It’s a GIRL! Today we were so excited to find out we’re expecting a girl. The ultrasound was amazing and the little one looked perfect. She waved and somersaulted for us. There is still no better sound in the world than your baby’s beating heart! I hope to get the ultrasound photos up soon but couldn’t wait to share the news!
We’ve also chosen a name for her, one we’ve had picked out since before we knew that Noah would be a boy. Her full name will be Katherine Claire (named for our mothers) but we plan to call her Kate. I can’t wait to meet her and see what she looks like (will she look like Noah?) but that’s not for 5 more months. It’s going to be a long summer!
So we’re having an addition put on our house in the backyard. Each evening, I go in the back yard and take a picture of the progress. Noah usually follows and then wants to blow bubbles. Today was the same. They just poured our slab (how exciting!) so I went out back and took some pictures and Noah followed … yelling ‘smile … smile’ the whole time. I take some pictures, put the camera back inside and then start blowing bubbles with Noah.
A little later, Dawn comes out and I ask her, “So now that the slab is poured, does it look bigger?” She says, “No” (she’s a little spacially challenged). As we’re both standing there looking at the slab, we hear Noah struggling with something and catch a glimpse of him dragging something out of the living room unto the patio. We both look at each other and say “What is that?”
And then we see what he’s dragging out. It’s my CAMERA!!! We both start shouting, “Noah! Stop!” Aaaaggghhhhh! He finally froze and looked up at us, kinda shocked. Poor guy, I felt kinda bad. But it was my camera! He saw us checking out the slab and thought we might want to take more pictures of it. I would have never thought that he would make that connection, but YIKES!
My poor camera. Its a little scratched up, but seems okay. Whew!
I know, we’ve been MIA for awhile. You’ll never guess why. Noah borrowed the adapter for my memory card (read: we haven’t seen it since) and all the great things he does were trapped on my camera. Well Walter came to the rescue and found a second one we had stashed away. Trust me when I tell you it was worth the wait…
We went to Stir Crazy for lunch last week and while we were waiting for food I put the chopstick helper clamp on a pair of chopsticks. I played with Noah, pinching him and poking him to keep him entertained while we waited. After the food arrived I ignored my plate that was between Noah and I and on the other side started cutting up his food. When I turned I couldn’t believe my eyes. Noah was eating the rice off my plate with chopsticks! We never tried to show him how to use them or even encouraged him. Our big boy figured it out all by himself. He was so proud too, he ate every bite of his lunch. Check out the video below! I wish I took a photo of all the curious waiters that stopped to watch. It was pretty impressive!
We’re pregnant! I know many of our close friends and family are thinking, of course you are, you’ve been pregnant since late December but we’ve finally stopped hiding it from others. Walter wanted to wait until we were far enough along to be comfortable telling work (unfortunately he works with a few dear friends so it meant not telling them either). Now that they know we can shout it from the rooftops. I can’t say I blame Walter for wanting to wait but it was a lot harder this time around for me to keep quiet. It was also hard avoiding all of his coworkers or people who knew them because I got fat fast this time. I could have never hidden this bump like I did with Noah, there’s no denying it or claiming a bad diet.
So the facts are that I’m 13 weeks pregnant, due on October 7th, but measuring a week ahead (just like with Noah who came exactly a week early). The ultrasounds show a little baby shaped jumping bean who has a 50/50 shot of being a brother or a sister. Hopefully we’ll find out more in a few weeks at our next ultrasound.
So thank you all for your well wishes, your “I knew it”-s and your “I told you”-s. We’re so happy to finally be able to share and to have such amazing friends and family to celebrate with.
This weekend we went up to Orlando with the Friedman’s (Rachel, Robby and Ayla) to see our friend (and my colleague) Karla Fountain (www.karlafountain.com). She’s a wedding photographer who is starting to offer family and child portraits. We had a wonderful time playing at the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton up there and we’re so excited to see the photos. Being patient is so challenging! Here are a few from the weddings Karla and I have done together, she’s amazing!
While we were up there we decided to go to SeaWorld as well. We took Noah about a year ago and while he had fun he had no idea what was going on. This time around he was much more into it. We had breakfast with Elmo and his friends where Noah decided they should be BFF. He loved petting Elmo and posing with the other characters. He took several turns going up to see them and wasn’t afraid of anything. Ayla on the other hand needed to warm up a little before getting too close. She’s their biggest fan when it comes to Sesame Street on TV but must have been a little surprised to find out they are so big! Other highlights from the day included the animal shows (doesn’t everyone love Shamu?), the kids’ play area where Noah got to take Walter on a big ride, and the Elmo show. Less enthusiastic moments were highlighted by the meltdowns just prior to nap time. We all had a great time though and with a complimentary upgrade to a seasonal pass we can’t wait to go back!
