Welcome Home, Oscar!

As of Saturday, we have a new member of the Husband Household. Oscar. :) A 3-year old, owner-turn in from FOHA. He is doing awesome. He's very well-mannered although he definitely needs to learn to listen to both of us. He's well on his way with Mike. In fact, he really likes Mike. It's cute and sort of funny...he follows him around and listens to him. He knows "sit", "stay" (sort of) and "come". And "out". We're planning on obedience training in a couple of weeks, which is what's recommended. 2 weeks to get used to his new home and then training. So, as awesome as the lil' guy is, we have had one small separation anxiety incident. We left him in the backyard for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon when we went to see a play at the Shakespeare theater, and he decided to try and get in the house by ripping the screens on the windows into the den (able to sit on the outside loveseat to do this) and by knocking the sliding door screen off. Thankfully, the door was able to be popped back into place. The window screens were cut off and will not be replaced til he gets over his issue. Hopefully, soon! ;)

He's doing well with walks and at the dog park. We've gone on several 1-2 mile walks, to the local frozen custard shop (he doesn't like Puppy Pops and shared his with a female Golden Retriever that was also hanging out) and to the dog park. He did very well at the dog park and really interacted with the other dogs. He did try to put his chin on a rottweiler that was there, which didn't last long. Thankfully, they were both good listeners. Oh, and his cousin Lilly came over last night for dinner and to visit. They did well together although he kept wanting to get behind her (and probably hump her) but she'd have none of it, and we spent the night telling him to stop until they both came to rest on the porch. Thankfully, once again, he listens. :)

Some more pics:

Close-up

MORE TO COME. MY COMPUTER IS ACTING UP.

::HAPPY DANCING::

I got the job at Manning Sossamon doing corporate/commercial work. It's initially just part-time (20-24 hrs/wk) but they hope to increase it to 30-32 hrs/wk very soon and then eventually to full time. I start June 1st and am very excited. All of the attys/assistants there seem awesome, and I know I'll enjoy working with them.

This worked out very well. My last paycheck/severance from Dechert is on June 1st, so I won't even have to use unemployment. It's working out perfect. I feel very lucky and blessed.

Woot! :)

Happy weekend, everyone!

xoxo
V

Awesome weekend...

My mom was here this weekend, and we had such a great time.

On Friday, we had dinner with our friends Joe and Kate. We were a bit late due to waiting for luggage at the airport, but Joe & Kate were patient and waited for us. :)Sushi was yummy...all cooked, of course.

Saturday morning mom went on the normally scheduled morning walk with me and Kate. Mel had houseguests of her own and couldn't come. We did 6 miles, made about as many potty stops and finished it off with a yummy breakfast sandwich from Mancini's. We then hurried and had to meet the family at Bistro Bis for John's graduation celebration! CONGRATS, TIA JUANITA! Such yummy food! We then went to BRU to buy Melanie's gift for her shower, which is coming up on May 30th! Shhhh...

Sunday was rainy, rainy, but Mike and my mom still ran the Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon. They both did great despite the rain, and it was pouring! After the race we had to go to Walmart to buy my mom a new sweatsuit, then we went to lunch at Macaroni Grill (where my mom found a piece of a top of the can in her soup (can you say free meal?)), and then to FOHA (Friends of Homeless Animals)(check out www.foha.org) to look at new dogs. I hate the idea of "replacing" Sierra but I've decided as long as we don't get another huskey then it'll be fine. We found Oscar, a 3 yr old German Shepard who was just turned in by his owners 2 weeks ago. He's so balanced and well-behaved. We have a house visit this week sometime to see if we'll be allowed to adopt him. Hope so!

Monday mom and I went to Great Beginnings so I could show her the store, which is AWESOME! I also wanted to play around with the strollers. I had no idea she was intending to buy us our stroller, so this was a very generous and welcomed surprise! :) I knew going in that I was leaning toward the UppaBaby Vista 2009 due to all my research recently (for those who have been reading this from the beginning and remember mention of the Stokke Xplory -- I changed my mind! It didn't get great reviews and was sort of odd and cheap looking). UB Vista is rated highly (an "A" in Baby Bargains) and can be used from infant to 50lb. It comes with a bassinet and a toddler seat, and it also has the car seat adaptor for the Graco Snugride 32. Yay! It's also rated for heavy use with it's all terrain wheels and front and rear suspension, so I'll be able to take it on my trail walks with the girls! (just a side note: at 1 yr, we will need to buy the Bob Jogging Stroller for running on the streets and trails, but since you can't run with the baby til they're a year old we have time for that one!). We bought it in red -- should arrive in 4 to 6 weeks. Can't wait! Thanks, mom!

