a month to update and we really have no good excuse. I apologize for our laziness but I gotta be honest, sometimes laying on the couch sounds a lot better than sitting in front of the computer. We have accomplished a ton in the last month where the house is concerned. It's never been this clean and it's taken us three years of living here to finally get it organized. We are almost finished with the nursery; painted, have the crib and changing table set up and are ready to do the crown moulding this weekend. I will post pictures when we get finished. Of course I still have to make the curtains and Home Depot pissed me off last weekend in the window blind department. The fact that our windows are installed in even inch increments (24", 26", 28" etc.) really doesn't help me when the blinds are made in odd inch increments (25", 27", 29"). Blasted window blind companies figured out a great way to rip people off because my windows are 28" wide. The 27" blinds fit 26 1/2" to 27 1/2" and the 29" blinds fit 28 1/2" to 29 1/2". Don't ask me how that makes sense, that's what the box said and I tried installing them both. One fell out of the window and the other didn't fit in it. After 3 trips to Home Depot and throwing a mini blind on the floor in a hormonal rage I've discovered that now I have to fork over another $20 to have them custom cut to fit the windows. I guess I should be thankful that it ONLY costs that much. What a pain in my ass! Other than that, the house looks great! You should all come to visit before it is taken over by dirty diapers and burp cloths:)

Here's the latest picture in the Belly O' Becky series. The doctor says that everything still looks healthy, I'm measuring 28" (for those that haven't had babies, this is normal) and I've gained 12 pounds total so far (I'm only telling you that because it's good to gain weight when you're pregnant, yay). 14 weeks to go before baby girl Watson is here. I'm getting excited and anxious to count all 10 fingers and all 10 toes!

The half way point

2007-03-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

Hey! Becky here, signed is as James. I haven't posted in so long that I forgot my password to sign in.

Yesterday marked the end of my 20th week and I am now in the homestretch. The stroller (generously donated my ma and pa Eich) is in the nursery patiently awaiting the arrival of baby girl Watson. And the crib is on order (generously donated by ma and pa Watson...who have done a great job of keeping the family in beds).

Last weekend we were able to spend three days with my parents, they showed up on Friday with diapers in tow! Grandma went a little crazy at the new super Wal-Mart in Pierre and we are supplied with enough pink clothes to last the first month. She completed the collection while they were here, purchasing a bonnet for nearly every day of the week.

Well, here it is, the weekly belly picture. Enjoy!

I DO NOT Have a Drinking Problem

2007-03-08T19:24:00.000-06:00

First and foremost, let's get the most important thing taken care of!

There's Becky and our little breadwinner, just waiting to tell us both to quit our full-time jobs so she can support us! As you may have noticed, it's finally time for Becky to purchase more than one pair of maternity pants, as not even rubber bands or hair ties are doing the job anymore! I'm toying with hot glue, but that may cause birth defects.

In other news, Grandpa Frank and Grandma Deb are coming out to visit us this weekend, and we're looking forward to instilling a sense of horror in them at the thought of me serving as a role model. That, and as you may remember from an earlier post, the beer fridge is right around the corner from the guest room/office/den 'o computer crap.

That is all for now, another week of Grey's Anatomy reruns...I guess this means I should clean or something.

Without Further Ado, The Watson Clan Is Proud To Present......

2007-02-28T21:48:00.000-06:00

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's Baby!

And just in case you can't tell from the pictures (if you can, James owes you a beverage, adult or otherwise) it's a.....

.........................................................................................................................................................................
(We're going for a dramatic pause here, and failing miserably)

GIRL!!!!!!

These ultrasounds are incredible. You see so much detail! We saw each chamber of her heart, we saw the lenses of her eyes, we saw the thing that identified her as a girl! Anywho, we also saw that everything is healthy and developing just like it's supposed to, which was the biggest relief of them all. In addition, we're thinking that our little girl may grow up to become a dancer of some sort (not exotic, you perverts), because she had the most AWESOME happy feet going on the entire time! That was the only other wish we had from these pictures, was that we had one of her cute little feet.

