michaelangelo would have had an iPod, too

For the past two or three weekends, Uncle Lawrence has been coming over to paint a mural in Baby McJ's room. Somehow, Paul and I decided on a Toy Story- Buzz Lighyear theme, so Lawrence came up with the perfect design. I'm taking "in progress" pictures as the artist completes his vision. I don't know how he does it-- he has a couple of shows he painting for, too plus working full time at Adrenium. I'll try to get some show info and post it here so you can see how amazing talented my brother is.

eBay never ceases to amaze me. Paul was able to find curtains, a valance and bedding (for when baby grows out of his crib) with the Buzz Lightyear theme for really good prices (the curtains and bedding together was around $50 plus shipping.) Funny thing about the sheets-- Paul got an email from the seller. Apparently, her toddler was "helping" her pack up the sheets and she didn't realize that his hands were covered in blueberry jam, so he got jam all over the sheets. She tried to wash them but was not successful in getting all the stains out-- hope that was okay! And, to make up for it, she would send some Buzz Lightyear wall stickers/borders for free. Paul forwarded the email to me and I couldn't stop laughing. (I see it as a "things to come" kind of thing.)

Anyway, everything arrived and the sheets are fine. There's a couple of smudges on the fitted sheet, but they are really hard to see.I highly doubt little McJ will mind!

a frosty valentines day

we woke up this morning and lo and behold-- snow! by lunchtime, there was nothing left. ah, well. it sure made for pretty pictures.

where's the baby?

Nadia is Natasha's three year old daughter. She was playing hostest during most of the party, asking if I needed to "pee-pee" or offering me a peanut. When it came to opening the presents, she asked "where are my presents?" Everyone tried to explain to her that the party was for Laurel and the presents were for the baby.

"Where is the baby?" Nadia would ask.

"The baby is in Laurel's tummy." Everyone assured her.

So, Nadia wasn't satisfied with that explanatio so she walked up to me between gift openings and asked, "Where is the baby?" I patted my belly and told her that baby was right here and she could put her hand there to feel for herself. Well, she put her hand on my belly, looked up at me and asked again, "Where is the baby?" She then proceeded to lift up my shirt and put her hands on my bare belly, carefully searching for Baby McJannet. I had to laugh because she was so determined to find this baby we kept insisting was right there in my belly. Unfortunately, Baby McJ was probably asleep otherwise he would have given a firm kick to say "Hey, here I am!"

our first baby shower

On Saturday, February 11th, Jillian and Natasha hosted a baby shower for me and Baby McJannet. It was a tea party that brought together the families. There was great food, great company and lots of oohing and aahing over the adorable baby outfits and baby necessities for Baby McJ. The party ended with a scrapbook created by Jillian's daughter Maddy and Kate's daughter Christina containing all the photos Jillian was taking during the shower, as well as snippets of advice given by the party goers. It was a thoughtful and very creative gift!

Here are more photos from the shower.

valentines a week early

So on Monday morning, I received a call from our receptionist.

"You've got a package up front."

"Um, is this something I can lift by myself?" (Being 8 months pregnant, with a belly out-to-there, it makes it hard to haul boxes and such.)

"Um, yeah. I think you can handle this one."

So, I trudge up to the reception area to find a Springy bouquet of flowers! From, who else, my dear husband!

He figured that since we are having our Valentines dinner the day before Valentines Day (the earliest reservation we could get at our favorite restaurant, Palomino, was around 8:45 p.m.!) why not have flowers delivered a week early and stretch out the holiday.

He's a smart one, that Paul hubby of mine.

back to Hollywood

...Schoolhouse, that is!

Our company had it's annual Winter Gala (our version of the traditional company holiday party) last night at the Hollywood Schoolhouse where Paul and I got married over two years ago. It was strange coming back to see the same place, with the same table set-up, the same food (yummy honey mesquite grilled salmon!) but with a bigger belly. :)

Here is a picture of Vivian, who is my very good friend and who was my bridesmaid; me, the former bride now mother-to-be and Paul, the husband and soon-to-be Daddy. Both of them are rubbing my belly. Just call me Budda.

33 weeks and counting

Aw, here's Baby McJ at 33 weeks, 5 days. I think he's going to be one of those babies that have a callous on his thumb when he's born from all the sucking he's been doing in-utero.

My doctor wants to make sure he's on track in his growth (not too big or too small.) The techinican said he was a tiny bit large at this stage, but not by much. Kids are always in such a hurry to grow up!

