Ring on a String

So, at this point in pregnancy where you look like you've been eating far too many donuts, not like there's a squishy, awesome little baby growing inside you and when you still feel well enough to be with busy sewing projects and painting but don't know enough about the little one to get started, you have to find something to do with all the baby energy. 

Sometimes, this leads me to the internet.  And the internet has all kinds of funny things to say.

I got into Googling the good ol' gender prediction
myths the other day and I, of course, started toying around to see what the predictions are for this little one. 

So, I tried the Ring on a String myth.  I never did this with Will, so it was really freaking me out when I did it the first time.  I tied my ring onto some string and held it over my belly and it started moving!  So, naturally, I started walking all around the house holding it over everything to see if anything else made the ring move. 

I held it over my computer - stayed still.

I held it over my sink - stayed still.

I held it over Will's cars - stayed still.

I held it over the dog - stayed still.

I held it over my hand - stayed still.

Put it back over my belly again - whoosh. 

I don't understand the mystical properties behind this myth, but it's freaking me out.  

P.S. Don't you wish you knew if it moved in a circle or back and forth?  Well, you'll just have to wonder for now!  But, to be honest, some sites say that a circle is a girl and back and forth is a boy, while others say that a circle is a boy and back and forth is a girl.  So - who knows what to believe!

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Tidbits

Interesting facts (or, perhaps, if you don't find them interesting, just some facts) for your Thursday:

1) I bought this for Will today.  He mostly just chews on his pacifier these days, and this seems like a better option.  I suppose it would be phase one in the pacifier weaning as well.

2) I'm 17 weeks pregnant today.  In 3 weeks I will be lying in an ultrasound room getting my 20 week anatomy scan and hopefully finding out if this little one is a guy or a gal.  September 12th can't come soon enough!

3) This is the most genius thing I've ever seen and I'm trying not to cry buckets of tears that I can't have one. 

4) The fruit fly infestation of my kitchen has completely diminished due to three factors: OCD cleaning and covering of food, a magical concoction of apple cider vinegar and baking soda down my drain, and a flying bug killer placed in my kitchen. '

5) School is back in session which means I don't need an alarm clock to wake me up at 7:30a each morning and it gets very busy outside my house at 12:20p and 3:30p each day.  On the bright side, I don't really need a clock anymore.

6) Thinking about baby names is stressful stuff.  I forgot what an ordeal it was last time.  Being responsible for someone's name is rough.  I think we have current favorites for a boy or a girl...but committing is downright impossible.

7) This is pretty awesome, too, as it will work with my current carseat.  Unfortunately, I've yet to see it anywhere cheaper than that. 

8) 40 days until my birthday!

9) 74 days until Will's 2nd birthday!

10) My Star Trek cross stitch is coming along swimmingly.  Be jealous. Also, I think I need this.

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6 Years

It's a little hard to believe sometimes that Geoff and I have been married for 6 years! 

This year, we did things pretty low key for the Anniversary.  Our actual anniversary was on Sunday and we didn't do a whole lot to "celebrate" per se.  We had a nice family breakfast, went to church, and had dinner over at our friend's Danny and Amanda's place.  I told Amanda it was a delightful treat for me because I didn't have to cook on my anniversary! But, really, we had a great time. 

Then, since Geoff has Monday's off, I took off Monday the 19th for us to go out.  We started the day by taking Will over to ride the Steam Train in Berkeley.  It was a short, beautiful ride through redwood trees with views of the bay and San Francisco.  Mama G and Cole joined us for the train ride and a picnic.  It was so surreal to take a turn off one of the busiest freeways in the country and then find ourselves winding our way up a mountain pass.  The Bay Area is really an incredible place that in 15 minutes you can go from the city to mountains and to the ocean.

After the train ride and lunch, Mama G took the boys back home while Geoff and I took Daddy G's convertible back down the mountain and over to go bowling.  We found an alley nearby that had 99 cent games on Mondays and Tuesdays.  It was a blast.  We really enjoy bowling - we used to do it weekly (if not more) when we were dating.  We are both a bit out of shape for it now (after three games, we were toast!), but we had a really good time.  I even beat Geoff one game.

We had already made reservations for dinner at a restaurant on the Berkeley pier called Skates on the Bay.  We had requested a window seat for our anniversary and the views promised to be incredible (and they didn't disappoint!).  But, we realized we were both wearing shorts and weren't exactly ready for an expensive dinner on the water.  So, we spent the tail end of the afternoon doing a little bit of shopping.  Then, we head over the restaurant where Geoff had steak and I had a stuffed pork chop. 

At one point, when I was ordering the Salmon, the waiter mentioned that it was cooked rare and wondered if that was a problem.  I mentioned to him that I was pregnant and really didn't want to get raw fish, so I ordered the pork instead.

Later, however, when delivering some bread to the table, we had an amusing conversation that went like this:

Waiter: Congratulations, by the way.  Is this number one?
Me (assuming he was referring to the number of anniversaries): No, this is our 6th!
Waiter: No, way.  There's no way you are old enough...
Geoff: What she means is it's our 6th wedding anniversary, it's our 2nd baby. 
Me: Oh! Dear! Yes, we are here to celebrate our 6th anniversary.  We don't have 6 kids.
Waiter: Well, that makes more sense!  Congratulations on both!

Geoff was pretty amused by the whole encounter.  I blame pregnancy brain. 

But, it was a lovely day and it's rare that Geoff and I go out and do something just the two of us, so it was a treat! 

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Life is Precious

Disclaimer: This is such a hard topic to put on my blog.  I feel like with such a sensitive topic, it's so easy to be misunderstood.  So, please read with an open mind.

