The story of one little family, three little boys, and our many adventures in DC and beyond.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
19 weeks
How far along? 19 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +6lbs. I need to start exercising again...
Bump showing? Very much. Someone at work even said "you're not even half way along and your bump is that big?" Ha.
Maternity clothes? Yes...and I think it may be time to move exclusively to maternity shirt. My normal shirts are not quite long enough.
Sleep: Pretty good!
Best moment of the week: Christmas #1 on Sunday (post coming!)
Miss anything? Crystal Light Iced Tea
Movement: Multiple times every day.
Cravings: Not really, but I've been eating everything so I'm not sure what I would be craving.
Anything making you queasy? Reading on the Metro. I'm pretty sure that is not pregnancy related, though.
Gender prediction: We find out soon!
Mood: Pretty good-- I cannot wait to start our holiday celebrations!
Looking forward to: 2 days until Christmas!!!
Total weight gain/loss: +6lbs. I need to start exercising again...
Bump showing? Very much. Someone at work even said "you're not even half way along and your bump is that big?" Ha.
Maternity clothes? Yes...and I think it may be time to move exclusively to maternity shirt. My normal shirts are not quite long enough.
Sleep: Pretty good!
Best moment of the week: Christmas #1 on Sunday (post coming!)
Miss anything? Crystal Light Iced Tea
Movement: Multiple times every day.
Cravings: Not really, but I've been eating everything so I'm not sure what I would be craving.
Anything making you queasy? Reading on the Metro. I'm pretty sure that is not pregnancy related, though.
Gender prediction: We find out soon!
Mood: Pretty good-- I cannot wait to start our holiday celebrations!
Looking forward to: 2 days until Christmas!!!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Welcome to the World!
Welcome to the world,
Margot Leslie McDonald
Born to proud parents Meg and Tucker
Friday, December 16 at 5:47pm
7lbs, 4 Oz and 19 inches long
We're looking forward to meeting this precious girl!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
18 weeks
We've been so busy with our holiday party (pictures coming soon) and buying presents that this week has flown by. But I'm definitely aware of the pregnancy: this is the week that my belly "popped." All of a sudden I went from looking a little fat to looking obviously pregnant.
How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +4.5lbs, but I'm hoping that 3.5lb weight gain in 2 weeks was just a fluke and not all the cookies I ate this weekend
Bump showing? Yes
Maternity clothes? The great thing about having a real baby bump is that I can wear most normal shirts now and look pregnant (not fat). But maternity pants are a must-have these days.
Sleep: Pretty good- See update on Chase's sleep in his 19 month post.
Best moment of the week: Our 1st annual holiday open house on Saturday.
Miss anything? Vino
Movement: Multiple times every day.
Cravings: For a couple of days (basically until I got it), I really wanted cottage cheese. I have good chocolate and skim milk just about every day.
Anything making you queasy? Terrible headache on Tuesady
Gender prediction: We'll find out on January 3-- our ultrasound got moved up a day.
Mood: Pretty good--the holiday cheer is starting to kick in.
Looking forward to: 10 days until Christmas!
Stephen and I looked back at photos from my pregnancy with Chase (see here) and think my bump is about the size it was at 23 weeks last time... which is 5 weeks larger!
How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +4.5lbs, but I'm hoping that 3.5lb weight gain in 2 weeks was just a fluke and not all the cookies I ate this weekend
Bump showing? Yes
Maternity clothes? The great thing about having a real baby bump is that I can wear most normal shirts now and look pregnant (not fat). But maternity pants are a must-have these days.
Sleep: Pretty good- See update on Chase's sleep in his 19 month post.
Best moment of the week: Our 1st annual holiday open house on Saturday.
Miss anything? Vino
Movement: Multiple times every day.
Cravings: For a couple of days (basically until I got it), I really wanted cottage cheese. I have good chocolate and skim milk just about every day.
Anything making you queasy? Terrible headache on Tuesady
Gender prediction: We'll find out on January 3-- our ultrasound got moved up a day.
Mood: Pretty good--the holiday cheer is starting to kick in.
Looking forward to: 10 days until Christmas!
Stephen and I looked back at photos from my pregnancy with Chase (see here) and think my bump is about the size it was at 23 weeks last time... which is 5 weeks larger!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Chase at 19 months!
(note, we updated the 18 month post with pictures)
It's so funny to look back at the pictures of little-bitty baby Chase and compare them to the funny, active, adventurous, talkative toddler we have today. He really is quite a person, with distinct likes and dislikes and ways to voice his opinions. Chase is also a daredevil and is becoming less worried about "fall down" as he learns he can climb up on almost everything.
