I just can’t get over what a fabulous day today is. After weeks of cold rain, it is GOR-GE-OUS outside—one of those perfect LA winter days when you are reminded that beyond the usual smoggy skies reside flawless snow-capped mountains. It’s the perfect day to have an anatomy ultrasound and discover the gender of your future offspring.
I know you’re all dying to know, so without further ado, the gender is…
((Drumroll))
Wait for it…
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The long wait is (almost!) over—tomorrow we find out the gender of our babe-to-be! It’s been so weird and annoying not knowing all this time—almost 20 weeks now. (I hate surprises… I want all the details NOW!)
With Orion, we were lucky enough to find out at 12 weeks, when we just so happened to get a really good view of his junk during the NT ultrasound. No such luck with this baby.
I’ve given up on speculating on Baby #2’s gender. With Orion, I felt 100% sure I was having a girl and I just about fell off the chair when the ultrasound tech told me it was a boy. So obviously my hunches mean nothing.
To further confound this gender guessing game, I’ve had two dreams I’m having a boy (so, given my record that must mean I’m having a girl, right?) and the tech at #2’s NT ultrasound said if she had to guess the sex, she’d go with male, considering the maybepossibly somethin’ she saw between the legs. But maybe not. She said it was too early to tell.
So what do you think, girl or boy? If I had to place any bets, I’d say it’s definitely a human child, but beyond that I have no idea.
Stay tuned!
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We live! We had a wonderful white Christmas in Ohio with my family and a laid-back (read: dullsville) New Year back at home (as in, we went to bed before midnight). Now we’re still enjoying some much-needed downtime but we will be back online soon. Until then, this is the uber-short version of what we’ve been up to…
The tree
The other reindeer
The California boy plays in the snow
The boy and the dog
The goofballs
The smooch
The cheesy grin
The hat-wearing baby bump (18 weeks)
The eyelashes
The family
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This morning we had our California Christmas, since tomorrow we will be on a plane headed to the frigid Midwest to celebrate with my family. Orion LOVED his gifts (mostly vehicle-related toys, natch) and I’m having SOMUCHFUN playing with my new 50mm camera lens, lens filters and flash diffuser. (Thanks, Erik! Er, Santa!) Erik is currently glued to his computer playing his new Civ V game, which means I won’t be interacting with him for while.
It even stopped raining and the bright sun came out to play for a few hours. All in all, a perfect day.
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After five straight days of torrential downpours, sometimes you just have to go outside and get wet.
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Erik went to bed early because he wasn’t feeling well, which means I was left alone with the pantry. So I had a little snack: a couple squares of dark chocolate, roasted seaweed and a whole bunch of clementines. Random, sure, but it quelled the beast… for now.
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What’s that you say? Christmas is only five days away? Gulp.
How is it that every year December seems to fly by on fast forward? Actually, though, I’m not sweating it this year. I feel fairly prepared for the impending holiday, and I’m really looking forward to spending time with my family and Erik having some de-stressing vacation time. (Much Wii will be played.) Plus Orion is getting so excited, and he’s going to have SOMUCHFUNOMG during both his Christmases this year. I can’t wait!
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Orion hasn’t posed for a photo since he was about 10 months old. Back in the good ol’ days of immobility it was no problem capturing a few hundred pics of my little guy in any given setting. He would happily turn toward me and mug it up for the camera. Since becoming bipedal, though, he seems to never want to pause long enough for me to get a shot that isn’t one big blur. So imagine my surprise when today I asked him to sit down on this rock and smile for me, he did just that. Hopefully it’s the beginning of many hammy moments captured on camera.
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Maybe it’s just the pregnancy hormones but I am crazily, recklessly excited for Christmas this year. The tree’s been decorated, Christmas music is playing and it’s everything I can do to not go off the deep end getting gifts for Orion. Imaging Christmas through the eyes of a child is so much fun! I feel like a kid all over again.
I think I’m done with my Christmas shopping for all my loved ones, although it’s so hard to not spoil Orion. I hereby cut myself off from buying him anything else. (Hmm, we shall see…)
I tried to stick to buying mostly healthy, fun, earth-friendly toys for Orion. This is what he’ll find under the tree this year. Don’t tell him!
Tiny TOMS
I love the couple pairs of TOMS I have and these tiny versions are freaking adorable. If you’ve been living under a rock, you might not know how great TOMS are—for every pair purchased a pair is given to a child in need. AND they’re super comfy. I think Orion will love these because he is such a hippie barefoot child and since he won’t wear flip flops (yet) these are the next best thing to going sans shoes.
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Manhattan Toy Rumblies Ambulance
We have quite a few Manhattan Toy products—many of them are soft fabric toys, perfect for babies and toddlers. Orion loves his Rumblie Fire Truck and I know my little emergency vehicle-obsessed guy will love his new ambulance as well.
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Green Start Wooden Puzzle: Ready, Set, Go
I bought this for Orion months ago at the LA Natural History Museum and have somehow managed to keep it hidden all this time. Orion’s really into puzzles right now and this one features his favorite subject: cars and trucks.
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Melissa & Doug Wooden Dinosaur Magnets
Orion is really into playing with magnets right now, so I thought he would enjoy something more exciting than the utilitarian hard drive fragments and restaurant info magnets currently gracing our fridge doors.
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I think I’m most excited about this gift! Now Orion can carry his own lunch and toys around in this adorable PVC-, BPA-, and Phthalate-free backpack.
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Orion is finally past the put-everything-in-his-mouth stage so I think some modeling clay is in order. All-natural Mary’s Softdough seems like a great place to start, considering it’s nontoxic and scented with essential oil.
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Fisher-Price Corn Popper Push Toy
This is the one truly conventional gift Orion is receiving this year. He played with it at his friend Emmett’s house and hasn’t stop talking about it ever since.
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He’s also getting a few books (like this one), a pair of PJs and some stocking stuffers, but other than that, I’m hopefully going to restrain myself from getting him more.
What gifts are you giving this year?
And while I have your attention, check out my friends’ awesome annual beer bottle band Christmas carol. Last year’s offering received nearly a million hits on YouTube! Enjoy.
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I like having someone make coffee for me but this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.
Erik taught Orion how to make coffee—something I really wish he hadn’t done—and now Orion wants to make coffee every day. He gets on his stool, grabs the coffee beans, puts them in the grinder and grinds away. He’s pretty good at this part.
The next step—getting the grounds into the coffee maker—doesn’t go quite so smoothly. As you could imagine, it ends up everywhere, including all over him (which I fear will either get into his mouth or otherwise absorb into his person, resulting in a jittery, caffeinated toddler, and I don’t even want to think about what that might be like).
Aside from always having to clean up a mountain of coffee grounds and dealing with a potentially cracked out kiddo, I also fear for the life of the glass coffee pot, not to mention the possibility of Orion falling off the stool.
Orion will sometimes sneak away during the day to make coffee, but luckily the telltale sound of the coffee grinder gives him away. Often he will do it while I’m in the kitchen making dinner—which is obviously better because I’m there to keep an eye on the situation brewing, but it distracts me from whatever else I’m trying to accomplish, like not dropping a 375 degree baking dish on my feet.
Other than the mess he makes, it’s kinda nice (and incredibly cute) having my own little Mr. Coffee. Starbucks ain’t got nothing on him.
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