The last ultrasound we had was at 27 weeks. He's filled out much more since then and looks more like what you'd expect a baby to look like, all chubby cheeked and round, cute little lips. The poor little guy is already in a ball with his feet near his head. (Sorry, kid, your momma is short.) Apparently, he is going to have a lot of hair-- we were able to see a halo of hair encircling his head on the computer monitor. Lucky kid-- I didn't get hair until I was a year old and even with all the pink clothes, people still asked my mom if I was a boy. :p

super bowl, baby!

Paul and I were extremely lucky to be able to see the Seahawks win the NFC Championship at Qwest Field live and in person (thanks to his parents who scored some free tickets.) It was a sold out crowd and the fans were amazingly loud. We were in section 335, right at the 50 yard line. After all these years, it was great to finally witness a huge Seahawk win. It was quite a sight walking from Safeco Field (where we parked) to Qwest Field-- every parking lot and alley way was filled with people dressed in their Seahawk blue. As we were corralled through the entrance to be searched, strangers would whoop, hollar and high-5 each other yelling, "Seahawks, baby!" I still can't get over how the sold out crowd would chant "Super Bowl" when it looked like the Seahawks were sealing their victory or the sight of how the blue and green confetti rose all the way up to the "cheap seats." We stayed past the end of the game to watch the team receive their trophy and to see Shaun Alexander run around with the trophy over his head.

What a game! Although Baby McJ couldn't see his first NFC Championship game, I'm pretty sure he heard and felt it!

he's got skillz

That husband of mine-- when he gets a notion in his head, you can't stop him.

In less than 48 hours, he managed to tape, paint and install a chair railing in the baby's room. And, he got to use his new miter saw. (I think that was a helpful motivator!) Being pregnant, I couldn't help with the painting, so i did laundry Whoo-hoo.

Here are some before and after pictures. The pictures don't do the room justice-- we decided on a Toy Story/Buzz Lightyear adn Friends theme for the baby's room so the colors are "Isle of Capri" and "Sonic Boom." (A Disney color. You should have seen how excited the guy at Home Depot was to get to mix this one. He kept saying "SONIC BOOM!")

Last night, Paul built the crib and now we have tons of styrofoam and plastic bags that will take us months to get rid of. The crib looks awfully cute, though. It's amazing what a few pieces of baby furniture can do to make a seeming good-sized room seem smaller.

Uncle Larry has come up with preliminar sketches of the mural for the blank wall in the nursery. I cannot wait to see the finished product. Baby McJannet is lucky to have such a talented uncle. I'll be posting "in progress" pictures later. He's hoping to start next weekend.

this is a new one

I regularly visit PostSecret, a blog that allows anonymous postings of deep, dark secrets. I found this one particularly amusing, given my current state.

No wonder there was no parking at Babies R Us on Sunday!

there's something in the water...

There are four pregnant women at Verity where I work. C had her baby girl in December. K is due at the end of the month. K is due in February and I am due in March.

Last year, Verity ran several radio ads on JACK FM which featured employees on the air. In October, we created the "Something's in the water at Verity" ad. I've been meaning to post this, but you know how it goes. Listen to it now (it's an MP3 file.)

Before we head off to our family gatherings...

7 months and counting

Today marks 7 months! Time is really flying-- the 1st trimester seemed to drag on by; the 2nd trimester welcomed a return to my old energy and now I start trimester #3.

We had a second ultrasound last week and the baby is doing great. I like to think the baby was posing this time because the pictures we have show his hands near his face. There was an image on the screen that showed his hand under his chin in that "Senior picture" sort of way, but unfortunately. we didn't get a picture of that. I'll post what I have soon.

Another thing I learned at this ultrasound-- the baby appears to have big feet. You know what that means-- wink,wink. ;) I mentioned that to Paul and he said, "You're not supposed to talk about your son's penis like that!"

All I can say is that I'm glad that Paul has a way of finding good eBay deals on Oakley shoes. We're gonna need it.

I'm planning on enjoying the holidays because come January, it's full steam ahead with getting that nursery ready. (The room hasn't changed since we first moved into the house and that was more than two years ago!)

"T.M.I" at the tea and tour

Last week, Paul and I went to a free "tea and tour" at the hospital where we plan to have the baby. There were about six couples total. We got to see the maternity area and one of the suites so we could get an idea to what to expect. The birthing center has 13 suites, a waiting area with an aquarium, computer monitors so that nurses can check on patients at a glance. It was dimly lit and, surprisingly, very "cozy" and quiet for a hospital.

