... a little over 21 weeks

So over the last couple of weeks, Baby Boy Gaddis has been training for the Olympics in my belly. There is a lot of movement going on almost everyday and it sometimes catches me by surprise (usually late at night while I'm relaxing on the couch). It's pretty amazing!

Matt and I spent the weekend shopping for baby stuff and picking out paint colors for the nursery. It was pretty exhausting! I should have taken a picture of him with the Baby Bjorn baby carrier that I tried out on him. It was too small and he looked uncomfortable and funny as hell. :) But we've got the colors narrowed down for the nursery and we (Matt) should be well into our (his) painting chores during the 4th of July weekend. We treated ourselves to a fantastic Sunday dinner out in the Russian River Valley in a small town we love called Healdsburg, about an hour and a half north of the city. Matt took a few belly photos while we were walking to the restaurant and I was able to salvage the one below from the many that he took (most were blurry, some didn't even have my belly in them, etc.).

I am confident that he will get the hang of this whole photography thing in the next 4 months.  Or at least figure out that belly photos are supposed to have my belly in them (not just half of it). Or he is fired.

We're off to Denver this weekend so maybe I'll have some more photos to post! :) Also, nursery progress photos will be coming in the following weeks. Let's hope it goes smoothly!

QUESTION

What baby registry item would you say was the one that you found most useful? Which was the least useful? I'm sure you'll have more than one, but I am a little overwhelmed with the amount of things to register for, so any input would be greatly appreciated!

~ Tam

20 weeks... We're halfway there!

Time sure flies, doesn't it? All of a sudden, we're halfway through this pregnancy and our baby boy will be here in 4 1/2 months! :)

We've been so busy with friends and family in town these last couple weeks that we haven't had much time to get any nursery planning done. The 2nd bedroom has been all cleaned out for a week and a half now (it was a lot of work!), and is ready for us to paint and fill with baby furniture. Hopefully, we'll have some progress to show in the coming weeks. I'm very much leaning towards a vintage/animal theme for the nursery, thanks to a very sweet gift from our friends, Andrew and Lee. It's a vintage style stuffed rabbit hand-crafted from re-purposed sweaters by a company in New Hampshire. Not only is it the very first baby gift we've received, it's absolutely adorable, soft, and 100% recycled! The guys had no idea how perfect it was. This IS the year of the rabbit after all! I immediately fell in love with it and the idea of a vintage/animal nursery theme is at the top of my list. :)

Rabbit by Pear Tree Studio, Harrisville, NH

I've been feeling great this trimester and getting bigger. Stepping on the scale this morning was a little traumatizing. We've spent the last 3 days in a row having dinners out (and hearty breakfasts in) with friends, Andrew & Lee visiting from London, and with Tony (happy granddad-to-be) who has been staying with us this week. I have to admit that I'm not one to hold back when eating out, especially when it's at my favorite local joints. So I've put on more pounds than I should have and I'm sure my OBGYN will tell me so next week at my appointment. :/ What's a pregnant girl to do?! I blame it on water retention.

So my plan for the upcoming week when we're back to our normal routine? Veggies, fruits, oatmeal, yogurt, white meat chicken (yuck), and NO sweets. Ok, I may be getting a little crazy on that last one. I do love ice cream. :) Another thing I need to do: MORE exercise. It's been tough to get motivated to exercise. But clearly, it is time.

~ Tam

It's a BOY!

Well, the results are in and we couldn't be happier!

We had a fun ultrasound this morning where we got to see our snoozing baby boy stubbornly ignore the ultrasound technician's needs to do measurements.  He basically just wanted to sleep and keep his arms wrapped over his belly, occasionally rolling around and flexing his limbs briefly enough so that the technician couldn't get her shots quick enough.  Then he'd roll back to the position he started in, which was not the one she wanted.  It was pretty entertaining.  :)

So here's the first look at Baby Boy Gaddis.  He sure looks like a strapping little fellow from what we saw during the ultrasound.  Now we play the name game.  Any suggestions?  I say "no" to Thor, Frodo, and Napolean.

QUESTION
When did you first feel your baby move?  I haven't felt anything yet, but can honestly say that I don't know what I'm supposed to be feeling for. Supposedly, I won't feel anything until 20 weeks or so. That'll be pretty exciting!

~ Tam