At 19 months, Chase is:
Talking and Singing: Again, I can't list all of his new words, but he has something new to say almost every day. He repeats phrases like "Daddy feed bitty birdie." (He calls the birds that eat on our bird-feeder "bitty birdie. Not sure why). This month he also started telling us what songs he likes to sing and really singing along. Baa Baa Blacksheep, Elmo had 4 Ducks, and 6 Little Ducks are among his favorites--he likes quacking.
Peeing on the potty: (!!!!!) Chase has peed on his potty at least 10 times. We ask him if he wants to go pee-pee on the potty and he says yes, so we take off the diaper and put him on the potty and he pees! We cheer him on and celebrate like it's New Years Eve. We even do the "Pee-Pee on the Pah-tay" dance. Chase is especially good about doing it before baths and early in the morning. We're not trying to get our hopes up because he doesn't show a lot of the signs of being ready to potty train, but we're still happy about this development.
Starting to sleep later: I really don't want to jinx myself by writing this, but Chase has started to sleep later. He even slept past 7am a few days in a row! Twice he woke up around 5:45 and we rocked him back to sleep and he stayed down until almost 8am. Again, I hate to get my hopes up, but maybe he is catching on to how cool sleep really is (especially for his pregnant mommy).
A daredevil: He's started climbing his bookcase....and on the coffee table....and up on all of the chairs...and on the railings on the outside of the stairs.
Getting used to daycare: This month Chase transitioned to daycare. For reasons beyond our control (and not to our liking), our nanny share dissolved and we had to give up our fabulous nanny, Carol. Chase started in an in-home daycare around the corner from our house. The first couple of weeks were rough--he was happy to be around other kids but missed Carol, was sad he couldn't play outside as much, did not adjust well to the new 1-nap schedule, and (worst of all) cried every time I left him there. But they are very good to him and he likes the kids and caregivers so things have gotten much better. I still wouldn't say that he is excited when we arrive, but he gives me a kiss and goes to one of the ladies or goes to play. He still gets excited when we see Carol and yells "CAROL!" when we tell him that she is coming to visit.
Making best friends with Mueller: Chase knows where Mueller's treats are and likes to give them to him often. It's not uncommon for him to give Mueller 3 treats in a row (or shove one in Mueller's mouth while he's still eating). Mueller is very patient with Chase....this only helps!
Not quite throwing tantrums, but...Coming pretty close. There are a number of things he does not like such as having his diaper changed, taking away a toy he is playing with, catching him when he is trying to run away (even in busy parking lots) or waiting for his "Nigh nigh bah bah". He's been known to throw a fit, although it's usually short of a full blown tantrum. So far there is crying and whining but no screaming. We also steer clear of taking him out to eat when it will be a long wait and try to avoid stores because we are not prepared for a full blown public tantrum.
Getting ready for Christmas: Chase loves the Christmas tree, especially "the balls!" on it. We put lights up all over the first floor for our holiday party this weekend that Chase insists we turn on. He plays music in his Charlie Brown Christmas book. He knows Santa says "ho ho ho ho," although he would NOT go anywhere near Santa when we were at the mall the other day. He moves the ornaments on our Advent Calendars and even hurried Christmas along by putting them ALL up. Every day Chase counts down to Christmas by gluing more cotton to Santa's beard. I'm excited to share his excitement this year.
And now for some more (low-quality iPhone) pictures!
Playing with Mama's brushes:
On the CHOO CHOO at the mall
Wearing his Red Sox hat that he put on all by himself.
It's so funny to look back at the pictures of little-bitty baby Chase and compare them to the funny, active, adventurous, talkative toddler we have today. He really is quite a person, with distinct likes and dislikes and ways to voice his opinions. Chase is also a daredevil and is becoming less worried about "fall down" as he learns he can climb up on almost everything.
At 19 months, Chase is:
Talking and Singing: Again, I can't list all of his new words, but he has something new to say almost every day. He repeats phrases like "Daddy feed bitty birdie." (He calls the birds that eat on our bird-feeder "bitty birdie. Not sure why). This month he also started telling us what songs he likes to sing and really singing along. Baa Baa Blacksheep, Elmo had 4 Ducks, and 6 Little Ducks are among his favorites--he likes quacking.
Peeing on the potty: (!!!!!) Chase has peed on his potty at least 10 times. We ask him if he wants to go pee-pee on the potty and he says yes, so we take off the diaper and put him on the potty and he pees! We cheer him on and celebrate like it's New Years Eve. We even do the "Pee-Pee on the Pah-tay" dance. Chase is especially good about doing it before baths and early in the morning. We're not trying to get our hopes up because he doesn't show a lot of the signs of being ready to potty train, but we're still happy about this development.
Starting to sleep later: I really don't want to jinx myself by writing this, but Chase has started to sleep later. He even slept past 7am a few days in a row! Twice he woke up around 5:45 and we rocked him back to sleep and he stayed down until almost 8am. Again, I hate to get my hopes up, but maybe he is catching on to how cool sleep really is (especially for his pregnant mommy).
