Family Pictures

Check out some of the new family pictures we took!! Can you tell we are ready for FOOTBALL!
Also if you've been following, I'm currently 30 weeks along. Only a short 10 weeks to go until we finally get to meet our baby girl.

New Vehicle!

After many months of going back and forth about what to purchase, we finally made a decision. Yesterday we finally got the chance to purchase a new family vehicle. Last month we visited Heritage Honda in Parkville to look at the Honda Pilots, we also checked out Jones Junction, but we found that they didn't have any 2009 Toyota Highlander. We had to drive all the way to Laurel to test drive the Highlander at the Carmax. We weren't very impressed with either Carmax or the Highlander period. Unlike the Pilot the Highlander didn't have a second row bench seat, but this tiny seat that obviously no one will want to sit in. Plus the Highlander was more expensive.

Yesterday morning we started earlier and went Norris Honda in Dundalk to find out that they didn't have any 2010 Honda Pilots and they weren't expecting to get any until mid-October, so we decided to head to Heritage Honda. We arrived around 9:30 and didn't leave there until about noon with a new Charcoal Pilot. It's pretty awesome with tons of room, which we needed with two big 75lb dogs and a little girl on the way, and yes I like being up higher too. I will miss my civic though. She will be with us for another few weeks and then she being sent on her way. My Dad will be taking her.

Check out some of the pictures we took of the new Honda.

What a busy week!

This week has been awful busy and long for Tim and I. On Sunday night we had dinner with AJ and Michelle in White Marsh at Kobe's Japanese Steakhouse. This place is very similar to Sakura's. I'm really not sure there was much difference. Other then maybe the price. Last Christmas I won a gift card for Kobe's and yes finally I used it in August. Michelle and AJ also got some great news that they will be excepting a baby girl in January. Both Michelle and I are super excited because our little girls will have playmates. Actually Michelle has tons of friends who just just had babies, so I'm sure her little one can even find a few boyfriends down the road. By Monday evening my feet were so swollen from being on my feet to much. Last weekend, we attended a 30Th Surprise Birthday party for Ricky Smith (Stacy- his wife did an awesome job of completely surprising him). Earlier Saturday Aunt Linda and I took a shopping trip to Babiesrus. I promise you that I didn't buy a single thing for Baby A. Sunday I meet up with my mom and her and I went to Babiesrus in Towson, so she could shop for her first grandchild. By Sunday evening my feet were so swollen, that I was hoping people would not notice.

Monday was a rest day for us, other then working. Tuesday we had our 28 week appointment, were I got great news. I passed my 1-hour glucose test and my placenta has corrected itself. We also found out that I'm anemic, so I've been taking iron pills on top of my prenatal. We also are now seeing the doctor every 3 weeks instead of every 4 weeks.

Wednesday Tim and I toured the maternity ward and were happy to see that we aren't the only one pregnant. The highlight of Tim's night was when 11 couples, that would be 5 pregnant women almost got stuck in a tiny elevator. I was slowly freaking out, but we were lucky enough that the elevator came back down to the main floor and opened. Thank you Lord!

Last night Tim and I are had our first Child birthing class. We both enjoyed the class. Tim learned some massage techniques and I learned some new breathing techniques as well. We have homework for next week. To bring in a sonogram pictures of the baby (which will become our focal point during active labor), we were also asked to put plastic trash bags on all seats in our vehicle, just in case my water breaks in the car. I officially have 11 weeks to go until baby A's due date.

This weekend we have a pretty relaxed weekend in store. We have our first interview with a pedi and then we are running errands and hopefully hanging out with friends. I may even surprise Tim with a few baked dishes. I just gotta find something that looks good.

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend.

Pictures of the Nursery

Please note that the nursery is still a work in progress, but here's a few pictures of what Tim and I have accomplished so far. In the first picture, you'll see the crib with the bedding "Angelica" that we purchased from Babies r us. In the second picture you'll see the new curtains and valance with the 30 year old rocking chair that my parents rocked me in when I was a baby. We also added four white shelves in the room, just to place nic nacs. And no those dinosaurs won't be staying there. They have been put up there, because Josie and Roscoe think those toys are for them.

In the third picture, you'll see the changing table from JCPenny's and the "Miracles come in small packages" decal that I ordered from www.etsy.com. And the last picture is really Tim's handy work at it's best. The baby's room is a tad bit bigger then our full bathroom. He has a very big closet. As one of my friends said "She'll need all that closet space for all the cute little outfits she'll be wearing". Anyway, Tim added the closet orangizer. I'm so proud of him for working so hard on the room. We have a few extra things to add to the room, like the baby's name that will be hanging and a few pictures and decals too.

