Blanket Making

Ryan is building Widget a blanket.  He has made one for each of the babies in his family.  When he started a few months ago I knew this one was going to be epic.  It took him a long time to pick out the correct colors and to decide on a pattern.  It will be fairly complicated as he wants to put a fabric backing on it and we haven't done that before.  He is almost finished with the knitted part and then will just have to decide on the fabric backing AND then we have to figure out how to put it on the knitted blanket.

(the picture is one of the many squares that comprise the blanket)

I voted for calling some of our seamstress friends (hey I work in theatre- use your tools!) but Ryan is currently leaning more and more to "figuring it out" which I think could turn out to be a mistake.

Either way- by the time Widget is old enough to remember the blanket it will be completed.  Hopefully.

Widget Countdown- 15 days

Memorial Weekend

So Ryan and I didn't do much for Memorial Day weekend.  It was actually pretty nice.  

On Saturday we went to Eastern Market and looked at some baby stores (Dawn Price Baby and Monkey's Uncle) and then walked around the market as Ryan hadn't been yet.  Then we came back up to CoHi and went to the farmer's market.  Once we got home I took a nap (I am totally getting epic with the napping) and then he ran off to watch DC United beat some other team and I went to Mr. Burns; a post electric play at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.  It was Invited Dress Rehearsal.  I really enjoyed it and I am excited for the rest of the world to see it once it opens this week.  

Sunday we did a mountain of grocery shopping- Ryan actually had to make two trips to Target but I begged off the second one and then some laundry before running over to Meridian Hill Park.  All of the neighborhood was out- dogs, babies, hipsters, hipsters with dogs and babies, drum circle folks.  We sat down near a bunch of people juggling, hula hooping and slackline walking so we would have something fun to watch while I rested and Ryan knitted the edge onto Widget's blanket.  Then we came back to the apartment to watch the Spurs/Thunder game.  GO SPURS GO!

Today has been super lazy- late breakfast, napping and we pulled all of the bins out of storage to do a major reorg/cleaning before baby arrives.  The only problem with cleaning out storage is now we need to get to goodwill.  Ah the perils of living in a metro area sans car.

Widget Countdown- 17 days 

Dr's Visit Drama

We have gotten to the point at which we have a doctor's visit every week.  Yesterday I had to go alone as Ryan had some things at work that needed to be completed and a meeting he was concerned about making it to.

It is lucky he didn't come as I waited for over an hour!

Our doctor's office is usually very prompt.  We have never waited more than 15 minutes to see the doctor.  Yesterday I arrived about 10 minutes before my appointment time of 9:45 checked in and sat down.  A few minutes later a professionally dressed woman and her husband walked in, went over the the counter and told the nurses that they had called in and that they had a 9:45 appointment with the same doctor I was waiting to see. (Let's call him Dr.M) When told that wasn't possible because she didn't actually have an appointment the lady blamed the office for double-booking.  She then went on to tell everyone that she had been up all night with contractions and even through she had called the emergency line they would't let her talk to "her" doctor and some other doctor had told her she had Braxton Hicks contractions and that she just needed to work through them.  She was very concerned she was going into labour and she threw such a fit and was backed up by her husband that at 9:55 they took her back.

At 10:15 they took me back, weighed me and took my blood.  Then I was asked to prep for my "ladies" exam.  I could hear the annoying couple next door whenever they would raise their voices and I could also tell Dr. M was doing his best to calm them down.  The nurses were also chatting outside my door so I learned how difficult the couple was being and that she had actually demanded a second doctor take a look at her and make sure she wasn't in labour.  She was probably somewhere in her mid 20's weeks and is a bit older than me.

I heard Dr. M leave their room at 10:45 and have a quick discussion with his nurse about how late he was now and how irritated he was about being late.  He then came into my room and I was checked out and out the door before 11:00.

The couple monopolized Dr. M and upset the entire office for over an hour for NOTHING.  It was so annoying.  Ryan and I were talking about how we go to all of these baby care classes with educated, professional older couples and we are continuously surprised that we are better informed.  Do none of these parents have friends with kids?  Do none of these parents read the baby books and look over the "sane" blogs? Is everyone so self absorbed they don't realize how their actions affect the rest of the world?

(says the couple with a blog dedicated to their pregnancy- lol!)

