Beach Daze

Our little family of three (which will soon be four) packed up our car and went to the beach for the weekend.  It was a nice getaway! 

Friday we took off of work to drive 3 hours to the beach.  We were about an hour behind schedule, but it all worked out okay.  Marissa took two naps on the way and was ready to go when we got to the hotel.  We unloaded our bags and decided to break out the stroller and hit the board walk to get some lunch.  Marissa loves riding in her stroller. 

We grabbed Chinese for lunch and then headed back to the hotel room to get ready for dinner.  We met Dorsey and Kadee (and lil Tommy, too) for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants.  We had patio seating which was nice, though it was a little hot.  Kadee being 38 weeks pregnant had to be ready for AC by the time we left.  But we chowed down on all kinds of yumminess!  After dinner we strolled back to the hotel to get Marissa in bed at a decent time. 

Danny and Dorsey with Marissa

Just like her daddy, always has to have her feet propped up.

Saturday we walked to Starbucks for iced coffees.  Marissa and I shared a sausage egg and cheese muffin, it was tasty!  Are you noticing a common theme in this post?  Ha, ha...our trip was all about food! :) Then we hit the pool for a little bit!

That afternoon we met some new friends for pizza and hanging out on the beach.  Megan and Lauren are some friends that have been a part of a mom's group that I am also in.  Their babies are also born in August, just like Marissa.  It was really neat to see all three kids together.  Marissa is by far the smallest baby, but she was also the only girl.  They all really seemed to like the beach, Chayse loved the water but Marissa didn't think much of the waves.  We tried to sit her in the sand with just a little bit of water but she screamed.  We tried explaining that it was just like a giant bath tub to her, but have you ever tried reasoning with a 10 month old?  Hopefully in September when we go to the OBX she will warm up to the ocean a little bit.

Lauren, Chayse, Alicia, Marissa, Megan and Jackson!

Chayse

Chayse and Marissa

Chayse, Marissa and Jackson

So cute!

Yeah, not havin' this dad!

Marissa was happy just watching..in the background you can see Chayse having a ball in the water!

Safe with momma

Cat napping on the beach

Ahh, refreshing!

We hung out at the beach for a few hours and then went our separate ways.  Marissa slept in the stroller while we walked back to the hotel room and then we got cleaned up and started making dinner plans for that night.  We found this really great restaurant and had a really nice dinner (minus Marissa being crabby and not wanting to sit in her high chair, so we played pass the baby during dinner).  Danny had a tuna steak with chow mein noodles and a ginger cucumber salad (yum!) and I had salad and steamed crab legs.  It was delicious!  We were so full after dinner that we didn't save room for ice cream.

I love this picture of us!  Marissa is all smiles. :-D

Before we knew it, it was already Sunday and time to start packing up to head home.  We cleaned out the hotel room and packed a day bag for strolling the board walk. We went out to a nice breakfast and did some shopping.  We got Marissa a beach bag full of beach toys for our next beach trip.  I got a swimsuit cover up (though I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to wear it) and Danny got some new sandals.  All in all it was a nice day.  We finally got on the road and were home by 4:30 that evening.  We got unpacked and relaxed before another work week started.  It was nice to have a relaxing family weekend with just the three of us.  :)



You Are My Sunshine...

This child is seriously the sunshine of my life!  She melts my heart every day with her sweet smile, quirky laugh and the excitement she gets for me when she hasn't seen me all day.  This is what life is about!

Today at my appointment I got to hear the new baby's heart beat.  It was 150 beats per minute (BPM).  Danny thinks we are having another girl.  Only 8 more weeks until we find out! :)

1st Belly Pic

I've been slacking in the baby belly photos so I figured I would take one today at 12w2d.

12 Weeks

I am almost out of the first trimester already.  Where is the time going? 

A few notes for my 12th week:

• I have lost 2 pounds since finding out I am pregnant
• I eat like I have a bottomless pit in my stomach
• No more morning sickness as long as I eat often (which is no problem, see above)
• I'm tired often and staying up late with my husband to watch Sons of Anarchy on Netflix does not help this
• Not really sure if this one is a boy or a girl...a part of me thinks maybe boy since I had a few bad weeks of morning sickness, but another part of me thinks girl...8 more weeks to find out!
• I have been getting a lot of headaches, not sure if it's lack of caffeine or just hormones
• Still not really into coffee...which makes me sad, I miss my coffee!
• Still pumping for Marissa but counting down the weeks until I can finally ditch the pump.  Unless you've exclusively pumped before, you have no idea what a PITA it is.
• I have yet to take a belly picture.  I was so good with Marissa but I've been slacking this time.

Yesterday was a pajamas kind of day, it was overcast and gloomy outside.  Danny slept in until a little after 11:00 while I got up with Marissa.  Once he got up he promptly sat his butt on the couch all day.  I guess that's what you are supposed to do on Father's Day.  We grilled steaks and asparagus, it was yummy!

My parents came for a short visit on Saturday; just for the day.  They watched Marissa while I went to a friend's baby shower.  There were 5 pregnant women at the shower, and a 7 week old and a 5 month old baby as well.  Babies are in bloom!

From Left to Right: Debbie, myself, Sophie (the mom-to-be), Rami and Betty.  I used to work with all of these lovely ladies.

I am getting very excited for our upcoming weekend trip to the beach!  We are going to meet up with some old and new friends and I can't wait!  Hopefully we get lots of pictures and the weather cooperates.

What You've (All) Been Waiting For!

Sorry, you did not win the lottery...