The suite itself has a mechanical bed so you can adjust it with a remote. The lucky father-to-be gets a chair that is supposed to convert to a twin bed, but really, it doesn't look very comfortable. There is a HUGE light that is stored in the ceiling that the doctor can bring down if she needs additional light-- it looked very much like the Millenium Falcon in Star Wars and I'm sure it will give the baby a nice suntan. There is a smallish tv and a VCR to watch movies that you can bring. The bathroom has a jet tub, which, I imagine could feel nice while you're in labor. I did take mental note to bring comfy socks and slippers for the cold, linoleum floor.

It's interesting to hear what people ask at these tours. They can reveal alot about the person asking. For example, one of the pregnant moms asked if they could bring their laptop and their gaming system-- and could the gaming system be hooked up to the tv in the suite. (I don't want to assume it's for hubby's sake. Maybe it's an alternative to the epidural?) Another couple asked of the hospital had birthing chairs. (The hospital doesn't.) The pregnant one of the couple shared with the group that she would probably need one because she has a varicose vein on, um, a certain part of her private area. (I'm sparing you the actual detail. But it rhymes with "baby-uh")

I know we're all pregnant and we're probably experencing a whole array of bodily functions, but really-- we did NOT need to hear about that!

kodak moments

Finally got a chance to upload some more recent pictures. I like to call this album, "Having a life while you're pregnant." You will also see our baby's first pictures (at 20 weeks). Look for more soon!

our first box of huggies diapers

Paul and I went to Costco yesterday and bought our first box of Huggies disposable diapers (with Gigglastic waistband!).

There was some question as to whether we got the right size, but from what we hear from friends with babies, we're gonna use 'em and it's time to start stockpiling our inventory.

I think I was a Pampers baby, but I say whatever holds the stuff in (and is on sale) is fine with me!

we've graduated from fruit to common household objects

Ah, remember the days when the baby was the size of a grape?

Well, at 25 weeks, the baby, according to Babyfit.com, is....

..."about the size of a household telephone."

What kind of phone? A sleek modern kind that cordless? A fat old one with a rotary dial? What? What?

A couple of weeks prior, the baby was "the size of a Nerf football" and "about the size of a Barbie doll."

I can only imagine what's coming next. If I see "about the size of a the car you drive," I'm in big trouble.

Ten fingers, ten toes, and one.... well, you know.

20 weeks - foot
Originally uploaded by mrsmcj.

This is a picture of Baby Boy McJannet's right foot at 20 weeks.(Yes, if you haven't already heard, it's a boy!) Hard to believe that was a month ago, but I've been too busy to post pictures. There are two pretty clear pictures of his profile which I will post on our website later.

So far, so good. The baby is active on a fairly regular schedule. Paul and I met our friend Shari (and her 4-month-old daughter)at Babies R Us over the Veteran's Day weekend where she helped steer us towards the baby stuff we really need. (Babies R Us is a so huge- how can something so small need so much stuff?!) Paul got to shoot the scanner gun at bottles, diapers, car seats, strollers, you name it. We were there for an additional hour after Shari left, making it a grand total of 2 1/2 hours spent at the store! That pretty much wiped me out for the day. I'm considering it training for when baby arrives.

I'm going to be such a good father.

Paul and his Oakley Medusa
Originally uploaded by mrsmcj.

This is:

a) The Predator, Oakley style

b) An Oakley Hair Rejuvenator

c) The latest in diaper changing technology (We are having a boy after all.)

d) Paul's latest Oakley acquisition, the Medusa.

your baby is the size of a lima bean

When we found out we were pregnant, I started visiting ParentCenter.com and signed up for their weekly emails. In each email, they detail how big the baby is and what kind of changes your body may be going through. (So far, they've been pretty accurate!) What cracks me up is that they use food to help you visualize your baby:

• 7 weeks: Your baby is the size of a raspberry.
• 8 weeks: Your baby is the size of a kidney bean.
• 9 weeks: Your baby is the size of a grape.
• 10 weeks: Your baby is the size of a kumquat.

Clearly, they are subliminally telling pregnant women to eat their fruits and veggies. When does the baby become the size of a hot fudge sundae, I'd like to know!

When we had our first ultrasound at 7 weeks to determine the "age" of the baby, it looked nothing like a raspberry. It was more like a round dot in a bigger dot. Paul and I christened the dot "Skittles." Like our baby, Skittles is made by the same company that makes M&M's. McJannet& McJannet... I know, how deep is that? ;)