A daredevil: He's started climbing his bookcase....and on the coffee table....and up on all of the chairs...and on the railings on the outside of the stairs.
Getting used to daycare: This month Chase transitioned to daycare. For reasons beyond our control (and not to our liking), our nanny share dissolved and we had to give up our fabulous nanny, Carol. Chase started in an in-home daycare around the corner from our house. The first couple of weeks were rough--he was happy to be around other kids but missed Carol, was sad he couldn't play outside as much, did not adjust well to the new 1-nap schedule, and (worst of all) cried every time I left him there. But they are very good to him and he likes the kids and caregivers so things have gotten much better. I still wouldn't say that he is excited when we arrive, but he gives me a kiss and goes to one of the ladies or goes to play. He still gets excited when we see Carol and yells "CAROL!" when we tell him that she is coming to visit.
Making best friends with Mueller: Chase knows where Mueller's treats are and likes to give them to him often. It's not uncommon for him to give Mueller 3 treats in a row (or shove one in Mueller's mouth while he's still eating). Mueller is very patient with Chase....this only helps!
Not quite throwing tantrums, but...Coming pretty close. There are a number of things he does not like such as having his diaper changed, taking away a toy he is playing with, catching him when he is trying to run away (even in busy parking lots) or waiting for his "Nigh nigh bah bah". He's been known to throw a fit, although it's usually short of a full blown tantrum. So far there is crying and whining but no screaming. We also steer clear of taking him out to eat when it will be a long wait and try to avoid stores because we are not prepared for a full blown public tantrum.
Getting ready for Christmas: Chase loves the Christmas tree, especially "the balls!" on it. We put lights up all over the first floor for our holiday party this weekend that Chase insists we turn on. He plays music in his Charlie Brown Christmas book. He knows Santa says "ho ho ho ho," although he would NOT go anywhere near Santa when we were at the mall the other day. He moves the ornaments on our Advent Calendars and even hurried Christmas along by putting them ALL up. Every day Chase counts down to Christmas by gluing more cotton to Santa's beard. I'm excited to share his excitement this year.
And now for some more (low-quality iPhone) pictures!
Playing with Mama's brushes:
Wearing his Red Sox hat that he put on all by himself.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
17 weeks
The holidays really make these weeks fly by!
How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I didn't weigh myself this week. Probably a good thing.
Bump showing? Yes
Maternity clothes? Mostly maternity pants; one day I wore my fat/post-baby work pants and I just looked fat. So multiple reasons to stick with maternity pants!
Sleep: Pretty good- I even slept all the way through the night once!
Best moment of the week: Nothing specifically pregnancy-related. Time with the fam!
Miss anything? This week was the first time I missed wine.
Movement: Almost every day! I definitely do not sit still as often as I did when pregnant with Chase so I have to take a few moments and concentrate (after I eat) to feel it.
Cravings: Good chocolate--this baby only likes the best chocolate. No Hersheys for me.
Anything making you queasy? My trip home on the metro
Gender prediction: ????
Mood: Pretty good
Looking forward to: Holiday party this weekend!
How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I didn't weigh myself this week. Probably a good thing.
Bump showing? Yes
Maternity clothes? Mostly maternity pants; one day I wore my fat/post-baby work pants and I just looked fat. So multiple reasons to stick with maternity pants!
Sleep: Pretty good- I even slept all the way through the night once!
Best moment of the week: Nothing specifically pregnancy-related. Time with the fam!
Miss anything? This week was the first time I missed wine.
Movement: Almost every day! I definitely do not sit still as often as I did when pregnant with Chase so I have to take a few moments and concentrate (after I eat) to feel it.
Cravings: Good chocolate--this baby only likes the best chocolate. No Hersheys for me.
Anything making you queasy? My trip home on the metro
Gender prediction: ????
Mood: Pretty good
Looking forward to: Holiday party this weekend!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Joey & Meg's Wedding: Long Overdue Post
Joey and Meg celebrated their marriage on October 23 in Cape May, NJ. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony and a super-fun reception. It was also the first (and only?) time our whole family was in a wedding. Chase wasn't on his best behavior during the ceremony--he sort of wandered off-- but it was all family and good friend and there were lots of kids so it was all good. Jamie Vitale (http://www.jamievitale.com/) took what I'm sure will be gorgeous photos of the wedding. We have the Chase's-eye perspective...
Chase walked down the aisle with his Mommy and Daddy
And had SO MUCH FUN dancing with AJ, Logan, Jack, and Gabriella
The Zayac Family
More little kid dancing- they had a blast!
Mother-Son Dance
Daddy-Daughter Dance
Mommy and Chase
And, of course, the cousin chicken fight!
