Meeting Cassidy

Last weekend we headed to Macungie for the Cassidy's meet and greet. She is the (almost) newest member of our camp crew (Ethan has her beat now as the newest!). We were very excited to meet her in person after waiting so patiently for her arrival. It was pretty late so she was in and out of sleep but it was still so cute to see her!

Noah was particularly enamored and wanted to kiss her a lot and hug her and he REALLY wanted her to open her presents and kept trying to give her her bags! Luckily when Cassidy denied him his wishes there were plenty of adults around to help him out. Aj's dad played ball with him forever and then the boys showed him how to play Wii. We all had a great time!!!

Nursery Ideas

We have so many different ideas for the nursery and just can't seem to put it all together. I thought I'd share some of them with you and see if you have any input. Don't be offended if we don't take your ideas, though!

So the room that the baby will be in is called the Trunk Room and it is attached to our bedroom. It is on the small side, but it is a more defined room. What I mean by that is that some of our rooms were pretty standard 4 walls and a door. But this room is one of the older rooms and has an ornate bookshelf, moulding, and a very detailed radiator. It has a very classic and victorian feel about it. It would look odd to do something overly modern in the room.

Here are some horrible pics of the room. Notice the high chair rail...

We haven't decided on a color scheme yet, but definitely neutral, browns and greens.

So, all along I've sort of had owls in my head. I just like all of the different types of owls that are out right now and thought it would be a cute nursery item.

Then Paul and I were looking around and came across these stencils that we really liked. We both like the puzzle one but I just can't picture the puzzle pieces in this room and I can't visualize what colors we would do them. They come in smaller sizes so they could be just above the chair rail, or they come in larger sizes and could go all over the wall.

I also like these circles which would go with the owls and the big round circle eyes.

I really like this bedding... neutral and classic

I loved this room from Pottery Barn but it just feels too girly for not knowing the gender (even if we didn't do it in pink...) Plus I don't know if it will work with the chair rail being so high.

So, what do you think? Thoughts, ideas?'

Steps along the way...
http://paisleyandargyle.blogspot.com/2009/04/nursery-update.html

To see the finished product, click here:
http://paisleyandargyle.blogspot.com/2009/06/nursery.html

20 weeks

I saw the doctor yesterday and so I thought I would share a quick update.  All is well in babyland.  The doctor was thrilled by the ultrasound results that the tumor was gone and shared that she has another woman in the hospital whose uterus is trying to save the tumor and reject the baby because the tumor was there first.  She wanted me to know how great the missing tumor really was.  She tried to finagle another ultrasound for me but unless something comes up that deems it medically necessary she can't do it.  She also looked back at my old charts from Noah and I am officially 20 lbs less than I was at this point last time.  Woohoo!

It feels as though I've instantly grown pregnant in the last week.  All of a sudden my belly is poking out and the baby is here!  And I got my first rude comments... a woman said to me -- wow, you look like you're getting fat (she didn't know I was pregnant).  Mind you, this was not a thin woman speaking.  So, I got a flashback to why I didn't want people to know I was pregnant -- because they say mean things! 

But, the baby is moving all the time now and Paul can feel it a little bit.  Noah is in love with the baby and just can't wait for it to show up.  Whenever we see another baby he asks if it is our baby or if he likes another baby he will say, I want this one, mommy.  Every morning when he and Paul leave he gives the baby a kiss goodbye and every time he finds a toy that is for babies he quickly runs it up to the nursery and says, it's not for big boys, mommy, it's for babies.  

I'm now operating in increments and I am counting down to 24 weeks.  6 months sounds a lot closer to 9 months than 5 months does.  Whatever!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love you!!

And the baby is....

Sadly, once again, all I am able to report is that it is a baby! We went for our big ultrasound today and a tech and a doctor spent a total of about 35 minutes looking specifically for gender and saw nothing!!!! The baby had it's legs crossed and it's body bunched up and would not move. The tech even switched over into 3D for us at one point which was really really cool! Paul's really excited for the delivery now and the announcement of "it's a...." but I'm bummed b/c I had two distinct nursery designs in my head.

