Party at our Crib

So we went yesterday and picked out our crib and matress, and had them delivered today. In a mere hour, it was expertly assembled and setup in the nursery. Trace helped to get our fancy designer bedding on it...and voila!


Now we just need to get a couple of other pieces for the nursery and a respectable new HDTV in the living room for Baby Einstein episodes (oh, and if the SuperBowl or March Madness happen to come on, I promise not to complain.)

With Christmas just around the corner, we are especially aware of the significance of Christmas and that amazing birth over 2,000 years ago. We pray the Lord's richest blessings on each of you and thank you for your love and friendship. Okay, back to Sunday Night Football...

Merry Christmas!

Only 7 weeks until the big day!
The Mom-to-be and the Christmas tree!

The Tum it is a Growin!

31 weeks! More info coming soon...

Boxed up

I know, I know...we are seriously delinquent on our tummy pictures! The sad truth is, we took a new picture when we were in Montreal 3 weeks ago, and then came home and packed up our cameras in preparation to move into our new apartment! It has now been 2 1/2 weeks, and all of our things are still in storage, and we're camping out New York style -- see here for explanation.

I am now 30 weeks along, and still growing! Hopefully we'll have our cameras back this weekend, and can post new pictures.

Kevin's sisters threw me a baby shower last weekend in Dallas, so I'll post pictures of that too, once I get them.

It seems that so much of pregnancy is a waiting game...why not the Baby Blog too??

26 weeks

The latest pic!

Holy cow - there really is a baby in there - Kevin here with a quick note on the blog - it's amazing to get to feel (and actually see) this little person kicking away in Tracey's tummy. Truly a crazy sensation to feel movement in her stomach. We are so excited about this little one and how much joy it will bring into our lives. Grandparents (particularly Grandmas) on both sides are primed and ready, as are the future aunts and uncle. It still seems a long way away, but given how quick the last few months have flown by, it will be here before we know it! Until the next update...

Calling all mothers!

As I mentioned, Kevin and I registered at Babies 'R Us on Saturday for all those baby necessities. As you also know, we are grade-A, 100% rookies! We would look at each other with a glazed expression and one of us would ask, "Uh, do we need one of those? Which one should we get? How many different kinds of bottle nipples are there in the world?!?"

While we feel pretty confident in the things we registered for (absolute lack of experience talking there), we are also confident that we usually have no idea what we're talking about. That's where you come in!

I received a fantastic email from my dear friend Amber W. in TX telling me that after 2 kids, if she could go back and register for ONE thing, it would be a temporal thermometer. It's a little pricey (about $50), but when you have a sick baby is absolutely essential! It is the kind they use at the pediatricians office, and she said that if I don't register for one I'll want to run right out and buy one the first time the Littlest gets sick, and to heck with the cost.

This is invaluable information that I, of course, would not have known if it hadn't been revealed to me by the loving wisdom of my friend.

Sooooooo, mothers...if you have a beloved product that you feel like no new mother should live without, let me know!

**Disclaimer: If, after you have lovingly passed along your hard-earned wisdom, you should visit my registry and not find your item listed, I'm sure there is a very good reason, such as any one or more of the following: a.) I haven't gotten around to adding it yet, b.) we already have one, c.) I will be borrowing said item from Kev's cousin Carrie who has 3 children under the age of 3 and whose house is a veritable Babies 'R Us all by itself, or d.) I once again have completely forgotten something else important -- what my friend Amber W. refers to as "my brains are falling out." See here for explanation.

23 Weeks down, 17 to go!

We took this picture on Saturday morning just before we went out to register for baby gear. We spent about 2 1/2 hours at Babies 'R Us down at Union Square. We don't have a Target in the city, and the only other baby megastore is Buy Buy Baby, which they don't have in Texas. (Kevin's sisters are throwing me a shower in Dallas at the beginning of December).

Babies 'R Us has a great packet of information they give you before you register, obviously to try to help make this overwhelming process a little less daunting. But even with that, we find ourselves standing in front of an entire wall of pacifiers going, "Ummm..." I mean, really? Who in the world knows?!? And how many millions of kinds of bottle nipples can there be? Or kinds of diapers in different sizes with different features? We don't know how big the baby will be...do we buy the smallest ones? Or the middle ones? And how many of which size do we need to start? And which bathtub is best? Does it even really matter? And there are like 17 different thermometers. It's like, how confusing can we possibly make it for these first time parents. We also have the added concern of serious lack of space...so we register for the basics, and the smallest available option as well.

