First Sign of Spring

One of the things I love about Tony is that he really gets into his work. And even though one of his favorite lines is "It's not that fun to be an ay-dult", he does those ay-dult jobs so well that I'm lucky enough to totally forget about them! Like taking the garbage out to the curb each week, sorting our recycling, organizing the basement, refilling the humidifier each night... the list goes on. And it also includes cleaning Sabie's poop from the back yard.

Now, I realize that we haven't kept up with it at all this winter, but I can guarantee you... it's not knee deep.

This is how I found Tony when I peeked out the back door to check on his progress. Might be a touch dramatic, in my opinion! Thanks for really goin' for it, Tony. I appreciate your passion for the job!

Boy Oh Boy!

First of all, I need to apologize because I'm going to have to post a few things out-of-order this upcoming week. I'm totally exhausted after having taken care of a sick puppy last night but still wanted to get this post done before I head to bed! You probably won't be surprised to hear that I slept out on the couch last night in order to more easily provide endless amounts of belly rubs and back scratches to the pup with a tummy ache - or that I was awake from 2:30 until 6:00 am in order to accommodate her need to lay outside on the cool grass every 15 minutes, or that I tried to tempt her to eat by making rice with chicken stock at about 3:15 this morning. But the hard part about it is that 8:00 am brought one of the BIGGEST events of our lives - and certainly that of our married lives! We had an appointment to get another glimpse of baby R and discover whether we'll be raising a son or daughter.... so huge.

I finally made it back to our bed around 6:40 this morning so that I could "sleep" for another 20 minutes before getting up for the day. (You would have expected me to bolt out of bed, considering that I've been counting down the hours - literally - since we scheduled this ultrasound). But I was just begging for a few more minutes. Anyway, we got ready and headed out to the hospital.

Tony and I anxiously waited for my name to be called. We had actually asked the ultrasound tech to keep the sex a secret until she could write it down in a card we'd brought along to the appointment. Then the plan was for us to have breakfast together somewhere fun and open the card when it was just the two of us.

The appointment went well, she clicked through so many images on the computer; taking measurements and labeling body parts as she went. It was amazing to see the little pumpkin's hand resting on it's face, all the toes and fingers, the heart chugging away, and other various organs exactly as they should be. That was the most important part of the ultrasound, of course. When we were done, she asked us to head out to the waiting room again where she'd bring a CD of images and the card in the envelope.

We were so giddy when she brought the CD out! She congratulated us again as we practically ran to the truck!

We got to Josie's Corner bakery (which was a funny choice - neither of us had ever been there before) and ordered a couple of hot chocolates. Then we sat down with the card between us. I think we were both really nervous to open it! When we finally did, this is what it looked like:

I was totally shocked - and I was the one who thought it was going to be a boy! (I was 50% positive, at least). But this guy here looked like he'd won the lottery! I guess he did want a little boy, after all.

It was so fun to be able to find out when it was just the two of us, and I love having that little card for the baby book. Tony sent texts to his family right away - he'd already started the message beforehand so he could just fill in the sex and then hit send. Before we left the bakery, we ordered blue-frosted sugar cookies for Tony to take back to work, since he didn't have the whole day off like I did.

Then we went to my parents' place to tell them the news. The night prior, I had put 20 pink and 20 blue M&M's in two little satchets to give to them, knowing I'd have to take a pink or a blue one out after the ultrasound. When we got there, they were both excited to find out what we were having, so we said, "You tell us!' and gave them the bags. There might have been some aggressive competition by one of them as they raced to see whether there were more blue or pink M&M's, but I won't say from who!! It was really fun to see their reactions as they discovered for themselves that they were getting a grandson.

After that, Tony headed to the office and I went to grandma and grandpa's to share the news with them. I spent the rest of the day shopping and checking on our dog (who seems to have almost completely recovered from her stomach ache, thankfully).

