Big News for something Little

David and I have some news to share with you. Come Christmas time, we will have a new addition to our family! I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant.

This pregnancy came as a bit of a surprise to us, but we will take it. The official due date is December 24th. (Poor kid). I'm hoping the little one comes a few days early, so as not to be so close to Christmas, but as long as the baby is healthy, we'll take him/her any day of the year.

This pregnancy has left me quite exhausted and nauseous unfortunately. It's a bit more challenging this time around having to care for a 17 month old. David has been a tremendous help. He has picked up more duties around the house and takes care of Lily as much as he possibly can. He is truly an awesome husband and father.

I'm a bit more relaxed with this pregnancy. With Lily, I was constantly reading online and in books about being pregnant. Now, I will take a glance at what the baby is up to at whichever week, but again, more laid back.

More to come...

The Story of Stuff

This morning, David found a neat website.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

In summary, this is a story about how our current system of production and consumption is not sustainable. I learned quite a bit just now.

It's about 20 minutes long, so there is some time involved to watch. However, I highly recommend watching this film. We watched it over breakfast!

Let me just say I'm very proud to have a 4 year old cell phone, a 10 year old television, a 10 year old car and 25 year old home - even when I get made fun of because of it.

David and I are currently talking about what more we can do in our family to help out our environment. More to come...

Happy Birthday Brotha!

Today is my little brother, Matthew's birthday. Happy Birthday to my favorite brother!!

My brother and I oh so long ago

Things I remember about my brother...

• When Matthew was just a little guy, say 2 years old, I asked him to draw me a pretty picture with his crayons on his wall. I laughed when he got in trouble. (I was a mean older sister)
• When we were little and it was storming outside, Matthew, still in his crib, would call out to me to sleep on the floor because he was afraid of storms (so was I).
• When Matthew was about 3 years old, over Christmas time, we had moved into our new home. We didn't have grass in our yard yet. He wanted to play outside and my Dad said, "Don't play in the mud!" Well, he did and his boots got stuck in the mud. We heard him yelling "Daddy!" As my Dad pulled him out, the boots stuck in the mud.
  
• He'd ask my Grandpa to take out his dentures. He thought they were cool.
  
• He talked so much as a kid, my Uncle Joe paid him a dollar to stop talking for a couple of hours.
  
• "Somebody Wipe Me" - okay, only my family is going to get that one.
  
• Once on the school bus, oblivious to those around him, Matthew, outfitted with headphones started to belt out "Shout Shout - Let It All Out." It stopped once he realized there were still people on the bus.
  
• As kids, we had adjacent bedrooms. Some nights we would knock on our bedroom walls to see if the other was asleep. If not, we'd talk until an inappropriate hour for young kids.
  
• As a kid, he could take apart anything and put it back together. He was constantly "modifying" his toys.
  
• Matthew was the one to introduce me to the band, Nirvana!
• He went through a stage in the early 90s where he'd wear preppy clothes to resemble Boys II Men. (Later he became a hippy-dude)
• His attention to detail amazes me.
  
• He can make the whole room crack up laughing.
  

My brother is a great guy. He is caring, funny, sweet, smart, and a awesome brother.

Matthew, hope today is a great one! Love ya!

Lily and Uncle Matt, Christmas '07

Matthew, me and my niece, Cassie (Matthew's daughter)

The Siblings:
Christie, Matthew, me, Bonnie

The Nay Nay has left the building

Okay, some of you are going to think I'm really strange, but I'm going to put myself out there. I am so very excited as Lily has moved into a new stage in her life. Yesterday, she didn't ask to be nursed (she asks for "nay nay"). Yippee!

I am all for extended nursing should that be the choice of the mother. I am in full support of my friends who choose to nurse until 2+ years. For me however, I just felt completed in the area of nursing Lily. These last few months found us only nursing a feeding or two per day, so not that bad. However, I was starting to wonder if Lily would ever give up the boob.

I do feel fortunate to not have had major issues with breastfeeding and I'm glad I got to meet my goal of nursing Lily until 12 months. And now, I'm happy to not worry what kind of shirt I need to wear and I get to put away the nursing bras that I have worn for almost 17 months. Maybe I should buy myself a non-nursing-appropriate shirt and bra! woohoo!

And here are a few pics of my big girl.
David made ribs the other night and Lily enjoyed eating her ribs and corn on the cob like a big girl...

Oh Hail!
Last Tuesday we had a good rain/hail storm. It reminded me of snow for awhile there.

Happy Birthday Dad/Abuelito!

Today is my Dad's birthday! Yes, another Gemini! One day we will rule the world! hee hee

Dad, hope you have a great day today. Enjoy dinner at Red Lobster! Have a cheesy roll for me.
I couldn't ask for a better Father and Grandfather for my kids. Love ya!!


Lily says...Happy Birthday Abba!