NOTE: Everything looks fine, I am totally normal.  Widget is doing well.  Apparently I need to gain more weight before next Tuesday and then we are completely and totally on schedule for a entirely normal pregnancy. Now to decide on a name!

Baby-moon at the Bay

This past weekend Ryan and I went to Chesapeake Beach in MD.  We had found a Living Social for an overnight at Chesapeake Beach Resort with a dinner gift certificate, a spa voucher and a bottle of wine.  We were very lucky to be able to grab a Saturday night before the baby comes.

We both took off Friday and spent the day resting at home and laying in the sun at Meridian Hill Park before packing for the bay.  After picking up the car at DCA on Saturday we took the hour drive to Chesapeake Beach and checked in for our spa appointments.  After a massage (for Ryan) and a pedi (for me) we went up to our Junior Suite with a beautiful view of the bay and put our stuff down before going for a walk on the boardwalk.  Chesapeake Beach used to be a weekend resort town for the rich from DC and Baltimore there was even a train that ran from the city to the water.  A long time ago there was even a huge wooden roller coaster over the water.  The city fell on hard times a while back but now it is a haven for rich politicos from the city and full of big houses and antique shops.

The resort boasts a few restaurants.  We ate at the Rod and Reel which was fine but the service was SUPER slow and we were entertained by a family altercation.  Sisters got into a fight over what kind of language they should use when talking to their mother- who was present.  There were tears and yelling and the sheriff was called and eventually the really drunk one apparently tried to get in to her car so they arrested her for drunk driving.  Between that, a wedding and a bunch of people  eating dinner before a local prom the night was exciting.

Sunday we spent lazing around the room, ordering room service and walking along the boardwalk before wandering back to DC.  It was nice to get away.

DC Shower

The last week of April Ryan and I had a few friends over for a DC "Widget is Coming" Shower.  I was very excited that so many of our friends were able to make it. (Thank you to Mike & Emily, Sam & Marika, Marissa & Travis, Christina, Robert and Maria, Timmy and Alli)

Ryan and I are not great at being social and DC is like in NYC in many ways (one being that you usually meet your friends out and about) but since moving into our new apartment we have managed to have three "parties." One for his 30th Birthday, one Holiday Bunch in December and then this Shower.

We got a bunch of pizza and beer and then people brought dessert.  Alli was great and took a few photos during present opening time but if we had thought about it Ry and I probably would have not sat right in front of the window.  Widget was given a few really cute outfits including a DC United, a Redskins and Trinity onsies, a few orange bath towels and some new soft toys.  Christina also made him an awesome diaper cake and Marissa & Travis created a fruit pizza with Widget written on it in blueberries.  We took name suggestions for Widget, had a betting pool on his birth weight and just generally ate and drank for a few hours on a beautiful weekend day.

One Month Left!

Unless Widget decides to come early we only have one more month before our two-some becomes a three-some.  I cannot believe he is almost here and although I know babies are more work out of the womb than in it, I am excited to get my body back- or at least the middle part of it.

We have a few items left to do before he joins us-

• Finalize a pediatrician
• Wash baby clothes and sheets
• Decide on bottles or breast-feeding
• Set up our will and guardianship for Widget
• Purchase final diaper wipes and diapers- decide on cloth or disposable
• Finish planning to be out of the office

Waistline

Ok- all my TX friends and family who attended the shower at Teran and John's house- My waistline is ALREADY at 41 inches.  I don't know who that kicks out of the running but just a heads up....

Spring Benefit 2012

This is Ryan and I at my Benefit on the 21st.  We had an awesome sepia toned photobooth by C. Stanley Photography.  More pictures are available on Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company's facebook page.

Ryan is being very wild west, wearing a costume and drinking a beer.  I am not.  My cow headdress came in the following Tuesday.

Bummer.

Nesting

Today we got started on nesting.  We had our crib sitting in it's box for a few weeks as we purchased it while it was on-sale at Allbee Baby but we weren't really ready to move the rest of our apartment around to accommodate it.  As we get closer and closer to our delivery date (only 5 weeks!) and since so many of the babies in my family come early, we started thinking we should probably get things situated around here and set aside Cinco de Mayo weekend to prepare.  

So today we moved furniture (or Ryan did) and tried to figure out where everything's current "final" placement should be.  Don't worry mom's- the crib is in our room not right by our main living room window where baby could get direct sunlight or strangle himself on the mini-blind cord.  (See we did learn something in baby care!)

Final pictures to come once everything looks cute.