Oh, and this kid may go on to great things, but I want it known that I was the first person to notice her flair for the arts when she suddenly adopted the classic pose of The Thinker. Makes me so proud knowing we'll have someone to support us in our advancingly old age.

Mothers of America, lock up your sons....Little Baby Watson will soon be breaking hearts all across this fine land!

By Popular Request (This means you, Meg G!)

2007-02-22T22:50:00.000-06:00

I just want to begin this post by saying I usually don't bow to the intense pressure that you, our loyal readers put on us. However, in this case, we've decided to make an exception. That, and Meg can't live more than 2 miles away from us, and she may come over and kick my heiney.

ANYWHO! Here's the very latest in Belly (and Becky) Picture Technology!

After a long and lengthy discussion (I noticed the comment and Becky said "yeah, that's not a bad idea!") we decided we'll post our Belly Pics like this from now on. Maybe if you all behave I'll post a James Belly Pic next week. We'll see.

Other than that, we had Fun Aunt Molly over for Grey's Anatomy tonight, she brought Davanni's Pepperoni Deep Dish. I'm fat(ter) now. Ma and Pa Watson were supposed to show up, but a sudden case of cranial anusitis seems like it must have reared its' ugly head out at the ol' Watson Homestead.

I'm experimenting with new nicknames for Becky, how does the BI (Baby Incubator) sound? Other than that, we will be painting the BS this weekend, so look for pictures of yours truly covered from head to toe in a lovely beige. What can I say, I'm just a year-round neutral.

Finally, the ultrasound is coming up THIS Wednesday at 9am! We will NOT be openly declaring the sex of the baby, but if anybody wants to know, feel free to call/email/stop by/carrier pigeon/smoke signal/UPS/singing telegram us and we'll gladly let you all know!

Until then, Big Fat James signing off. Oops, Becky says I can't say that.

Yet.

At Long, Long Last

2007-02-18T17:35:00.000-06:00

Enjoy, you vultures!

Wall Of Text!

2007-02-14T21:40:00.000-06:00

It's been a while, Internetland, it's been a while.

Oh yeah, Becky's still pregnant. Entering her fifth month now, can you believe it?!?!?!?

We had a Dr.'s appointment on Monday, just to confirm that yes Virginia, there IS a baby in there. So the doctor has her little microphone dealie on the left side of Becky's belly, and there's the heartbeat. Still strong, still LOUD, and still about 160 beats per minute. Supposedly, this means girl. Anywho, suddenly the doctor moves the microphone dealie over to the right side of Becky's tummy, and we hear the heartbeat just as loud and just as strong as it was on the other side.

(I'm going to pause here, for dramatic goodness.)

Becky's and my eyes must have been about the size of dinner plates, because the doctor looked at us both and said "Oh no, there's only one baby in there, it's just moving around."

I asked for oxygen.

Moving along, Becky and I had an awesome dinner tonight at Luci Ancora. It was phenomenal! Even given that it was a limited Valentine's Day menu, it was still awesome. We left the table feeling full, but it was a very comfortable full, versus the ever-popular "Elastic! I need elastic in my pants!" full. Now Luci Ancora is a very small restaurant, and they shoehorn as many tables as possible in to this small room, so that there's essentially walking room for the servers between each table, and that's IT. So imagine my surprise when the woman at the table next to us suddenly pulls out her cell phone (it was ringing rather obnoxiously) and begins carrying on a conversation in her best 'outdoor voice'. It was all I could do to not reach across the table and bury her face in her polenta. (Note: I don't condone violence in any way, shape or form. Although in this case, I was willing to make an exception!) My annoyance must have been pretty obvious, because her husband finally reached across the table and made the 'cut it' motion with his hand.

What'd the rest of our readers (all three of you) do for Valentine's Day?

Belated Belly Pic coming tomorrow!

Son Of A Monkey&^%$#@$^%$#

2007-02-06T09:14:00.000-06:00

It snowed. An inch. My commute took 45 minutes. Annoyed doesn't even begin to describe me right now. Becky gave up after making it less than three miles from home in 30 minutes, she's at home right now. I'm jealous.