So, I'd be lying if I didn't say that it was a little bit of a tough, emotional weekend for me.  August 11th would have been my due date for my little one that I lost in January.  I have a lot of faith that things work the way they are supposed to and there is no way I could adequately express (without sounding like a weirdo - yet, here I am, attempting it anyway) how much I learned from that little baby.  But I am truly grateful for the experience that I was able to have.  That little baby gave me so much in 9 weeks. 

So much more appreciation for my incredible little boy who I can't help by squeeze just a little tighter when I realize just how precious of a gift it is to have him in my life.

So much more determination to find a new job to bring me closer to family.

So much appreciation for my own body (which I give a hard time a lot) and the amazing things it can do.

So much more faith that there are far greater things than the life and death we experience here.

So much more love for those around me.

So much more compassion for those who experience issues with fertility.

So much strength I didn't know I had.

I'm so blessed and excited to be able to be pregnant again and that things are going so well for this new little one - one I wouldn't be able to meet if I had given birth a few days ago.  So, while it is hard to pass a milestone like this, I am so grateful for that little one and the changes that were brought into my life because of that little life, however brief. 

Note: I think I ended up sounding like a weirdo.

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Promotion

So, Geoff and I have been talking.  And Will is really the greatest kid you could ask for.  He's silly and smart and funny.  He's active and, yet, pretty laid back.  He's a little stubborn - but in all the right ways.  In general, he's done nothing by light up our lives for the past couple of years and we are delighted with how lucky we are to have him in our lives.

So, in recognition of all his great work as our son, we've decided it's time he got a promotion.  To BIG BROTHER.

Yay!  (Grandma is very excited, too!)

That's right, come January 30th, 2014, Mr. Will won't be an only child any more.  Little brother or sister is currently 13 1/2 weeks along and things have been going smoothly!

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A bit boring.

So, I'm kind of boring these days. 

Boring in a good way.  Boring as in routine, I suppose.  Not as in "dull." 

His hair was getting so long, so I styled it a bit during bath time.  And, yes, the Mt. Dew bottle is a bath time favorite.

I've been a little overwhelmed my blessings as of late.  Last week I traveled to Minneapolis, MN for my work's "Pop-Up HQ."  Since we don't have a physical headquarters (yet), we have a quarterly meeting where everyone travels to one spot for a week of co-working and planning.  This was my second one with the company and they are always awesome.  It's so great to get together with the great team and refocus.  I really love my company and my job and I'm so grateful to be a part of this team. I am also so grateful to have my mama nearby now who is willing (and able!) to watch Will when it turns out Geoff and I were on business trips the same week!

Out for a walk in the neighborhood after a much-needed (and very traumatic haircut).

Will just gets smarter and sillier by the moment.  He likes to race.  We took him to the park last night and would have races on the grass.  We count...1, 2, go!!  He's a really independent little guy and if he can do it for himself, he'll find a way.  Nevertheless, when he knows he can't do it, he'll gladly hand it to me or Geoff and ask for help.  He still loves his "cars" has started referring to some of his other favorite things as cars.   The TV and remote are "car", my iPhone is "car", his stroller is "car".  It's cute.  He does say a lot more, too.  He likes to point out mail (mailboxes), flowers, trees (and cars, of course) on our evening walks.  He said bubbles last night for the first time while we were blowing bubbles.  So, that was fun. 

I was cooking dinner one day and I peeked into the living room to see what he was up to and found this scene.

Another dad we ran into at the park last night commented on what a big boy he was (Will was the same height and weight as his 2 and 1/2 year old daughter) but then on what a "great energy" Will had.  He went on to explain that lots of boys his age just seem so out of control and he thought Will was just a great little one.  That made my mommy pride beam a little.  He IS such a good guy.  Laid back and sweet, but still has some serious spunk and personality.

Playing Guitar Hero with dad. He plays half the time and dances the other half.

I'm grateful for California.  I often miss my friends from Fargo, but I know this was the right move for us.  I'm so grateful for a husband who has embraced this beautiful area in which we live and is willing to make a home with his little family - wherever that has taken us. 

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Picture Overload

Rather than try to recap everything we've been up to, I'll do a little photo essay going back to mid-June when Geoff's family came out to visit and took us back to Utah with them up through the 4th of July. And, of course, most of the photos will be Will.  But, Geoff and I were around, too.  :)

Geoff and his family took the ferry from San Francisco - I couldn't go, but this pic makes up for it.

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  This is me and Geoff's sister Steffanie.

Here is Steffanie and another one of Geoff's sisters Angelica looking lovely!

Here's almost all us ladies. Not sure where Becca is!  Left-Right: Jen, Me, Steffanie (quite pregnant for a 12 hour road trip!), Angelica, Shelley)

Jellyfish at the aquarium.

Will seems to have inherited my proclivity of squeezing one's head into banisters.  Luckily these ones outside the aquarium are too close together to get stuck. 

Walking back from the aquarium.

Will being quite a charmer at the Parker family reunion in Utah.  All afternoon at a park?  He was in heaven!

At the family reunion Will had a blast running and tagging all the bases on the softball field.

Back home and Will has finally embraced the joy of slides.

9th Street Park is about a 10 minute walk from our house and I just LOVE to take Will there.  I mean look at the view from the swings!

Into July now.  July 2nd - story time with Grandma and cousin Cole at Grandma's house.

Getting ready for the 3rd of July parade - kisses from Will.

Blowing bubbles at the 4th of July barbecue.  He won't let me do anything for him anymore.  Even holding the bubble jar was a fight.

At one point he got his sunglasses out and just cruised around the barbecue like the cool guy he is.

He thought the fireworks were AMAZING.

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