But I know you've all been waiting for recent pictures of Miss Marissa. :)

Marissa and Danny at Aubrey's Birthday Party

 Miss Aubrey and her Aunt Lauren

Me and Marissa

Knox

Being silly with daddy

Cake Smash!

Little Miss Sunshine

Playing with Hunter

She looks so sad!

Hunter man!

My sweet pea!

 That's all for now!

Better luck next time on the lottery. :-D

The Busy Life = No Time for Pictures

I apologize in advance for not posting any recent pictures of Marissa.  I have two weekends of pictures on my camera that I need to upload but I haven't found the time.

We went to Lake Anna with some friends and Marissa had her first encounter with sand.  She loved it!  There were racing boats in the lake that were extremely loud (don't worry, it wasn't loud enough to cause any damage, we were at a distance) and Marissa didn't seem to be bothered at all.  We were worried that they might scare her but she enjoyed watching them go back and fourth and taking in all of the people at the lake.  She even cuddled up to her momma and took a little cat nap with all the excitement!  As you know, I was in pure heaven while she napped in my arms. :)  We are hopeful that she will not be scared of fireworks on July 4th.  We might just make an exception for her to be up past her bedtime for all the festivities. 

After the lake we went to an Asian restaurant with Erin and Robey and got sushi at the hibachi grill.  Of course, I had to settle on a california roll while Danny devoured spicy tuna and salmon rolls, my favorite.  Sometimes being pregnant is no fun!

MmMmmM...(don't knock it if you haven't tried it!)

Last Sunday we had some friends over for a cook out and the girls scrapbooked while the guys watched the kiddo's.  It was fun to see Hunter and Marissa interacting.  I have pictures of them together that I will (hopefully) post soon!

This weekend I am going to Sophie's baby shower.  I'm excited to see her!

Sunday is Father's Day!  This is Danny's first Father's Day.  I'm not really sure what we are doing yet.  He hasn't said what he wants to do.  I'm sure we will either grill out or go out to eat.  He of course doesn't want to make a big deal out of a "Hallmark holiday."  I plan to let him sleep in and if he's nice he might get breakfast in bed.  Who am I kidding?  He sleeps in all the time. :)

We booked our hotel for our weekend away in Virginia Beach.  With Danny's Marriott Rewards we were able to get an ocean front hotel right on the board walk.  I guess all of his travel does count for something, right?  Hopefully we will be meeting up with some friends, doing lots of strolling the board walk with Marissa, playing in the pool and on the beach and eating lots of yummy food!  We don't go out much anymore so we figured we could splurge a little on a weekend vacay! 

I'm super excited because my parents bought Marissa the white vintage kitchen I had been eyeballing for her birthday!  It was delivered this week.  Danny hasn't put it together yet, but I can't wait to see it.  Now I have to figure out which accessories to buy her for her birthday.  There's so much to choose from.  Thanks again mom and dad, that was very generous of you!

9 Month Stats!

Marissa had her 9 month well baby appointment yesterday!  The doctor said she is looking good and is developmentally on track. 

Length - 27" - 27th percentile

Weight - 17 pounds 15 ounces (just shy of 18 pounds) - 30th percentile

Head Circumfrence - 17" - 24th percentile

We still have a petite little girl.  Danny took her to her appointment and joked with the nurse that Marissa will be thanking her momma for that when she's older. We'll see.  I think she may be taller than me. 

Marissa is pulling up on everything now and she's getting pretty good at it.  The other day I went out to water my flowers and left the front door open with the storm door closed.  Before I finished watering my plants Marissa had crawled over to the door and stood up, she was standing there banging on the glass.  There's not anything for her to pull on so I guess she just needed enough suction on the glass to stand.  It was quite interesting trying to tell her to sit down so I could open the door without her falling. 

Look at my big girl!  She's not a tiny baby anymore. :(

We have a retirement party to attend tomorrow afternoon and Sunday we are having some friends over for a cook-out and the girls are going to scrapbook.  I'm hoping I can get some of Marissa's party supplies done.  I bought a cartridge with ladybugs on it for my Cricut but I haven't gotten to take it out of the box yet.

Today Danny and I are celebrating 5 years together!  This picture was taken when we first began dating.  It's hard to believe I met the love of my life at 19.  I can't imagine my life without him.

Happy Friday!



Melissa & Doug

While shopping around for Aubrey's birthday gift "Melissa & Doug" toys were suggested to me.  And now I am hooked!  There are so many cute things I want to get for Marissa.  I really hate that the majority of children's toys are cheap, plastic, gaudy junk (that make way too much noise)!  I love that these are wooden toys and look so realistic.  I want to find her a wooden play kitchen and maybe start getting her accessories to go along with it for birthday's, Christmas, etc. 

I think I might get her this Picnic Basket and this Shopping Set for her birthday!  You know that every little person loves to mimic what mommy and daddy does.  I loved playing "house" and "school" when I was younger!

 

And when she gets a little bit older I love all of these different sets! 

Cookies

Pizza

Fruit

Sushi

Sundaes

Grill Set

Okay, seriously...the sets are endless!  I would have loved a set like this as a kid, how fun!  Mom - why didn't I have a set like this?!  :)


And check out these kitchen sets!  Ahh, I'm like a kid in a candy store.  How cool do these look? 

 
 
Seriously, Marissa is going to have a nicer kitchen than me!  I love this white set!


Okay, I've had a little too much fun today! 

Marissa goes to her 9 month well baby visit tomorrow.  So stay tuned for updated percentiles on weight, height and her head.  =)