On with the update!

I have gotten two extremely AWESOME books recently, both dedicated to either the Father-To-Be or just stories of fathers coping with having children.

The first one I absolutely have to recommend to everybody, solely because it's a quick read and it had everyone in my family in tears from laughing so hard:

Daddy Needs a Drink

It's a great book, anybody interested in borrowing it from me, let me know.

Secondly, I just got this book in the mail from Ma & Pa Eich, reminding me that I deserve some attention too! And I thank you both for your wonderfully kind thoughts, because darn it, I DO deserve some attention! My poor little ego thanks you. They sent me this book, which I haven't started reading yet, but I think tonight's a good time to start:

The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion: A Survival Guide for Expectant Fathers

So that's all for now, I'm all aflutter with excitement!

P.S. Poop poop.

Another Glass of Syrah, Sirrah!

2007-02-01T22:36:00.000-06:00

So it's been a lovely Thursday night, Pat and Nicole (of Pat & Nicole fame) came over to watch Grey's Anatomy and Men in Trees. Also, they brought the bestest of desserts from Byerly's, for that alone they're welcome back next week! It's kinda fun having a regular Thursday night thing, anybody else curious about joining in the fun, let me know.

Oh, and since it's Thursday, here's the newest Belly Pic!

Thursdays RULE!

T-shirts, Get Your T-shirts!

2007-01-29T18:31:00.000-06:00

So I just had to post a picture of this shirt we were given for the aforementioned Baby Watson. Thanks again Derek and Clair, I feel this shirt really sums up the hopes and dreams I have for this kid:

Who else suddenly felt this sense of impending obesity for yours truly?

It's Thursday

2007-01-25T10:22:00.000-06:00

Which means in addition to a new episode of Grey's Anatomy....I'll also be posting a new Belly Pic!

Check back periodically, you hosers!

UPDATE:

Okay, so I DID take the picture last night, it's still just sitting on the camera...basically because I'm very very lazy. Watched Grey's Anatomy, had a Guinness or two (ONLY TWO) and then ended up turning in relatively early. Long story short, I'll post the belly picture tonight.

UPDATE x 2!!!!!!!

Tales From the Crypt....err, State.

2007-01-24T14:51:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun writing about The Turtle in my last entry that I decided I'm going to make this more of a regular thing here. Today I intend to write about the user I have dubbed "Janet Reno's Evil Twin" or "JRET" for short. I have dubbed her this because she bears a striking physical resemblance to our illustrious former Attorney General.

Anywho, JRET is a manager of a division within my department. She's usually not in the bestest of moods because all things technology-related piss her off. I think that sets the table well enough, so on with our story....

So JRET has a printer in her office (editor's note: it seems like most of my stories are about printers.). JRET manages to have a problem with her printer on an almost daily basis, and then proceeds to send angry emails to our group about her ongoing issues. Now I should also mention that every problem she's had has been self-inflicted. So I went down to help her this past Friday, as she was unable to print anything. Turns out her printer was turned off. Turning it on tends to resolve THAT issue. She must have been embarrassed by this, because a few days went by without us hearing from her. Until today that is, when we got a *very* angry email (how can emails sound so angry?) about her still having trouble printing. Dutifully, I went to her desk to discover that she had ten or fifteen documents queued up to print, and not a single piece of paper anywhere near her printer. I pointed this out to her, only to hear "Well how was I supposed to know the printer needed paper?"

It was just then that a message popped up on her computer screen emphatically stating "Printer is out of paper. Printing will not continue until paper is added. Warning 6."

I loaded paper in her printer, then walked out of her office whistling 'Even The Losers' by Tom Petty.

Fun Thing For Friday

2007-01-19T12:44:00.000-06:00

Girl Scout cookies. Multiple and varied. Can't wait for that first delightful sugar-induced coma to come on! My guess though, is that I'll be allowed to eat one little row of cookies before the pregnant one devours them. This is just a hunch on my part, but I'm feeling pretty confident about it.