But, the much better news is that the tumor has disappeared!!! No one knows how, but it has! I wasn't even praying for that, just that it wouldn't interfere, but it has completely fallen off the radar. This news is worth it to not know the gender...

But, the flip side is that we won't go for any more regular ultrasounds because they aren't monitoring the tumor any more. So, we probably really won't find out.

It's sort of weird though, because we took that urine test at 10 weeks and it was inconclusive. We don't have names. After we found out we were having a boy last time we went to Babies R Us and picked out cute boy stuff for him that day. Today we went before hand and thought we'd pick out something cute for either a boy or a girl and come back for it, but we couldn't decide on anything really! So, this is just our anonymous little baby who wants to be a big old secret!!!!

19 Weeks

Well, I would say we are halfway. For those of you who don't know pregnancy lingo, everyone walks around saying that pregnancy is 9 months long, which in a logical mind would be 9X4 or 36 weeks, but alas, that is not the case. It is until the END of the 9 months, and actually 40 weeks long which plays out to be 10 months. So, twenty weeks is half way. I had Noah at 37 weeks and so I have my fingers and toes crossed that this one will be the same which would mean I am more than half way (these are the mind games I play with myself!).

Sometimes I can't believe we are already half way but then most of the time I can't believe how much longer there is to go! The easy part is done... now I will really start to grow and become clumsier and more uncomfortable. But, it is also time to start decorating and purchasing and organizing, which is VERY exciting and fun. It is so sweet to pick special things for a baby that will mean so much for years to come. I keep looking back to Noah's pictures of his nursery and remembering how much thought and care and love we put into each and every decision. I'm excited to welcome another little one with so much love.

Today at 2:30 is our ultrasound. It is scheduled to last an hour so that they can get a good look at the tumor and its affect on the placenta. We will also find out the gender. Don't ask about names because we really, truly don't know and can't really agree on anything.

I'm really not all that big. I'm still in all my old clothes and haven't donned a maternity item yet (I'm holding out as long as I can!). Most people can't tell that I'm pregnant which is fine... I like the anonymity. I've gained about 6 lbs which is totally okay with me. I didn't lose in the beginning this time around and I'm following a strict schedule for what weight I need to be to have a 20-25 lb weight gain. I still allow myself indulgences all the time, but I also work out nearly every day.

So, here is the updated pic... one to see the belly and one to see how I look to the world...

George Fox

We knew that when Noah turned three we wanted him to begin to attend some sort of religious preschool.  We have been having some problems with our daycare facility and knew we needed to make a change soon.  When we started looking around, it seemed that none of the programs would fit our needs and our beliefs!  Finally, we found George Fox Friends School and we are so excited about this transition for our family.  

George Fox is a Quaker school founded on the belief systems of peace, non-violence and healthy conflict resolution.  We visited the school to see all of this in action and it was AWESOME!  There are no time outs, instead, when a child is in conflict with another child they are taught ways to resolve the conflict instead of being punished.   Each child learns that all people and animals are our friends and each being needs to be treated with respect, dignity and love.  Children are asked daily if the decision they make leaves them with "peace in their heart" and they are taught to treat every person as God treats us, as a beloved creature worthy of immense love and forgiveness.  

The school also stands on many principles that we strive to live our lives by.  They discourage snacks with high fructose corn syrup, unhealthy food choices, and they discourage throw-away containers.  Children are taught sustainability as a way to be a friend to the earth and a good steward of God's creation.  They allow no forms of violence, including dominant characters or characters with any weaponry.  

The school is on a 55 acre wooded campus and children often have playtime in the woods!  They also have a librarian and artist on staff.  They have virtually no teacher turn over, which has been a huge problem in the current place we are in.  There is a very strong parent organization and the parents meet with their teacher on a monthly basis (as a group) to see how they can have a positive impact on the classroom, either by coming in or from afar.  The children have service projects for local agencies and groups and always take the items themselves so they can see exactly what the service does, see the great need in the world, and know they can be part of the solution to that need.  There are also quarterly social events for all of the children and parents in the whole school.  

So, needless to say we are SO excited about this transition and we think it is the best choice for Noah as he absorbs every atom of the world around him!!!