17 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 17 weeks. 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: Still +10 as of this morning.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Insomnia - ugh! I've had several occurrences in the last week of waking up at 3 or 4am and not being able to fall back asleep at all or for several hours. Hoping this is a brief issue.
Best moment this week: What a wonderful weekend -- I'll write mroe about it in a separate post.
Movement: I'm back to not having any idea if I'm feeling something or not. Can't wait til it's definite movement.
Food cravings: Savory foods -- made lasagna for the 2nd time in 2 weeks last night, and I'm hoping Mike and I will be able to finish the whole 9x13 pan before it goes bad or we get sick of it.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Um, nope. And hopefully not for another 20+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Still in, of course.
What I miss: This week -- deli meat and not feeling guilty eating it even if it's toasted. It's recommended you not eat deli meat when pregnant (fear of listeria) unless it's cooked. I hadn't eaten it at all until this past week when I was downtown for lunch. Potbelly turkey and swiss on wheat was calling my name. Yum! They toast the whole sandwich, so I figured it was fine...but I still didn't enjoyit as much as I should have because of my thoughts of listeria. Poo!
What I am looking forward to: Feeling baby, contractor coming tomorrow to discuss changes to the nursery (paneling coming down, painting and new closet foors)and my conversation with Mendi this afternoon about job stuff (also another post).
Weekly Wisdom: Thinks will work out if you just pray about it and let things happen as they are supposed to.
Milestone: Bought the stroller (well, mom did)! Does that count as a milestone!?!

17 Weeks...

Packing on the pounds -- that's what it's all about for baby this week. He's adding fat stores that will keep him warm and cozy after he's born. Your baby's weight will increase approximately six times over the next four weeks. Good to know you're not the only one tipping the scale. Also this week:

Your baby is hard at work honing his sucking and swallowing reflexes—all the better for eating that 2 AM (and 5 AM, and 8 AM ...) meal in a few months! The finger- and toenails are beginning to grow from their nail beds, which would explain why he'll need them trimmed almost as soon as he's born!

Your baby weighs nearly 5 ounces and is a little over 5 inches long—about the size of a baked potato (load on the butter and sour cream, please).

*3D pregnancy

Baby H is ALL BOY!

There's no denying it! :) We officially confirmed that the little one joining our family come October will be Michael Alexander "Xander" Husband. We were able to get a couple of decent "money shots" (see below) even though the lil' guy seems to like to keep his legs crossed at his ankles. He also has great boxer technique and makes sure to always keep his face protected with his little fists. Must have learned that one from me since we have been going to boxing classes a couple times per week. ;)

We're super excited! And I'm even more excited to be able to (i) be confident in the nursery design and (ii) go buy a couple of lil' boy specific items tomorrow. Yay!

MONEY SHOT



DADDY's LONG LEGS!! :)

BIG SMILE! :)

Finally a Belly Pic and another Baby Purchase

Alright, alright ...so I have decided to start the process of weekly belly pics even though I still have more of a beer belly rather than a baby belly. :) From now on I'll do it with my weekly fun facts, but this one is a bit late. This pic is from today at 16 weeks, 2 days. I will say that while I know I just barely look like something may be growing in my belly, I am completely out of my normal jeans and these are my Seven maternity jeans that I LOVE!!



ALSO...and this is very exciting...a new baby purchase. Well, really two new purchases, but only one is terribly exciting. Ignore the boxes from my Dechert office in the background, but this new giraffe will be taking up permanent residence in the nursery as soon as we are able to decorate it. I found him at a shop down the street (Purple Goose) and couldn't resist. Sitting next to the still-nameless giraffe is the leather crocodile-embossed coffee table in espresso that will be next to the glider. I thought the crocodile was also sufficiently safari for the nursery. :)