I got an email this morning from one of the users in our department, I call him The Turtle. I call him this mainly because he always looks like he's trying to pull his head back in his shell. I'd post a picture, but I think that would get me in trouble. Anywho, The Turtle is having trouble printing. He can't figure out which printer he's printing to. Now, in this guy's case, he's set up to print to one of two printers, both within less than 100 feet of his desk. I wandered on over to The Turtle's office, listened politely to his plight, then turned around and walked to the printer within eyesight of his desk. There sat a printed document. I returned to his office and handed over the document. I was then rewarded with a "Hey, that's great! Where did it print to?" I pointed. His response? "Wow, I didn't think to look there."

Needless to say, I think I'll be having a drink this evening.

I Have GOT To Stop Doing This

2007-01-18T15:48:00.000-06:00

....taking forever between posting, I mean! It just so happens that neither Becky nor I are all that exciting.....

So that's out of the way, on to the exciting world of US!

Had another doctor's appointment yesterday, things are humming along nicely! We got to hear the heartbeat again, that is STILL the coolest sound ever! I can't begin to describe it, just thinking about everything that it means, but hearing it DOES allow me to ignore my credit cards beginning to sob. Tuesday also marked the end of the first trimester for Becky, and sure enough, she's really beginning to get her 'Beckyness' back, aside from still feeling pretty tired.

I'll be posting a picture tonight of the baby bump, so those of you who simply cannot wait should wait until then.

Also, we've got all kinds of fun job updates (nobody lost theirs, so no worries), so stick around!

AND HERE IT IS!

The very first (slightly) Baby Bump!

There WILL be more pictures to come, and I'll throw in a few juicy tidbits about the job thingamajigger tomorrow morning, as I'm wasting your tax dollars!

Overheard

2007-01-08T13:10:00.000-06:00

Just a few comments from around the house. (Parents, hide your children)

"Ow, boobies! That's ok, I'm dealing with it."
-Becky, upon getting a hug when she got home from work.

"You're a turd."
-James

"I know, but I'm only a turd by marriage."
-Becky

"Baby wants a Popsicle."
-Becky

"If you're the one who's pregnant, how come I'm the one gaining weight?"
-James

"Honey, the cat threw up."
-Becky

"I've been walking around with my top button undone ALL day!"
-James (just kidding, it was Becky)

"Hey, I just discovered I can lick my own butt!"
-Allie and/or Cinder

There'll be more to come!

Just Because....

2007-01-05T11:23:00.000-06:00

...I CAN!

So the process of getting the BS all shipshape and spiffy has begun. Now when I say that it has 'begun' I mean that I watched Becky box up some fabric samples down in the office the other night. While I was having a beer. If they ever give out awards for helpful husbands in the home, sign me up.

In other news, I asked Becky if she'd be up for posting a semi-regular Belly Picture, so you guys can see how our little jack (jackie?)-in-the-box is growing. She's up for it, so that idea has taken off. I suggested we write an open letter to our child and post it here, but Becky said that would be a bad idea, possibly because all my letter consisted of was the following:

"Dear child, I am your father. I will not understand a word you're saying until you're at least two or so years old. When you're eighteen years old, you're going to expect me to pay for your college education. I figure you've got at least ten or twelve years to save up, so get to work.

Love, Daddy"

Anybody else just get a chill? :-)

P.S. My sister has a special friend. We call him John. They have adaptive play group twice a week, where we tether them to their jungle gym and watch them run in to each other for a few hours. We also give them helmets. Great fun. I had a special friend once, name was Jack. Jack Daniels.

Whoof! It's Been a While.

2007-01-03T09:42:00.000-06:00

So we had a great Christmas and New Years with the respective fams. Spent some time in South Dakota and some time all over this here state of Minnesota.

UPDATE: Becky....is still pregnant.

