A Busy December

Time for the weekly update - brought to you by Grandma Peggy's offer to babysit and Grandpa Bob's high speed internet.

First, some very exciting news - Grace and I will be going to visit Christina (my cousin) and her daughter Adilynn in Colorado in late January!! We are very excited - we're flying out on Tuesday, Jan. 20 (Aunt Katie's 23rd Birthday) and we'll be back on that Friday. Mommy's a little nervous about maneuvering Grace and luggage and pregnant belly through the airport by herself, but nothing ventured, nothing gained right? We can't wait to see their home and spend time playing in the snow with them!

Now, on a less exciting note - I am signed up to complete a training course with a company called Berlitz to become an English-as-a-second-language tutor. The training is the second week of January and if I successfully "graduate" I will become a paid language instructor. Here's what this will mean for our family: I can take on as many or as few students as I like (depending on my schedule) and I can select which students to take on based on when I want to do my tutoring. So basically, I can choose to work just a few hours a week (evenings, days, mornings - whatever) and earn a few extra bucks. (And, as a bonus, I will be interacting with people from all over the world and learning about their cultures and traditions!!) Should be very cool. More to come . . .

Now about Daddy - he recently had to leave home and go on two business trips and he was sorely missed while he was away. Don't let me mislead you though - he was only gone one night on each trip; the first to Cleveland and then to some sunny beach in Florida. I'm pretty sure he had a good time jetting around with coworkers and acting like a real grown up :), but Grace and I hope this doesn't become a regurlar occurence.

OK, what else??? Oh yeah, Christmas! I can't believe it's so close - the shopping is done and the house is all lit (way to go Daddy!). There are still cookies to be baked and LOTS of wrapping to do, but we'll get there.

Last night we kicked off the 'official' holiday festivities with a family trip to the Festival of Lights (see pictures below) and on Monday we're going downtown to see the train display, visit Santa on the Square and the nativity scene at Krohn Conservatory (all holiday traditions of the Rolfes Family). There are lots of other Christmas activities we're going to try and squeeze in, so look for lots more pictures to come.

Next time I blog will be post-Navidad, so MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Grace bundled and rollin' through the lights

As close as Grace would get to Santa (of course she didn't skip a beat grabbing the candy cane he offered)

Daddy and Grace on the carousel
Now it's Mommy's turn

OMG - The 3rd Trimester is almost here

Behold! The beauty of stretching skin!

At 26 weeks, it was time to take another belly shot (this is the 2nd of 3 that will catalog my expending waistline). I don't think there are any other words necessary.

Lots of Changes

Hello!! What a busy month November was - I was working to wrap things up at work (in case anyone's counting, it's been 9 days since our family made the switch to a fulltime-at-home-mom arrangement, and it's been wonderful!), celebrating my birthday (whoo hooo 25) & gearing up for Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas season.

So far, we're off to a great start. We put up the indoor decorations and Grace loves to push all the buttons that make the music boxes play and the dancing Christmas puppy sing and to point out Baby Jesus and Holy Mary in our crib set. We'll be headed to a mall someday soon to visit Santa, but I'm not optimistic that Grace will be as willing to sit on his lap as she was last year - it's worth a try though :).

Let's see, what else? OH - we found out that Tony's brother Mike and his wife Amanda are expecting their first baby in June; a big CONGRATULATIONS to them! AND our friends Angela and Ryan told us they will be welcoming their first baby in May. Way to go everyone!! Let the baby boom begin :)

Speaking of babies booming - I think I grow one inch rounder each day. Seriously - I have to hold my breath when I bend over to tie my shoes now and I think I almost passed out after carrying Grace and groceries up the steps yesterday. It's very exciting to see how close we are getting to the arrival of our second baby (only about 3 months to go). I have to do the Glucose test at my next OB appointment (a standard screening for gestational diabetes) - and I am definately NOT looking forward to it. It's not physically painful, but I do have to drink a bottle of yucky sugar syrup and last time instead of a the expected sugar-high, I fell into a deep sugar-coma and fell asleep in the waiting room. Very embarassing :)

We are still brainstorming about names, but I think last time we didn't decide on our final choices until very close to my due date - we'll keep you all posted. Some time after Christmas we will begin Grace's move to her big girl room and start gearing up for a newborn in the nursery, but not just yet.