In spite of all of that, we actually had so much fun. Kevin definitely enjoyed this more then registering for our wedding. He was so cute, expertly wielding the registery "gun". We would have two options of a product, and he would say "yes, but which one is the best? Is that the Rolls Royce of..." whatever it was. His favorite item of the day was the Baby Bjorn, which he will be getting plenty of use of. He has been wanting to carry around our Littlest in a Bjorn for years! Well, in about 17 weeks (or so) he'll finally get his chance!

Latest pic of the tum!

20 weeks

We're about a week behind on posting photos, but we'll catch up...promise! I'm at 21 weeks now, but only have the 20 week photo on my computer.

The black band around my waist is an amazing product recommended to my by my dear friend and fellow-preggo, Tami. It's called a Bella Band, and it's a super stretchy tube of material that goes over the top of your pants and your stomach. That way, you can keep wearing your pre-pregnancy pants that don't quite button around the tum anymore, and no one can see that they're unbuttoned. It's awesome! I clearly have it pulled down a bit here so you can fully appreciate the tum.

I had to share a pic of my favorite t-shirt! I got it in a load of maternity clothes from my dear friend Dana. It's got a Buddha on the front and says, "For Good Luck Rub My Tummy." Ha!

Halfway there...

We hit 20 weeks on Saturday, and are now officially halfway through the pregnancy. What I'm assuming is the easy half. So far, things have been wonderful. I have been embarrassingly healthy, and currently feel fantastic! I feel a little nervous even saying it, for fear I'll be eating my words before I know it. But I'm going to enjoy the blessing while it lasts.

We went to the hospital this morning for our 20 week ultrasound, and got to spend about 45 minutes looking at the Littlest on TV. This was the anatomy scan where they check everything -- head, eyes, nose, heart chambers, kidneys, bladder, diaphragm, stomach, spine, arms and legs, fingers and toes. We watched our Little One kick and wiggle while the technician recorded all the vital stats. Everything looks good. It's little heart is beating away at about 171 beats per minute. We made sure the tech knew that we didn't want to know the sex, but I'm not going to say it wasn't tempting to take a peek and see if we could see anything. But we stayed true to our decision, and Baby Clem remains a mystery until the big unveiling on D-Day in February.

Here are a few pics of the Littlest from this morning. They aren't great...just profile shots. The Littlest is laying on its back, and the head is at the left side of the picture facing up. In the first one, you can kind of make out an arm in the center of the picture, and a leg bent up on the far right side. I know, I know...it's kind of a baby Rorschach test. Please don't feel bad if it just looks like a black and white blob to you...it kind of does to us too.

We're Back!

Well, we're back from Asia and certainly have some catching up to do!

Somewhere between 17 and 18 weeks, my tummy popped out a bit. Before that, it mostly looked like I just ate a big breakfast. Then, sometime in that week, Baby Clem decided it was time to stop making mommy look pudgey, and let her actually look preggo. So, the tummy, while still modest, is definitely more prominent. Hallelujah! No longer any need for the t-shirt I was thinking of making that says "I'm not fat, I'm just pregnant." :)

We had a check up on Thursday with my OB, and all is well. We didn't get to see the Littlest, but we did get to hear the heartbeat pounding away at about 150 beats a minute. We are getting ready to schedule our BIG ultrasound for sometime in the next two weeks. This is where they check out all the little parts to make sure everything is developing properly. It's also the appointment where you can find out the sex of the baby...however, as most of you know, we're waiting until the Littlest makes its appearance in February to find out. Anyway, we should have good pics of Baby Clem pretty soon...which I know you all would much rather see then tedious pictures of me and my very slowly expanding tum. Just be patient! Weeks 19 and 17 are below...

-Trace

Week 19

Week 17

14 weeks...

Here's the 14 week picture...a little late, but better late then never, right? I'm 15 weeks today, but Kevin is in Chicago this weekend, so no one is here to take tummy pics. We'll get 15 weeks posted when we can.

I'm in the process of packing for our trip to Asia...we leave tomorrow morning. It's seriously frustrating, and in many ways a little demoralizing. I'm at that point where I'm still too "normal" to fit in maternity clothes, but still too "pregnant" to fit in normal clothes. So everything I have is slightly too tight, or seriously too big. This makes packing for 3 weeks a bit of a chore. I leave at 15 weeks, and return at 18 weeks...supposedly, there is A LOT of growth that takes place in those 3 weeks. So I have to plan for things that fit now, but that might not fit as well 3 weeks from now. Needless to say, I'm packing way more then I want to. I just don't know what's going to fit!