So this past Saturday we're in the car, heading wayyyyyy up nordt to visit Grandma Watson. Now let's set the stage for what transpires next: at this point, I've been awake for roughly an hour or so, I've got coffee and a donut in hand, and I'm sitting comfortably in the car, reading the paper. Imagine my surprise when I see the headline on an article in the Metro section of the Star & Sickle mentioning that our illustrious governor is planning on merging two State departments together. Imagine further my surprise when I discover that one of the aforementioned departments is the one I WORK FOR! I could go off on a rant, but I'll just behave. For now.

So the big project at home for the next month or two is converting the guest room in to what I'll begin referring to as "The Baby Suite". Or just "The BS" for short. The guest room is going to move downstairs and share space with our desks in the office. So if you come and stay at our house, take heart; the guest room is just around the corner from the beer fridge.

Waitaminute....WHAT was that?!?!?!?

2006-12-18T19:35:00.000-06:00

Today marks the first time we've heard little Juan Valdez Watson/Mrs. Olson's (inside joke relating to babies and coffee, there's about three people who'll get it) heartbeat.

At just about 8 weeks, we had our first 'real' appointment today, and the biggest most exciting part of it was getting to hear the heartbeat! We arrived at the doctor's office fully prepared for this momentous event; Becky thought she was going to puke. The doctor, after warning us that chances were pretty good we wouldn't hear anything, got her little listening device thingie positioned over Becky's belly and started moving it around. Imagine our surprise when after just a few seconds of searching we suddenly heard it; rapid, noisy, but VERY strong. Becky said she looked over at me and I had the biggest, goofiest grin she'd ever seen on my face. The doctor counted beats and told us the heart is beating at 175 beats per minute, which is a great indicator.

I tell you what, I've seen and heard some pretty incredible things in my life, but nothing compares with this! It kind of added some tangible evidence that yes indeed, there certainly is a baby in there! So anywho, I'm all melty now, so I'm gonna go. More to foller!

Whoops.

2006-12-13T14:30:00.000-06:00

I tend to imagine myself as a fairly typical, low-key kind of person. I wake up in the morning, shower, get dressed, go to work, come home, eat dinner, goof off and go to bed in the evening. It's a weekly routine, much like most people. Last night I had a wrench thrown in to my routine.

Imagine if you will, you get home from a long day of work, check the Christmas tree to make sure the dog and cat haven't decided to have another climbing contest, and then happen to discover that there's voicemail on the home phone. Dutifully you check the message, and here is what you hear:

"Hello Mr. Watson, this is So-and-so Frink (not sure on the name, couldn't quite understand him) of the North Branch Police Department. I'm investigating a possible case of identity theft whereby someone's social security number was stolen, and your name came up. We're investigating all James Watsons in the St. Paul area, so if you could please call me back with any information you might have regarding this and any time you may have spent in the State of New Jersey, I would appreciate it."

Under most circumstances I'd like to think of myself as someone who doesn't get excited easily. However, that's just not true, I DO get excited rather easily. So, I called the officer back (his voice mail says he's an Inspector) and left him a message, emphatically stating that I'm completely certain he's got the wrong James Watson, and I've never been to New Jersey, either. I left my home phone and my cell phone number for him to call me, which, as of yet, he hasn't. In the meantime, I'm not making any plans to change my name.

Why do things like this always seem to happen to me? C'mon, feel free to throw up your oddest experience!

Monday. GAH!

2006-12-11T13:18:00.000-06:00

Now I'm not normally the type of person to make these posts, but I just figured out I had to try.

So under normal circumstances, you know how you can usually tell within the first ten to twenty minutes after waking up what kind of day it's going to be? Here's how my day started:

1. Cut myself shaving. With an ELECTRIC razor. Criminy, how the heck does THAT happen?
2. Got all the way in to work, pulled in to my parking spot and discovered I'd left my ID badge at home.
3. I'm still waiting on this one, but let's just say I'm afraid to visit the restroom.

This one's short, because I'm running low on coffee and I'm still tabulating the results from our naming contest thingy. So far the leading contender is a toss-up between "Lil Bobo" (thanks Nicole, no really) and "The Baby Formerly Known as Coffee Bean".

More updates to foller, ya'll.

