A Trip Out West

Or should I say, my last hoorah before baby??? I went to visit Susan (childhood best friend), Chad and Ava Larkin in Phoenix and returned yesterday. It was 6 days of relaxing, bonding and fun. Susan and I were able to spend some great quality time together, as well as some fun playtime with Ava. We also had an opportunity to see another childhood friend of mine, Erica Bassett, for lunch one day. Of course, I missed my two favorite boys and little Maggie while I was gone!! Daddy and Tyler had a great "boys weekend". Tim was able to take the entire time off of work and got some projects done (painted the nursery!!!) and hung out with his little buddy. Now that I am back, it is time to prepare for baby!Erica, Blythe and SusanAva and BlytheBlythe and Susan - two expecting mamas!Chad, Susan and Ava with Susan's parents, Art and Beverly (and Fritz and Nora!)Ava and Blythe at the airport

Baby Update - 30 Weeks

The countdown begins!! I think we are heading for the home-stretch. At least it feels like it! I had another 2 week check-up yesterday. This time, at the new practice that I have switched to and I love it! What a HUGE relief. I don't recommend switching ob/gyn's in your third trimester, but you do what you have to do. And, let me say, this was a smooth transition. They welcomed me with open arms and were extremely nice. I will now be delivering at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. Not only is this a great hospital, but it is much closer to our house and it is where I have been working part-time for the last 2 years. How convenient!! The baby and I are progressing as we should - good weight gain, measuring accurately, perfect blood pressure, and a healthy, fast heartbeat! Supposedly, the baby is head-down, which is something new for us. Tyler was a little stubborn in this aspect. Go figure. Let's see if this one stays that way!

IT SNOWED!!!!

And, it actually stuck to the ground!!! (for now.....) We had so much fun playing with Tyler in the snow. It is a shame that it was dark by the time there was a good amount of snow on the ground. He loved it!!! This was his first "real" experience with it. Here are some pictures of the snow!

Baby Update - 28 Weeks

Another appointment down on the books!!! It was a bittersweet appointment. When I say that, I mean the appointment itself (baby and all) went completely well. The not-so-great part is that we may have to reconsider the hospital we deliver at, or even more so, our physician. Good news first: I measured exactly 28cm, which is a precise measurement for my week! My blood pressure was excellent and the baby's heartbeat was in the 140-150 bpm range. Oh, and I managed to have only gained 3 pounds since my last one 4 weeks ago!! I was excited since I did partake in many yummy holiday meals (and treats) lately. Bad news: We just found out that our obstetrician does have rights at Northside Hospital, which we've known (and where I delivered Tyler), but her on-call rotation MD's do not. (Background tidbit - this is a new ob/gyn since Tyler was born....) So, in other words, if I go into labor and she isn't available, we are sort of in a bit of a situation - don't ask what we'd do, because I haven't a clue. Yes, we are just learning of this now - 12 weeks from due date. So, the question is: Do we change hospitals?? Do we change physicians?? Do we change both?? Stay tuned - we need to sleep on this one!!! I am sure everything will work out beautifully, it has just been an emotional day. The most important thing is that baby and momma are doing just fine! :)

Christmas Day 2007

Christmas was extra special for us this year since we had all of our family in town. My sister, Suzanna, was in town for 9 days from Denver, Tim's brother, Jordan and his girlfriend, Denise, were in town from Charleston for a couple of days, and Tim's grandmother, "Granna", was in town from Baltimore for a couple of weeks. It was truly the perfect holiday. We spent Christmas Eve at our house, where Chef Jordan (yes, he really is a chef!!!) made us a wonderful spread of appetizers to munch on as we relaxed and anticipated Santa's arrival. It was delicious, and was perfectly proportioned to "prep" our tummies for our big dinner the next day. After everyone left, Tim and I managed to get our overly-excited toddler down for the night and prepared for Santa's arrival. Being Tyler's third Christmas, it felt like his first, since this was the first year he really understood the meaning and festivities. He would even go around calling it Jesus' Birthday! We tried to explain both the fun and religious side of it.Tyler with Aunt Suzanna and Mimi on Christmas Eve. Santa came!! Maggie finishing off what Santa and his reindeer left.

Christmas Day started with us waking up Tyler (yes, we are kids at heart!!) and getting our morning started with gifts! He couldn't believe his eyes when we came down the stairs and saw his train and other gifts waiting for him. He does exist!! ;) We opened our gifts, including most of Tyler's. He was so preoccupied with his train. So much, that he missed breakfast, too.

Once our morning festivities were over, we got dressed and ready for Jordan, Denise, Granna and Nana to come over for more gift-giving.
After we were done at our house, we loaded up and headed over to my Blythe's parents' house for our big feast and more gifts! We had an absolutely wonderful meal. It was our first official holiday in their new house. It was perfect.

The Daniels/Jordan Family

Jordan, Denise, Judy, Tim, Granna, Tyler, Blythe Suzanna (Sophia!), Margie and Jerry

Season's Eatings!

We have a new tradition in the Daniels' home where we set aside a day to do a assortment of holiday baking, about a week before Christmas. It usually consists of an array of yummy treats, including: decorated cookies, toffee bark, homemade marshmallows, snickerdoodles, etc. This year, Tyler was head pastry chef with the sugar cookies. He did a mighty fine job! Here are some pictures of our little baker at work....