We had such a great time and can't wait to see the pictures. Then our blog readers might actually get to see the beautiful couple. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
16 weeks
We had a surprisingly easy trip to NY for a fun Thanksgiving with the family. Chase loved seeing Nonnie and Pop (he keeps saying their names), Uncle Billy, Aunt Meg, Addy, and Grandma and Grandpa. Our drive home was pretty easy aside from a projectile vomit episode that covered Chase and the entire car seat. We stopped at the next rest stop, changed Chase’s clothes, and cleaned as much of the car seat as we could then aired it out for a few days at home. I sort of feel like such episodes happen to every parent so it was sort of a rite of passage.
We got back from NY and heard that Grandpa Ness had passed away. It was a hard couple of days. You can see Stephen's post below. I will just say that I hope to leave as positive an impact on my family as Grandpa Ness did and I hope that Stephen and I can be together as long and happily as Grandma and Grandpa Ness were.
As for the pregnancy, this week I have started to feel a lot more pregnant—my bump is now visible and I notice it when I move, I can barely make it to work without stopping to pee, and my boobs have like doubled in size (wahoo!)
How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +1 lb
Bump showing? Yup
Maternity clothes? Started maternity pants this week.
Sleep: Okay
Best moment of the week: Seeing Baby L2 at our ultrasound on Monday
Miss anything? Not being so tired.
Movement: Almost every day!
Cravings: Yummy skim milk.
Anything making you queasy? Only when I have a headache day but they are becoming fewer and farther between
Gender prediction: Stubborn (see below)
Mood: Pretty good
Looking forward to: Holiday prep this weekend
We got back from NY and heard that Grandpa Ness had passed away. It was a hard couple of days. You can see Stephen's post below. I will just say that I hope to leave as positive an impact on my family as Grandpa Ness did and I hope that Stephen and I can be together as long and happily as Grandma and Grandpa Ness were.
As for the pregnancy, this week I have started to feel a lot more pregnant—my bump is now visible and I notice it when I move, I can barely make it to work without stopping to pee, and my boobs have like doubled in size (wahoo!)
How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +1 lb
Bump showing? Yup
Maternity clothes? Started maternity pants this week.
Sleep: Okay
Best moment of the week: Seeing Baby L2 at our ultrasound on Monday
Miss anything? Not being so tired.
Movement: Almost every day!
Cravings: Yummy skim milk.
Anything making you queasy? Only when I have a headache day but they are becoming fewer and farther between
Gender prediction: Stubborn (see below)
Mood: Pretty good
Looking forward to: Holiday prep this weekend
We had an ultrasound and doctor’s appointment on Monday. We were so excited to see Baby L (who looked great) and hopefully find out whether it’s a he or a she. Unfortunately, the baby did not cooperate. S/he would not open her/his legs. It was so frustrating. Now we won’t find out the sex until NEXT YEAR (okay, January). Luckily the rest of the appointment was fine and the doctor was happy with all my blood work and everything else.
More pictures to come!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A tribute to Grandpa Ness
James Edward Ness - May 5, 1911 - November 27, 2011
We lost my grandfather over the Thanksgiving holiday. I feel blessed that Helen got meet and get to know him a little and that Chase got to meet him. I will always rememer our trips to the Jersey shore, our rides on the Owl and the Pussy Cat, mini-golf and real golf, being told not to throw stones into the lagoon time and time again, and games of hearts in which Grandpa always had the two of clubs.
We lost my grandfather over the Thanksgiving holiday. I feel blessed that Helen got meet and get to know him a little and that Chase got to meet him. I will always rememer our trips to the Jersey shore, our rides on the Owl and the Pussy Cat, mini-golf and real golf, being told not to throw stones into the lagoon time and time again, and games of hearts in which Grandpa always had the two of clubs.
Grandpa with a tired baby Chase
Chase examining Grandpa
Grandpa holding a heavy, squirmy Chase
Grandpa playing "catch" with Chase
(I have no idea how that shirt got on Chase, if it weren't a cute picture, I would have deleted the evidence months ago)
We love you Grandpa and we know you are with Madison watching over us all.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
iPhone Photo Dump
We're behind on uploading pictures so here are some good ones that were on my iPhone.
Our big boy shopping in the holiday circulars.
Cheese!
Lounging and laughing in his big chair by the train set.
Playing with Nasya at the park
Drinking from a straw like a big boy
Drinking from a plastic wine glass like a BIGGER boy.
Happy in an awesome Home Depot shopping cart.
Horsin' around with Daddy
Playing ball at Mama's elementary school
Wheeeeeeeeeeee!
Our happy boy
Playing with Black Friday circulars. Yes, Chase was moving so fast he was a blur.
Happy Thursday!
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