Coffeenerdness

2006-12-08T09:36:00.000-06:00

I notice only two people have posted their thoughts for names, c'mon people! We (and the aforementioned baby) are counting on you! If you don't want to do it for us, do it for the baby! Okay, I'm done with the "win one for the Gippper" speech.

I like coffee. Just about anyone who has spent a reasonably appreciable amount of time with me might be able to tell you that. It's a simple joy of mine to fill up ye ol' Stanley Classic thermos at home on a Friday, and then enjoy some home-brewed coffee goodness at work. Today was a sad day for me though, because the little chrome-colored cap thing came unglued from the top of the thermos, so I have this plastic-y chromey thing sitting here at my desk looking at me. I've tried comforting it because it looks so lonely sitting there, but it's not a big talker.

Anywho, other than that, had a very impromptu Watson Family Dinner at the 5/8 last night. Good times, the boys had just gotten their first haircuts, and they were stylin' and profilin' for all. Oh, and a little sidenote about the 5/8 for those of you not familiar with the place:

Onion straws and a few glasses of Summit Extra Pale will not make you popular to be around the next morning.

Stay tuned.

Late Night Sleepiness?

2006-12-06T23:41:00.000-06:00

I'm having fun watching the changes in Becky as Coffee Bean (name update to come - a contest, perhaps?) grows and changes. One day she'll have a craving for say, pickles, and the next day the mere sight of them makes her want to....yeah. It's amazing that we've already discovered that her tummy is starting to get just the tiniest little *bump*. I know I know, it really hasn't been THAT long, but I can't lie about what we see! So yeah, that's my Cool Thing of the Week this week.

Getting on to the aforementioned contest, the next person who can come up with what we should call the baby for the next week or two. So far we've used the following names:

.
,
Coffee Bean (I know, we skipped a week or two)

So, let's come up with something fun and imaginative, whomever submits something we use will get a fabulous....no, not quite fabulous. An incredible....nope, not even close. A wonderful...I'll keep trying, we're on a budget here. *Ahem*

Whomever submits a name that we end up using for the next week or two will (are you ready for this?) GET YOUR NAME MENTIONED on this site! I'd throw confetti if I had any.

*Note to self: self, buy some confetti on the way home from work tomorrow.*

The craving survey says...

2006-12-05T09:46:00.000-06:00

Pickles, tomatoes, Sprite, salami. If you've got it, I want it. This is probably the most disgusting craving of all and I haven't actually let myself do it because James says it's gross...I would kill for a gas station hot dog! The aroma is intoxicating, it makes me think of a Twins game with a dome dog and chips. I finally went to the grocery store and bought the Ballpark Franks. I couldn't take it anymore, I had two for dinner last night.
So I figured out the the reason you get queasy during pregnancy is because your body is metabolizing the glucose in your blood and you need more and more to replenish that (the reason crackers take care of the problem). If you think about it, it's like having a mini hangover, without the headache every morning when you wake up, oh joy!

Christmas-ish Stuff

2006-12-04T10:19:00.000-06:00

The tree is up, the lights are hung! Now if only we can keep the dog and the cat from climbing the tree this year, we'll be set!

Oh yeah, Becky's still pregnant! Wooo-hooo!

Had a lovely weekend, did breakfast and a trip to Fleet Farm with Ma and Pa Watson yesterday. Turns out (and this may be a shock to some of you) I'm a bit of a smart-ass. I know, I didn't see this coming either. We got a lovely new bird feeder for the back yard, after spending about twenty minutes debating the ins and outs of cedar 'house' feeders versus the upright cylinders. After that, it was off to look at the pop-up ice-fishing houses. I know, how wild and crazy. What is it about ice fishing that gets people all hot and bothered to go out and sit in a vinyl/wood/titanium structure for hours on end, staring in to a deep dark hole of freeeeeeezing cold water?

