2009 Holiday Update

As I mentioned in the previous post, there has been a lot going on. The first was the big snowstorm (SnOMG as one news blog in DC put it) on the weekend of December 18-20. The weekend started with a great "freshmen dorm reunion" dinner with Veronica & Josh, Jen & Brendan, and Kristin (who was in town from the UK). Everyone is so happy and doing so well :-). We had terrific Mexican food followed by some cupcakes ;-). We decided on Thursday that we would probably not be leaving the house during the storm on Saturday and stocked up on food and baking supplies. When we finally woke up (around 11am), there was already 9 inches of snow!










Stephen had to go outside to shovel a walkway so that Madison, with her 5 inch legs, could get out to use the restroom










Which was successful: .














Mueller was especially excited about the snow and bounded through like a little bunny. Sadly for him, but hilariously for us, he is nothing like a bunny and his bounding jumps were really funny to watch. He also kept losing his ball in the snow which really frustrated him (to say the least).




We baked molasses cookies and biscotti and watched movies and basketball. When all was said and done, we had about 15 inches of snow! It took about an hour to clean off the car and clear the sidewalk in front of the house, but walking around the neighborhood Sunday afternoon there were many uncleaned sidewalks and cars still piled high with snow, which just froze and got more difficult to clear the next day, so we were glad we (well, mostly Stephen) did it.

After our fun in the snow, we headed up to Massachusetts for the holidays and got to spend lots of long-awaited time with Debbie, Alex, Carrie, Geoff, Amelia, and Owen. We lounged around the house, played with the kids, only had to go to the mall once, wrapped lots of gifts, and ate tons of delicious food. Stephen and Geoff caught a Celtics game (and picked up Celtics attire for the children and child-to-be) and we got to see the kids in Boston at the Stimello Christmas Party (see facebook for pics). Christmas started a bit early (6:19am thanks to a very excited little 2 3/4 year old), but it was worth getting up early because Santa was very good to everyone.


We got down to NY in time to hang out with Joey and Meg before Joey left for the ship on Sunday morning and then had a mini-Christmas celebration at Grandma & Grandpa's house where we were again overwhelmed with great gifts.

On the way back to DC, we stopped in and saw Stephen's grandparents, so we got ANOTHER Christmas celebration. Overall, our week of travel and holiday celebrations was fantastic-- we got to relax some and were surrounded by our families.


On the pregnancy front, the only news to report is that the bump is now babybump-like rather than too-much-beer-and-pizza-like, which means that I can wear tighter tops again! This effectively triples my wardrobe (it would be more, but not all tight shirts are appropriate these days) and encourages more bump pictures. Here I am at 21 weeks 1 day:


We got a fabulous SLR camera so we can take (and post, obv) high-quality baby photos. In the meantime, we've taken many pictures of Mueller and Madison. Unfortunately, we have not downloaded the software so we have not been able to get the pictures off the new camera yet...so check back soon!

And the baby is.....

....Right on track for 22 weeks! Today we went in for our "BIG" ultrasound. This is the ultrasound where they do tons of measurements, count organs, and (for many) determine the baby's sex. Since Baby Lamont's sex won't be revealed until May, we enjoyed the first two and asked for lots of pictures. The baby has two kidneys, a four-chambered heart, ten fingers, ten toes, a long spine, ribs, a giant brain, and weighs 1lb. But we know you want pictures--Enjoy!



"Feed me" or (since this is our child) chatting away about whatever:



Another profile:



Waving hello (and see you in 18 weeks):



Which one of us does the baby look like? Neither of us will take it personally ;-). This picture is actually less alien-like than at 17 weeks.



And finally, the giant foot. Anyone who has heard Stephen coming down the stairs will know exactly where the baby gets this characteristic from.



We have lots to update you on, like the 15 inches of snow (woo hoo!) our wonderful holidays in the northeast, New Years Eve in Bethesda, and a growing baby bump. Check back soon!

My lovely baby bump....

Hooray, 19 weeks! I hadn't planned on posting this week, but I got some requests for bump pictures. Despite my protests that my bump is still not very big, the bump comments I've received at work this week make me think pictures are warranted. Here I am at 16 weeks:

And today at 19 weeks, 2 days:

















(One of these days I will take a picture where I'm not in sweats...)

And here's the weekly update--

Pregnancy: 19 weeks!

Sleep: No problems (knock on wood)

Gender: Still unknown. I took an online quiz and it said 60% girl, 40% boy, but since my bump is not big enough to clasify as "high" or "low" or "straight out" or "wide," it's hard to trust the results.

Feeling: Elated- I'm just so happy about our family and the baby and the holidays. I'm walking around smiling. Maybe this is the glow they talk about.

Health/Exercise: It's freezing out in the mornings-- 17 degrees with the wind chill this morning--but Mueller and I are still running! Now it's closer to 45mins and one morning we only walked, but I'm so pleased I've been able to keep it up.

Movement/Kicks: There has been a huge increase in movement-It actually feels like the baby is kicking now. I have felt a few low jabs and some flops almost every day since late last week. The Munchkin was especially active when we were out on Saturday night (see below)--maybe because he or she was enjoying the music? Stephen has not felt the baby yet, but we're hoping it happens soon. Maybe all the delicious holiday desserts will help...

Maternity Clothes: Almost every day. I had some luck at H&M this past weekend (they actually have a pretty decent maternity section). As I mentioned, people at work are noticing the bump more, and I think that's in part because the maternity clothes show it off. Luckily I've also found some new options in my old wardrobe that look good, so I'm not limited yet.

Belly Button: Still in. It better stay that way.

Highlight of the week: This was such a great week with so many highlights...We got to see my family this weekend and then went out with the Trinity kids on Saturday night for Paul's birthday:












And here's a cute close-up of us with Bryan and Abby:

And as if all that weren't enough, on Monday I had a lovely lunch with my friend Jen and her adorable 15-month old daughter, Delaney. Jen had lots of mommy-to-be tips and Delaney gave us lots of laughs. And Jen made me even more excited to be a mom when she said "Everyday I look at her and know she is the best thing I have ever done." Awww...

Plus, tomorrow night we are having a mini-freshman year reunion: Kristin is back from the UK for the holidays and we're going out with her, Jen & Brendan, and Veronica & Josh. I can't wait to see everyone :-)

Upcoming Milestones: In 5 days we will be half way there! And in 8 days it's Christmas!