I am about dying to get to bed, but wanted to include a shot or two of the baby boy! We just cannot wait to meet him in August and are crazy about him already!

A profile shot is above (and I did tell Tony he'd better hope that nose grows a bit; or he runs the risk of having a mini-nose like mine! And then the money shot where you can see some shin bones and the "boy parts" that the tech mentioned in the card. Aaah, we love that little guy! Can't wait to meet him in person!

Pita Pete

We had the opportunity to enjoy some gorgeous weather in Fargo on Saturday! The Pita Pit (and therefore Tony and I) participated in the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown... which was actually pretty fun! Of course it was a little chilly, but the sun was shining and we had a break from the recent rain, so it was as close to perfect as you can get in North Dakota... in March.

You may recognize these shoes... they were actually super-popular with the crowd! I kept hearing pre-teens (and some parents) shouting, "Hey - love your shoes!" I was thinking that as long as they've borrowed the costume, someone should show up to the office in them on Monday.

My camera actually displayed the low battery icon after I took the first picture of the day, which was a bummer. I used Tony's cell phone to get a few extra shots, but to be honest, I was too busy tossing candy to the crowds (and trying to figure out how we were going to make the remaining 20 pieces last throughout the second half of the parade) to take many pictures. But I did get a photo of the big guy right before the parade:

We were cracking up a bit because it's obviously hard to see or maneuver when you're wearing a gigantic pita over your body, but he did just fine. Er, except for when he was nearly crushed by the pita car right in front of our restaurant. That wasn't so good - but aside from that, all went smoothly! I think he was a huge hit.

I've been sworn to secrecy as to who was in the Pita Pete costume, but as a little hint: he's my baby-daddy. That didn't give it away, did it?
We were barely able to get this photo after the parade because so many little kids wanted to get in it with us! It's not easy being married to a celebrity, but the perks are totally worth it. Thanks for being such a great sport, honey!

Raising a Teenager (in a dog's body)

I just can't get enough of Sable! Some of you may have heard me talk about her "chicken breast and white wine lunch" a few years back, and while this meal wasn't quite as gourmet, it was enough to crack me up (and make me grab the camera!)

This is exactly what I saw when I came home from work today (as a side note, she does have a water bowl, like a dog should have, but she won't eat her food when it's next to her water bowl in the dining room - she insists on eating all of her meals in the living room and will even carry her bowl out there, full of food, if it's not where she wants to eat. And naturally I caved long ago so she eats all her meals in front of the television, like any high-schooler would!)

I realized as soon as I saw it that I'd forgotten my glass from lunch on the end table next to the couch. Looks like she finished off my vanilla soy milk with her meal!

And I tried to get her to pose next to it after the fact, but she's having none of that:

Aaah, you'll never be able to see just how darling she is in photos...

Sweet Baby Kate

The first of the cousins (on Tony's side) has arrived! Kathryn Jeanmarie was born 8 days ahead of schedule, on March 3rd. We were so excited to finally be able to meet that darling girl! She'll be followed by baby Owen next month, and The Bun in August. Here she is just a few hours after being born:

We didn't get to see her eyes at all that day - she was obviously exhausted from making her entrance into the world. Luckily, we got to visit her and her (tired!) parents today when they had settled in at home. They've set up the sunniest nursery for her! I think the wall art turned out so well.

And we were lucky enough to get a shot or two with her eyes open! Love her. Love the pink and orange ensemble, love that teeny baby face. Isn't it crazy how much they can change in just a couple of days? I remember that with baby Leighton too. It makes ya glad to live near them, so that they don't go changing too much between visits!

Here's a shot of her with her proud aunt and uncle. Sad that we didn't take a single picture of her with her rightful parents tonight! They hardly got to hold her while we were at their house (sorry T & J!) so we'll have to get one next time.

So much fun to see them tonight. Thanks for allowing us to stop over, you guys!

Not that there's been much change this week, but here's Kate's cousin tonight after we made it home (17w2d)