Here are some miscellaneous pictures from the last couple of weeks - some are from Thanksgiving dinner (at Nana and Papa's house) and others are just us around the house. Enjoy -

Finally a Halloween Update

So - I know I'm practically a month late, but here is a picture of Grace on Halloween. You can't see it in the picture, but thanks to Papa, our little Lightning Bug even had a blinkin' bottom! She was adorable! This year Grace enjoyed passing out candy more than collecting it from our neighbors. We all had a wonderful Halloween and are looking forward to a cozy, yummy Thanksgiving.

Also, a pregnancy update: There is nothing to update. I'm 23 weeks in now, so while Mom and Dad are having a great time feeling the baby kicking all the time, right now we're (Mom and baby) just gaining weight and counting down the days. My next OB appointment is in early December, but for now no news is good news :)

Half Way There!!!!

Well I, for one, can't believe it, but we are half way through this second pregnancy - 20 weeks down, 20 to go! That means it's SONOGRAM TIME!

I had my regular, everyone-has-one-at-this-stage-can-find-out-the-baby's-gender ultrasound yesterday and almost everything went great. Unfortunately Tony couldn't be with me because of a last minute business trip (grrr), but my mom and Grace came and stood in for him. (Grace was pretty wigged out by the whole thing.)

As far as the baby is concerned, everything looks perfect - 10 fingers, 10 toes, a strong heart beat and a good size head and body (they said the baby weighs about 12 oz, the size of a can of soda). Here are some of the pictures we got to take home, sorry the quality's not awesome, but it's the best I could do.

Although we chose to save the excitement of knowing the baby's gender for his/her birthday (just like with Grace), here are some thoughts to ponder - since I know you're all wondering what we will have:
1. I strongly feel like this pregnancy has been SO different from the first, that it has to be a boy.
2. The heart beat has consistently been in the 150's, which would suggest it's a girl (boys' heart rates are usually under 140 bpm).
3. According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar (which makes a prediction based on the mother's age and the month of conception), it should be a boy.

So, color me BLUE, but you draw your own conclusions . . .

Hooray for Democracy!

Only one week until Election Day (unless you've sent in your ballot early) . . .

Please vote to elect Pro-Life candidates and be a voice for those who can't defend themselves.
Visit http://www.crtlpac.org/ to download your pro-life ballot if you live in the Cincinnati area or let me know if you're interested and I can get you some info :)

A Quick Update

Unfortunately for our faithful blog-followers, things at my office have gotten much busier, so it's been difficult to find the time to post anything :)

Here are some quick notes -

1. Tony got to feel the baby move last night for the first time! He, very patiently, sat with his hands on my belly for fifteen minutes or so until our shy-guy (or girl) decided to give daddy a couple of bumps. It was pretty exciting for mommy to be able to share the kicks and rolls she's been feeling for the last couple of weeks. Let the belly feeling begin! (For those of you who may be wondering, I have no problem letting people I know feel/pat/rub my baby belly).
At 19 weeks, our baby is about the size of a tomato and weighs between 7 & 8 ounces. We have our sonogram next week and I can't wait to see his/her tiny hands and feet (and all the other parts too).

2. Grace is doing wonderfully and developing more and more personality every day. She's enjoying spending so much time with her Nana and Grandma; we are so blessed to have such wonderful helpers. Grace is planning on being a lightning bug for Halloween (if she cooperates with my costume plans) and we've been praticing saying, "Trick or Treat" - without much success :)

3. The pictures posted here are from a recent trip to HallZOOween (it was blazing hot and packed, but we had a LOT of fun) and from Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Bob's 30th Anniversary dinner - congratulations to them.