Now, on top of that...we are spending the last week of our trip on the beach. Hmmm...swimsuit. So, I put on my swimsuits this week, you know, just to make sure. Ok, really? Let's just say that there are parts of my anatomy that clearly don't fit in my swimsuits anymore. The bikini tops cover so little of pregnancy-enhanced "girls" that I look like I should be on the cover of one of those trashy men's magazines. Additionally, it is a common misconception that you are growing a baby in your tummy. Actually, if you look at the evidence, I am growing a baby in my butt...since this seems to be the location of the most increase. So, now I have to go out and purchase swimsuits that will hopefully fit me in 2 weeks. This was a little hard as it's mid-August, and NO ONE has swimsuits anymore. I pieced a few together, with only a few tears shed and slight damage to my psyche, and should be decently covered in Bali. Just don't expect any swimsuit pictures to circulate post trip!

So here's our 14 week pic. We will be back in three weeks and will post an update then...maybe even a more obvious tummy, and lots of fun trip details!

13 Weeks

Well, this is the last week of my first trimester...which is seriously hard to believe. Thought we'd put up this week's tummy picture...still not much change. I'm still feeling good, though it's been crazy hot in New York this week, which has absolutely sucked all of my energy. It's exhausting! We are so looking forward to autumn! By the time we get back from Asia, things should be better.

Anyway...here's week 13!

Growing Tummy??

Well, for all of our friends and family who do not live in New York (and for posterity sake) we've started taking pictures of the tum every week to chart its growth. As my friend Amber W. said, she's gotta see me pregnant, otherwise it'll be just too weird for me to show up with a baby without ever having seen the tum. So, on Saturdays we're snapping pictures...and I'm sorry to say, there is not much to see...barely even a bump. But maybe someday I'll look back on these pictures and think, "hmm...so that's what my stomach looked like BEFORE children!"

12 weeks

11 weeks

12 week check-up

Well, I went to my OB today for my 12 week check up, and things are looking great. It was a pretty quick visit, as I think they mostly are from here on out. Just a quick ultrasound to look at the little heart beating away, and a check of my vitals, and that was about it. She did have the results of my Nucal screening from last week, which were excellent. According to the test I have a 1 in >10,000 chance of having a baby with Down's Syndrome...it's the best possible test result you can have. So, we're definitely thanking God for that! Not that we were every really worried, but it's always nice to have good news!

With our birthday's coming up this weekend, it's hard not to look forward and think of the drastic changes this next year of our lives is going to bring. It is a mix of feelings that I'm sure all first time parents feel...excitement, trepidation, joy, absolute terror, and the overwhelming feeling of, "hey, wait a minute! Who said I was capable of raising a person?!?" We are, needless to say, praying our way through it...as I'm sure we will be for the rest of our lives. What else can you do?

-Trace

Nuchal Translucency Screening

Kevin and I went to the hospital on Wednesday, July 25, for my Nuchal Translucency Screening...a blood test and ultra sound to help detect Down's Syndrome, as well as other chromosomal abnormalities. This was our first external ultrasound, and when the technician started scanning around Kevin and I both gasped. There was actually a baby in there! We could see it! It wasn't just a shapless blob! There was a head, with a cute little profile. We could see it moving it's arms and kicking it's tiny legs. We got to both see and hear the heartbeat. And the whole thing is only 2 inches long! Absolutely astounding!

We have a whole raft of pics, including the one below with the little arm sticking up...we think it's pretty cute.

We have another appointment next Tuesday with my OB...it's our 12 week check up. And then we'll probably start breaking the big news to a wider audience. Things are looking good so far...we just keep praying.

- Trace

A Night at Yankee Stadium

Last week my Uncle Gary and Aunt Suzy were in town to visit my cousins Carrie and Tom and their three little ones (part of the Gary 7 - Ron 1 count). Gary wanted to get to Yankee Stadium before they move to the new stadium year after next, so they treated us to a weekend game at "The House that Ruth Built."

The Yankees got hammered by the Devil Rays, but we had a great time, and Suzy got us a fun little t-shirt for the little one. While little Clem Jr. will definitely be a die-hard DODGER fan, I guess they'll always have a little connection to the Yankees, so no harm no foul I suppose.

Thanks Gar and Sue for a great time! (Go Dodgers!)

- Kev

A bun in the oven!

June 6th, 2007 - everything changed. We have a little one on the way. This blog will follow our journey from little peanut to little person. It's nutzo, but it's happening!



Here's a pic of me shortly after Trace surprised me with two infant sized "My first LA Dodger caps" - needless to say, I was SO excited, with a little disbelief mixed in there too!

- Kev