It’s Official – MORE BABIES ON THE WAY!

Baby Remington has two – YES, TWO! – baby cousins on the way!

Stephanie and James are pregnant with their second baby.  He or she is due on August 18!  YAY! 

AND…Holly and Jeff just announced that they are expecting their fourth baby boy on August 14!  WOW!

We can’t wait to have the new baby cousins meet!  2009 is going to be an exciting year in our family!

Polka Dots and Paint for Valentine’s Day

Our Valentine’s Day treat was to have Holly and Jeff come down for a visit and to help us paint the nursery! We had a fun and relaxing weekend – well, relaxing for those of us that didn’t paint! :-)

The nursery – formerly “the pink room” – looks great! Three walls are yellow and one wall is a rusty red with polka dots. He also painted the ceiling, baseboards. THANKS JEFF! The idea came from my creative friend Stacey…THANKS STACEY!

We are now putting the final touches on Baby Remington’s room. Stay tuned for more photos!!

We did let Holly and Jeff out of the house for some fun, including some great meals, a trip out to Lake Travis, and a visit with the Martini Family!

Thanks for making the trip, Holly and Jeff! We love you both!!

Catching Up….

We’ve had a busy and fun February and are behind on updating the blog! We’ve had visitors every weekend and have been working on our to-do list to get ready for Baby Remington’s arrival. For the next few blog posts I’ll update you on what we’ve been up to . . .

In early February, Stephanie, James and Avery came down for Stephy’s 29^th birthday! Taylor (James’ sister) and her hubby Gary joined us for cupcake decorating and a night at the Salt Lick.

Avery was entertained by our doggie door.

We also spent a fun afternoon at the park where Avery explored the playground while Sadie and Maverick played ball.

Steph and James brought a bunch of baby gear for us to borrow for Baby Remington! Thanks, guys! It was a lot of fun to have them here and to celebrate Steph’s birthday!

Lessons Along the Way…

On Thursday I arrived a tad late to my prenatal yoga class (I call it "big belly yoga" :). For those of you familiar with yoga, but maybe not the "big belly" flavor, at the beginning of our classes we introduce ourselves to the other Yoga Mammas, share how far along we are, and anything that you'd like to share (sometimes it is like highs and lows!) Our teacher also asked us to share any "mommy wisdom" that we have learned along the way, or that someone had shared with us. And since I arrived late, naturally she started with me! (I hate being late and certainly wasn’t feeling very wise!) I told the group my name, that I'm 31 weeks along and that I didn't have any wisdom to share.

As I listened to the the Yoga Mommas share their wisdom -- some things they learned the hard way, and other wisdom that they were trying to embrace -- I realized that in the past 31 weeks I have learned so much about what it means to take care of myself, our marriage and this new little one...and I have SO MUCH MORE to learn!

So even though I don't feel like any of this is "wisdom," here are just a few of the many things I have learned along the way as we get ready to welcome Baby Remington:

• It is possible to love someone you've never laid eyes on.
• Changing your course -- even when unexpected-- can be an important part of the journey.
• The generosity, love and support of my friends and family continues to amaze me.
• I should consider doing PR for big belly yoga -- I love it so much!
• Removing stress -- even little ways -- can have a profound and positive impact on my life.
• First, choose a doctor you trust, and then trust their advice. (And another specific lesson on this topic: if your doctor tells you medicine is safe during pregnancy, and that you need it...take it!)
• No one's pregnancy or birth will be the same. (Related lesson: Avoid other people's horror stories about birth experiences.)
• In birth and parenting, prepare yourself for a positive outcome and be open to what happens on the way.
• Other friends that are also pregnant (or are recent Mommas) are an awesome resource.
• Being thankful is one important and very powerful way to feel great. I’m so very thankful for Jeremy and for Baby Remington! :)

Again, these are just a few of my little lessons I’ve learned recently. I'd love to hear some of your wisdom for your own life (not necessarily pregnancy or parenting related!) and what you've learned along your our journey.