PS Thanks to those of you who are leaving comments on the blog, we love to get your feedback! (For anyone not commenting because you don't want to set up a profile, you can select to leave an 'anonymous' comment and just sign it at the bottom)

THANKS for checking in! XOXO

A Pumpkin Sunday

On Sunday we went to a Pumpkin Patch with Nana & Papa and Aunt Katie & her boyfriend. Here are some pics and accompanying captions --


Grace in the corn-box (instead of a sand-box, it was very cute): "Whew, there's my leg! I thought it was lost forever. And by the way, how dare that girl sitting behind me copy my cute Halloween outfit!"

Everybody riding out to the patch to pick a pack of pumpkins: "Did anyone check this farmer's credentials before we got on this rig with no carseats?! I mean, he's not even looking at the road! I'm very concerned. For crying out loud, Nana's about to fall overboard. Good grief."


Grace trying to convince daddy that a $45 pumpkin is a good investment by looking adorable sitting on top of it: "Daddy, what do you mean I can't take this pumpkin home? You said I could pick one out. Please .. .. .."

Quickening

EXCITING NEWS!! I felt the baby move for the first time this morning . . . I probably only noticed because I was lying perfectly still in bed. It was one solid thud, low and off to the right of my stomach. Since then, I've felt a few other flutters that may be the baby (sometimes it's hard to tell this early because it can just feel like your stomach gurgling).

We hope this is the first of many healthy, strong kicks and stretches.

Side Note: I'm 16 weeks pregnant right now - translation: 40% of the way there, 4 out of 9 months down. And I have another OB appointment tonight (routine), but . . . only 4 weeks until sonogram time!!

Bonus: adorable picture of Grace taken by Grandma Peggy just a few days ago

First comes Love, then come Marriage -

Congratulations to Tony's cousin Chris and his new fiancé Erin! We wish them all the best for all the years to come.

“Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that."
~Michael Leunig

The Great Stretch begins!

This is the first of a series that is not for the faint of heart, so be warned.

Mom & Belly at 13 weeks (1/3 of the way there).. .. ..
"Where's that pregnancy glow they talk about? All I see are some serious veins!"

What a weekend!

So, as sad as it is - this past weekend was the very last official River weekend :(. From here on out, there are football games, band functions and increasingly cold weather, so the Smith family spent a great weekend together and closed up shop until next spring.
As an added bonus we got a taste of hurricane on Sunday afternoon. Here are some pictures from the long boat ride we took and from the 'Ike Experience' --

Picture of mom and Grace cruising on "Papa's speedy boat . . . ba dum dum dum"
Picture of Nana and Grace - two good lookin' girls in pink!

Mom and Grace on the front porch just as the winds started to kick up - check out Grace's hair!
Look at the whitecaps on the River . . . and those manly muscles trying to take the dock out

Pulling the last piece of dock out of the water

Uncle E and Uncle Dyle running ahead of the cars, clearing away debris as we try and 'escape' the hurricane!

PS - The Edwards house on Beechmeadow is STILL without power! We've been living as nomads for three days now . . . anyone looking to adopt a delightful family??

Tony got ANOTHER New Job!

So, as of a few hours ago, it's official - Tony has gotten a different new job! As most of you know, he started with ORP Realty in June as an 'apprentice' property manager. While his time there was very educational, it turned out not to be quite the great opportunity we had hoped for.

Then when the news came that we were expecting again, that brought to the forefront the need for some serious late-night discussions about our family's financial and vocational future. Not so long thereafter, Tony started to look for a job opportunity that would be for fulfilling for him while also allowing me to stay home fulltime with our babies.

To make a very long story short, the Lord was looking out for us and in His perfect timing, brought forth an opportunity that Tony had investigated many months ago. After an encouraging interview, a small amount of negotiating and a great deal of thoughtful consideration, Tony is VERY excited to announce that he will be starting at Ohio National Financial in about two weeks. He will be a 'Commercial Mortgage Analyst' with one of the state's top rated employers. He will be working as part of a team that collects and analyzes all sorts of complicated data and then decides whether or not to loan baz-illions of dollars to corporations all over the nation. Eventually the job could require minimal travel (Grace and I am not excited about this part), but for now he will be working out of a beautiful office on Pfieffer Road (in the Montgomery/Blue Ash area).

