The Big Apple

I had a delicious weekend in "The Big Apple" with my Grandma and my Aunt Scrub, (who surprised us at the airport!). Clay took Jack down to Florida to visit his grandparents. It was just me and 'baby to be' in tow. This pregnant girl wore herself out, but it was a great way to do it. We arrived Friday early afternoon and left late on Sunday and we did not stop for one minute in between!

We arrived Friday, checked into the Marriott in Times Square, and headed out on the town. We did the epitome of tourist activities and boarded a Double Decker bus. It was a great way to see every part of the city. We picked out all of the places we wanted to visit on Saturday during the 2 hour tour. The weather was gorgeous and the company was perfect. We topped of the day with a little walking around and dinner. This mama headed to bed early while Grandma and Aunt Scrub explored some more. I am exhausted right now--this baby is wearing me out!

If I thought I was tired on Friday, I didn't know what was coming on Saturday. We woke early and hit Broadway. We grabbed a bagel and some danishes at a local bakery. We then boarded our bus and headed to the largest Macy's department store. After a little browsing and a purchase for baby Cibula we were back to shopping at local boutiques and shops along the streets. After working up an appetite, we traveled to Greenwhich Village for lunch. We shopped some more in the area, stopped for chocolates-yum! and then taxied it to Central Park. Not embarrassed to be tourists, we took a lovely carriage ride around the park. It felt soooo good to rest my spider vein inflicted pregnant legs. We then walked back to the hotel and grabbed a hot dog on the way. Have I mentioned I am a sucker for baseball and street hot dogs? (My special treat!) At the hotel we got cleaned up and a just tiny bit dressed up for our Broadway evening of Mama Mia at the Winter Garden Theatre! More walking to the theatre, this time only about 3 or 4 blocks. I grabbed a slice of pizza on the way---a pregnant girl has got to eat--and often. The show was fabulous. A real feel-good kind of production. Loved it! We went to dinner after the show and this time I only split a meal. I think I was still full off of hot dogs and pizza. After a very long day, I crashed hard around 12:30pm--that's a late night for me these days.

Sunday was another great day, however we got a later start. I slept in until 9:15 (amazing that I consider that sleeping in these days). But by the time we got packed up, checked out, and our luggage taken care of we only had about half a day to enjoy before we needed to get back to the airport. The weather was gorgeous again so we taxied it to the Sea Port. We originally thought we would try out the Staten Island Ferry, but realized the round trip, with browsing, would leave us little time to do much more, even eat. So we nixed that idea and did some more shopping, strolling, and eating. It was a perfect way to end the weekend. I was bummed about heading home, but so thrilled to be on my way back to Jack , Clay and Cosby. We had a such a great time, we decided to try to make this an annual trip. It's hard to believe that next year I would be leaving a 3 year old and a 6 month old--will I be able to do it?

The Name Game

If I've ever needed your help-- it's now. You see, Clay and I are in quite a name dilemma. I realize we don't even know the gender yet. But, because of the "name game" we've been playing, I have more reason to think it's a boy. You see, if it's a girl, we've got a name, no questions, it's a done deal. However, if it's a boy, we are struggling. I can finally say we are getting closer to a conclusion, but not 100% there yet.

The first factor is that I have some rules that I would like to follow (imagine that). I don't have to, but it would be really nice if we could. #1 We need a simple name to go with Cibula-preferably one syllable. Which leads me to #2, no names that end in "s"--it so does not work with Cibula. I would really like it to end in "k" or "t". And #3, we would like something on the traditional side to go with Jack. So here is what we have discussed thus far and the reason we don't or are at least questioning if they work..