Ayla warmed up enough to share a smooch with her main man, Elmo!
And the Cookie Monster almost started his stand up act. The characters were so much fun!
And here’s Noah standing in for the real trainers – Shamu, JUMP!
The show was incredible!
And then Noah treated us to some entertainment in the kids’ play area…
Before dragging Walter on to Jazzy Jellies. Walter says he grinned ear to ear through the whole ride. He didn’t want to get off! I could never go on this thing, it makes me queasy to think about the spinning!
And Ayla had her caricature drawn -
While they napped we checked out some more animals…
Once they were up we made our way over to “Elmo and the Bookaneers”. I’ve never seen these two so mesmerized! Noah sat still through the entire show (quite a feat if you know him), he clapped, Ayla danced, it really was a treat! It’s funny how you get so much joy from your child’s happiness once you’re a parent. I never would have gone to this show before Noah and now I’m thinking it was one of the best parts of the whole day. Go figure!
For Noah’s birthday Aunt Lindy wanted to get him a Sit ‘N Spin. Couped up in the house the other day we decided to get it early to keep us busy. Shopping for it was fun. We decided on a Simon Says Sit ‘N Spin. I remember both of these toys vividly and its so funny to have my kid playing with versions of both almost 30 years later.
Here’s him giving it a try. He’s getting much more proficient!
Happy Easter! This was Noah’s second Easter but the first one where he really seemed to get what was going on (well the eggs and chocolate part anyway). We opened up the basket the Easter Bunny left at home and then went to church where they had an egg hunt and butterfly release. Afterwards we all went to brunch then headed home for a nap. In the evening we went to Walter’s parents for dinner and a little more grandchild spoiling. We had a great Easter and thank goodness Noah is feeling much better!
Everyone has been asking where our new posts are. I got three up today but wanted to tell you why it’s taken so long - my poor Noah has been so sick! He has some sort of virus that gave him a very high temperature and all that goes with it (sleeplessness, cranky, food strike, etc) and we’ve been juggling Pedialyte and naps for the past week. Today his temperature was down but he broke out into a horrible rash all over his torso. He’s currently working on a 3 hour nap and I hope he feels better when he gets up but this was the scene at our home Monday night.
Yes I’m mean for taking photos. Poor guy was so miserable. Walter looked chipper until Noah woke up at 3am and demanded a Curious George marathon (until 5am or so) and juice. We have been total zombies all week!
Our great friends Jeff and Ariana came to Miami for one last hurrah before Baby Jack comes (he’s due to be here on my birthday – and ironically Noah shares a birthday with Jeff). Walter took the day off so we could all go down and visit with them. For those of you who don’t know Jeff and Ari they started out as one of my wedding couples a few years back and through the planning process we developed a relationship. Ariana was also my assistant for quite some time. We miss you both dearly!
Anyway we drove down (which due to traffic quite unfortunately took 3 hours, yes THREE, yes, with a nearly 2 year old) and enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Joe’s Stone Crab. Seriously, we should have taken a photo of the onion rings, they had to be as big as Noah’s head. Then we went down to the beach to walk around a bit.
Money! Totally a different post but Noah has developed a love for money (change, bills, credit cards – not sure who he gets this from). He had this nickel in his pocket all day and took it out to admire it while we walked. I wonder if he thought the ocean was the biggest wishing well ever. He loves to toss coins into fountains but he held onto his nickel.
Aren’t these two so adorable!? Their kid is going to be so posh and quite an artist, if he even gets a quarter of his parents’ talent and taste.
Here they were almost 2 years ago on their wedding day. Awwwww…
Last weekend we went to Wakodahatchee to stroll the boardwalk and check out the wildlife. The weather was beautiful! Noah hates having the sun in his eyes but hates sunglasses and hats just as much. We actually got him to leave his glasses on for a bit though and man, was he stylin’!
Every bird at the park was a duck – according to Noah at least. Anything with feathers, and he told everyone. We asked him at one point “do you see the heron?” and he responded – DUCK. Ok, it’s a duck.
So whenever I do or say something crazy (or responsible but unwelcomed) Walter gives me “a look”. The look usually implies “are you crazy!?”. Now that Noah is old enough to play along Walter will tell Noah to help him “give Mommy a look”. Below is what I get every time. Noah thinks it’s hysterical.
After our walk we went over to Grammi and Papa’s for lunch. Everyone always asks how mom is doing (thank you) and how her hair is growing. We made her pose with Noah so you can see for yourself.