SO, congrats to the hubby on landing what looks to be a great position with great possibilities for the future!

OB Appointment #2 of 29,039

I had my second OB appointment this past Tuesday - and although nothing exciting really happens during the first months of check-ups, I thought it only fair that Baby #2 get some airtime too.

In order of Occurence
1. The nurse makes you stand on the scale (in the hallway none the less), nods and jots down an exact measurement of how many bowls of Fruity Pebbles and bags of popcorn you've eaten since last time you endured this torture
2. She then escorts you to a bathroom where you must pee in an unbelievably small, plastic dixie cup which you then pass through a secret, vault-like door in the wall to the scientists on the other side waiting to do who knows what with your precious pregnancy urine.
3. Next, you navigate your way to the exam room (this time, no nudity required thank goodness). The same nurse takes your blood pressure and again nods and scribbles something down.
4. This is the BEST part: finally you lay back, hike up your shirt and enduring freezing jello being smeared on your belly to be able to hear the strong, fast heartbeat of your next miracle. (Seriously, I almost cried. What a shock huh?). Nurse says it sounds great and the doctor will be right in.
5. Doctor comes in, smooshes your belly so vigorously you think he might crush your unborn grape! Says, "Everything is good. We'll see you in a month."

And one $30 copay later, you're on your way out the door!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great weekend at the River House. Here are some pictures . . . (you all better really enjoy them because it took me forever to get them on this stinkin' blog)

After 'Aunt Didi' put Grace's hair in her first-ever pigtails, they went for a golfcart ride!

It was Grace's turn to do the dishes Sunday after dinner. She did a great job - licking every single plate totally clean.

Daddy and Grace venturing into deeper waters!

Mommy and Grace splashin' in the shallows in front of Aunt Amy's house - Grace couldn't decide if she like the river sand or not.

Nana and Grace enjoying a refreshing beverage on Uncle Steve's boat

11 Weeks down, 29 to go . . .

Well, in just 11 weeks, I'm already well aware that this pregnancy is totally different than my first. With Grace I was sick every morning from the time I woke up until about 1:00 PM. This time that queasy feeling comes and goes without predictability. Also, last time I had no problems with the prenatal vitamins . . . this time, lets just say they aren't agreeing with my digestive system.
To continue with the then-and-now theme, then I didn't have to wear maternity clothes until 15 weeks in, this time around I started secretly unbuttoning my pants at about 10 weeks! One last comparison - with Grace I didn't have much of an appetite (because I was sick so often), this time I am intensely hungry about every 2 1/2 hours. This baby is making me an eating machine!
So here is the sonogram picture we have so far - taken at 8 weeks. (I had some scary bleeding, so the OB wanted to check and make sure everything was ok - praise the Lord, it is). I know the picture is grainy and doesn't look like much more than a styrofoam packing peanut, but we think it's the best looking peanut ever!

OH YEAH - and my due date is March 17th (St. Patrick's Day and Tony's Grandma Barb's birthday)

Our bottomless pit

As I already mentioned Grace LOVES to eat. So - thanks to Nana's quick camera skills - we have a hilarious collection of pictures of Grace gnawling on some CORN!

In the beginning

So here's the back story on our little family -
Grace is almost 16 months old and she's growing hair and teeth like it's going out of style. She still loves to eat anything she can get her mitts on and is learning to "help" mommy and daddy by putting things away or carrying them to the kitchen table - so adorable.
Tony is working at ORP Reality managing condo and rental properties and has recently been recognized by his peers for outstanding athletic performance at the Summer Beer Olympics.
Jillian is, temporarliy, working fulltime at Blue Harbor and is about 11 weeks into her second pregnancy (with plans to retire by Thanksgiving time and be home fulltime). Hooray!!
We hope to use this blog to keep in touch with out of town friends and family and as a way to capture our 'family history' as it happens. So, look forward to plenty pictures of our beautiful baby girl and our strawberry-sized fetus :), pregnancy updates from da' mama and news about other exciting family happenings.
xoxo