Names we like that end in "S":
Max (love it), Thomas, James (family name), Charles (family name)

Names we like that aren't traditional:
Collin (I love it, Clay doesn't), Graham

Clay's Number One Choice, but I can't get past the shortened version:
Patrick (I just can't get past the fact he could be "Pat" one day)

Other traditionals we've tossed around, but can't confirm for one reason or another:
William "will" (too popular?), Peter "Pete" (think about it before you knock it--imagine another little one running around that looked like Jack & how cute does "Jack and Pete" sound?), and Luke (Clay's new fave, but I'm fearful of the popularity issue), Owen

So now your job is to give us some advice. I'm not saying we are going to take it, but I would still like to know your thoughts. Fill in the blanks with each name..." ___ Cibula" and "Jack and ___". Really, it changes a lot--your faves may not be your faves anymore after that little exercise. And if you do have an opinion, please only share the names you like, not the ones you don't. I'm not telling you which one, but I think we are getting close to a final choice and I listed it somewhere up there:)

The First of Many Lasts

Jack had his "first" last day of school on Friday. Somewhat bittersweet...I sure am going to miss my free Friday mornings, but at the same time I'm looking forward to fun summer Fridays with him. Next year he will be in the Tuesday-Thursday 2's room. Initially, I wondered what I would do without him two days a week but,
I got my answer about 14 weeks ago. I don't think I'll be too lonely.

Friday's end of the year party was great. It started out with an outdoor picnic and evolved into recess time. There was lots of food, bubbles, and balls. My favorite part was seeing Jack sit at the picnic tables and eat with his classmates. Amazing how a toddler can follow rules at school. He didn't even think of asking to get up until they were dismissed from the table. At home he must chant "all done, get down" 400 times just to hear me say, "no, dinner is not over". Little weasel. But, you know what they say, 'you'd rather them behave for others'. Although sometimes I have a hard time following that line of thought when I'm the one who spends 20 out of 24 hours a day with him.

Of course, I too had the messiest child of all. Before the picnic even started his neon green spirit day tee was covered in red spots. All the teacher could say was, "Jack sure loved snack today". Well, after the chocolate covered graham crackers, watermelon, and juice, he neon shirt was more like tye-dye. Needless to say, it went straight to the garbage can when we got home. I've been waiting to do that all year and on Friday I finally had an excuse. Please tell me next years tee compliments Jack's skin tone a little better.

On a much brighter note, Jack had a fabulous year. It was his first structured school experience without Mommy and according to his teacher conferences he did great. At our most recent spring conference, Mrs. Angela raved at how smart little J was. (sorry, a Mommy has got to brag every once in awhile) She was very impressed that he knew his colors, shapes, numbers, and letters. She said he was right where he needed to be in social skills--meaning he still was a work in progress when it came to sharing, but he was great at following directions. And he was a model student at story time. I guess it really is nice to know Jack is behaving for others. So here's to summer and hopefully another great year to follow!

End of The Year Picnic. There are 8 sweet little ones in Jack's class and he is the youngest! That April birthday is going to get him every time.

No...Jack didn't seem to like the picnic entree. Poor thing almost starved.

And he especially didn't like the chocolate covered graham crackers & cherries that were made into little mice.

Jack blew his first bubble with Mrs. Angela's help. (He usually just spits through the hole) He looked up at me with those sweet blue eyes and exclaimed, "yeah Mommy, I did it!". What a way to end the year!

Sliding Into 2nd

We are officially in the second trimester--14 weeks and counting. *Sigh* It feels so good to be over the hump. So far so good.

I see the doctor twice a month as opposed to just once at this stage. Every other week, I visit for alternating heartbeat checks and monthly check ups. My next heartbeat check is on Wednesday. At my last appointment the nurse said his " heartbeat was as strong as ever". I pray he keeps it up. Notice how I automatically refer to the baby as a "he". I did the exact opposite with Jack, poor guy was a "she" until I got the shocking, but wonderful, news.

As for the nausea, I am thrilled to say...IT IS GONE!!! Wow, does it feel good to feel good! I can eat, which may not be a good thing. I actually smile from 4:00pm on. And I am cooking for my family again. I still get a little queasy after my prenatal vitamin right before bed. It lasts anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. But let me tell you, that is a cake walk compared to the previous 7 weeks.

I definitely have a little pooch. If you didn't already know, you would never guess I was pregnant. But, if you do know what you are looking for you can easily find it. Again, most of my weight has dispersed to other regions. No buttons for me, I'm all about the stretch waist band or flowing sun dresses.

Just a couple more weeks before we find out if we will be pink or blue again! I have the hardest time waiting for that detail! Ugh! Please continue to keep Baby Cibula in your prayers. We love and appreciate you all for it!

According to Baby Center, this is what Baby Cibula looks like this week! He is about the size of a lemon!