First baby picture

We wanted to share this "first" picture of our new baby (although it looks like a blob in this image)! Yes, we're expecting our second child in June! We had an ultrasound in early November to determine my due date. This image was taken when the baby measured 7 weeks 1 day. I'm now 12 weeks. I had my second doctor's appointment yesterday and heard a very strong, steady heartbeat - the most wonderful sound!

So far, things are going very well, except for the fact that I've been very sick. I was sick with Ryan, but nothing like what I've experienced with this pregnancy. I feel like I missed the whole month of November. I know it was probably even tougher since I had Ryan around and he wasn't thrilled with the idea of mommy lying on the couch for seven weeks! I'm still not 100%, but feeling much better. I'm so thankful that Mike is such a supportive and involved husband and daddy. He helped me out so much with Ryan and keeping the house clean and functioning - all while having a smile on his face.

So, my official due date is June 26th, but I'm hoping this little one makes an early appearance like his/her big brother! Mike graduates from his MBA program on June 16th and then has a couple of weeks off, so the timing works out perfectly. Once again, we're going to wait until the birth to find out the sex of the baby. With Ryan, I had a feeling I was having a boy, but I don't have any feelings one way or another with this baby. We'll see!!

First Christmas Gift

Ryan received an early Christmas present over the weekend - a "Ryan-sized" rocking easy chair with matching ottoman! It's a hit at our house. He really enjoys reading books, so we put it in our living room, right next to his baskets of books. He likes to sit in the chair, snuggle up with his blanket made by Great-Grandma Yates and look at his books.

You can see from the pictures, he enjoys using the chair for other things - like testing limits. As I'm taking the picture, I'm reminding him that he must sit down on his bottom. By the defiant look on his face, you can obviously tell we need to work on his listening skills!! I'm sure I'm reinforcing bad behavior by taking pictures, but I couldn't resist.

Ryan also discovered this evening how to use boxes to climb onto things he can't reach on his own. I walked into the kitchen and he was just hanging out in one of our wicker chairs. There was a cookie jar box sitting suspiciously on the floor in front of the chair. I'm hoping he'll forget how he did that - otherwise, he'll be climbing all over everything!

SNOW!

You're not imagining things...that is snow in Central California! Every year, they pump snow into Caledonia Park in Pacific Grove. Ryan wasn't too sure of the cold, wet stuff, but it was fun to take him down to check it out. We realized he has no snow gear, but he was fine, he just came home with a wet bottom! There was also a petting zoo, jump houses, Santa Claus arrived, and carolers. It was a great kick-off to the holiday season.

Gotta go - the Huskies are playing Gonzaga and it's actually on TV here! Go Dawgs!