The high point of the trip though, was at the checkout. So we're ringing everything up, and McCheese is doing his best "I can bag things" routine. As we were leaving, I leaned over towards the cashier and casually stated "we're taking him back to the home now". Now Dad was already on his way out the door (he's always in a hurry), but Mom and Becky overheard, and I thought we were going to have to call for oxygen for the both of them. Dad never quite heard the comment, until about 20 minutes later as Beck and I had stopped off at Target to pick up some more Christmas lights and I get a phone call. It's Dad.

"Your mother says I can stay at the house for a bit before she has to take me back to the Home."

And you people wonder where I get it?

It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

2006-12-01T13:03:00.000-06:00

So for the last week or two our furnace hasn't really felt like heating the house reliably. Oh sure, for a few days there when the outside temperature was more well, moderate shall we say, the house was snug as a bug in a rug. Once things started getting cold though, it was time to call for help.

Just allow me to put in a plug here for Apollo Heating and Air. They rock, you hear me? ROCK.

So anywho, I called them yesterday around 3 and explained what was happening with the furnace. Not only did they diagnose the problem over the phone, they had a guy come out this morning at 9:30. Now THAT, dear Internet folk, is fast service. The technician showed up, took the access panel off the furnace (after he shut the furnace off, first), and decided to check out the flame sensor. This little device basically tells the furnace "Hey, you're heating, keep up the GREAT work!" Turns out that our little sensor was dirty, which caused the furnace to quit heating. Five minutes of work later, the furnace is back on and little flames are merrily dancing in the burners. Within twenty minutes of him leaving, the house was already within a degree or two of where I have the thermostat set.

All of this, and we're NOT bankrupt as a result! I may stop by the liquor store on my way home.

That is all, let's keep it real, eh?

Rules For Prospective Fathers OR How NOT to Piss Off Your Wife

2006-11-29T08:15:00.000-06:00

HA! If you read the title and assumed I was gonna say something insightful, well you're just WRONG!

Well, I figured it's been long enough, I might as well post something. Becky told me it's my job to be the 'funny one' in the blog, so I figured I'd try.

For those who haven't heard it, the story of Becky informing me she was pregnant is just another in a long line of classic Becky and James stories. It goes a little something like this....

*AHEM*

It was a dark and stormy night....well, actually it was just a Wednesday night, forgive me for taking a few liberties with the story. Becky got home from work, we talked about our days, the usual "Hi how are you, how was your day?" routine. At some point during this riveting conversation about our days (believe me, it was gripping) Beck needed to go 'freshen up', shall we say. She was gone for quite a while, and when she came back to the living room, she didn't seem to be quite as happy as she had when she'd left. Being the wonderfully sensitive man that I am (no comments, please), I asked her if everything was alright. She said she was fine, but we all know what "I'm fine" means. So I doggedly continued asking, and finally got her to tell me she had taken an Early Pregnancy Test, but was absolutely certain that the results showed she was not pregnant. After checking the little stick thingamajigger, there were two lines showing on it, but the second was much much lighter than the first. It was at this point, I did something which may well cost me my membership in the International Brotherhood of Men, but threw Becky for a loop...........

I read the directions.

Turns out, second or third sentence in the directions distinctly says "Second line may be lighter than the first".

(Stunned silence)

So anywho, we're pregnant! I'm pretty sure I've thoroughly annoyed Becky by now, every evening I have to ask her at least 10 times if there's anything I can get for her, bugging her about taking her pre-natal vitamins (she is, I'm just paranoid), and just generally being a pest. Oh, and the baby (currently named Coffee Bean) and I have little chats every night, this is probably the only time in the kid's life where I'll have such a captive audience!

That's all for now, more to come. Stay tuned!

First OB appointment

2006-11-21T20:53:00.000-06:00

I am 5 weeks & 5 days pregnant and today I had my first OB appointment...information overload! Enormous amounts of paperwork, large amounts of blood taken from my arm! Who knew having a baby could be so technical? We will be delivering at Regions hospital here in St. Paul and that's approximately 4.6 miles from our house, YES! My due date is July 19th and all James can think of right now is "can we go to the cabin for the 4th?" I'm thinking of my ten year class reunion, 3 weeks before my due date may pose a problem. I might have to join them for dinner via satellite :)