The Prime Rib

On Friday night Tim and I went to dinner with Jen and Dan at the Prime Rib in Baltimore (Mt. Vernon area of town). After reading several reviews online and checking out the Baltimore Restaurant week menu, we decided to try the Prime Rib. If your not aware of BRW, twice a year once in the summer and once in the winter Baltimore restaurant host a week of economy friendly meals to the general public. The first year, Tim and I started checking out BRW, there was only about 30 or so restaurant participating, but now there is over 80 restaurants. For lunch you can purchase a 3 course meal for $20.09 and for dinner a three course meal for $30.09.

So on Friday night we arrived at the Prime Rib and decided to have our vehicle valet parked (because there was no street parking in the area and no parking garage in site). We arrived about 20 minutes early and waited in the Bar for Jen and Dan. I wore a skirt and a cute top and Tim dress pants and a button down shirt. Usually this place requires jackets. Well once we arrived, we noticed that the wait staff was wearing tuxes and the men and women were dressed to a T. Um, yeah do you feel under dressed. By the time dinner was over with a younger crowded was in full swing of the place. Tim ordered house salad, the prime rib and creme brulee, I ordered Caesar salad, filet and creme brulee. Jen ordered house salad, salmon and creme brulee and Dan got Caesar salad, prime rib and Key Lime Cheesecake. Yum. We had a great time talking and enjoying ourselves. I think next year, we are going to just check out a place with less of dress code.

It's a girl!!

Or at least that's what the tech told us. We have an appointment tomorrow with our doctor to go over the results of our ultrasound and to go over my blood lab results too. We are just hoping for some healthy feedback. Tim was super excited to see "our little monkey" move all over the place. She was just to cute. We can't wait to meet her in November. Here are some pictures that the tech gave us.

Vacation Review part 3- Zion Canyon

After having two wonderful days at the Grand Canyon we headed North to Zion Canyon. We left the Grand Canyon Village, and headed north along the scenic highway. Right before we were leaving the park, I said to Tim. "You know we haven't seen any large animals, just squirrels and rabbits!". Well out of the blue walk these two huge elk. I'm not sure if you've ever seen Elk before, but they were huge. I'm kind of sad, because we didn't have any time to grab our camera's to take some shots. We stopped at a few smaller overlooks before exiting the south rim. One was an old Watch tower and the just another overlook to check out the canyon.

We drove for about 4 hours, through the Indian Reservation until we came to Lake Powell. I thought for sure, we had gone back into time, because it was dry, hot and there was nothing there. Here are some pictures that we took on the road. The first shot is of the road and the emptiness and the second shot is us driving into the mountain (well it looks like it).


We finally arrived at Zion Canyon around 4 p.m. and I was just taken away by the beautiful of this national park. We had to drive through the park, which took us awhile, because we got stuck behind a tour bus and it was driving quite slow. We finally arrived at our hotel the Driftwood Lodge. The second day we decided to take the shuttle into the park, where we stopped at almost every stop before heading in for the night. The best stops of the second day was the Middle and Upper Emerald pools, the weeping rock and Angels Landing, which we didn't attempt, because I was pregnant. Here are a few shots of the Emerald pools and the weeping Rock.

The first set of pictures are from the Emerald pools. Now you must understand there was three trails you could take to all three pools. Tim decided to take the trail to the middle pool and once we left there, he wanted to go to the upper pool. It had to be the hottest day on record at the park, because I roasted and drink almost a one liter of water just that day. Obviously very good for the baby and me, but I did complain a ton and I'm just graceful that Tim didn't kill me.





The second half of the day we spent check out the weeping rock and some other parts of the park. Here is the weeping rock, in these pictures you can't really see the water seeping from the rocks, but it's there. It was a nice relief from the hot weather to just walk under the water.



The last day at the park we decided to take the trail to the Narrows. Again if was so overcast and I wasn't pregnant, we would of different hiked the Narrows. The trail starts off on a paved walk way and ends up walking in the River. The morning we went out there, the water temperature was 45 degrees, just a tad chilly and the forecast was calling for a chance of rain. There was no way we could hike the narrows with the chance of flash flooding. But I did take some pictures of Tim braving the cold water, crossing the narrows and walk almost until I couldn't see him again. I wasn't sure if he decided to go without me or what. The first picture is us walking on the paved trail to the river. Check out the nice rock hanging over. The second picture is of Tim in the river and then third picture is of me in the river.



The last picture is of a deer we spotted on the way back to the shuttle bus. As we were exiting the park heading toward Bryce Canyon, we decided to take one last shot of Zion. We had a great time in Zion and definitely can't wait to return with our children one day.