For those of you who are interested in the latest goings on with Baby Rorex, here is the update. I went to the doctor today and he assured me yet again that things are looking great with the little dude. He said he looked over his ultra sound and that he is in the 22nd percentile. According to him, a small baby is fine, as long as it is a healthy small baby. And, every sign points to our little guy being healthy as can be! So, if my doctor isn't upset, I don't guess I should be either. I did tell him I wanted to slap the witchy ultra sound tech when she asked me if I smoked (which would make the baby measure small). The nerve of some people! I've never smoked a cigarette in my life and run the other way when I see someone else light up. The baby's heartbeat was 150 beats per minute and after my exam the doctor said he was sure that "I wouldn't have the baby in the next 15 minutes." ha.ha. He just cracks me up. I did get bragged on for only gaining 23.5 pounds so far during my pregnancy. I am thrilled beyond belief with that. Hopefully, I can keep up my new found good eating habits after the baby is born. ha.ha. Nothing else major to report. I go back next Thursday 4-2-09.

Hi! I just thought I'd drop in and share what all has been going on here for the past few days. As you all know, last Fri. I had a new ultra sound and doctor's appointment. When I've started telling people how much the baby weighs so far (5 lbs. and 3 or 4 ounces) they really freak out and say that he's "small". Yes, I know, I'm stupid for telling how much he weighs because you know you are going to get comments and advice but I always forget and open my big mouth when people ask the question. But, for the most part, they don't know what they are talking about. Not only can the estimates for weight pre-birth be off by more than a pound, I still had 4 weeks to go at my last appointment. Most babies put on 1/2 pound a week until delivery date. So.....just because he weighs a little over 5 pounds right now DOES NOT mean that will be his birth weight. I would think that most people (especially those that have already had children) would understand that concept but you'd think I had a premature baby already or something. Besides, if my doctor isn't upset, I'm not upset and he says everything looks FINE. I just haven't gained a crap load of unnecessary weight....so that could be why he isn't a hefty boy. Geez, like I don't have enough to worry about....It seems that people only have negative things to say. If I said he weighed 8 pounds by now they'd be saying, "Oh you're going to have to have a c-section". So, you can't win for losing. People are a treasure trove of unwanted comments.

If it isn't commenting on how much weight I've gained or not gained, how our life is going to change after the baby is born, and how we'll never travel again it all just burns me up. I wish you could see their faces when I tell them we already have a trip planned (and paid for) in August WITHOUT the baby! That was a pre-requesite before we got pregnant. We promised each other we'd always do our anniversary trip alone each August. I think it is important for couples to have time to just be with each other and not worry about anything else but spending time together. It cracks me up when most of the people that tell me we'll never go anywhere again alone, that the baby will sleep in our bed until he goes to elementary school and that they NEVER left their baby with anyone, not even a grandparent, are the people who are no longer married....I wonder if there is a correlation? I think it is vital for the health of a marriage to do things without your children every once in a while. I'm sure my baby will be just fine with my own mother for a week so we can have some time to ourselves. Geez, you'd think I said I was giving him away to strangers for good or something! O.k., enough of the negative stuff. I'm at 37 weeks as of today and me and my small, abandoned baby are doing just peachy! :)

We had a fantastic weekend and didn't do one single solitary thing baby related. We are so thrilled that our little guy is coming soon, but we just needed a break. O.k., I take that back, Matthew did work on our baby website and you can see his fully finished nursery at http://baby.mrorex.com. But, after Fri. evening, it was all about other stuff besides baby. We saw 3 movies this weekend! Yes, I know, I know, we'll never go to the movies again after he's born either....I'd just like to slap people.....Anyway....We saw Duplicity (3 or 3 1/2 out of 5 stars--it was just a little slow in parts) and I Love You, Man and Knowing (Both of which are strong 4 stars out of 5). We sat out on our porch for hours at a time, just chatting with the neighbors and watching the day go by. We planted flowers in our front beds (red and yellow tulips and purple pansies) and planted marigold seeds in the backyard bed. Matthew mowed, weed eated, and edged the grass. We went out to eat at least once or twice a day and slept at least until 11 after not going to bed before 1. It was Fab-U-Lous!

Well, I guess I'd better get off here. I'm awfully busy. Besides, it is a full time job figuring out how to starve myself so I'll have a small baby and making sure I have somewhere to dump him so I can go on tropical vacations on a regular basis. :)

Hello! We have some new ultra sound photos of the baby, if you'd like to see them. You can check them out on his site at http://baby.mrorex.com. He was quite the ham during his photo shoot today, from chewing on his umbilical cord and his feet to flipping us the bird. Yes, I'm serious. Go check out the photos! His bedding arrived today and we couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out. Check back in later today to see it for yourself. I'll let you know when the pics of it are up. For now, you can amuse yourself with little guy's latest photos! For those of you who are interested, he is indeed heads down now. So, that was good to know. His estimated weight is 5 lbs. and 3 or 4 ounces, so he's a little dude.

I can't believe Big Red has been a member of the family for over 2 weeks now and I'm just now getting around to posting pictures. Big Red is our new Ford Escape SUV! We have had Old Gray (our 1st Ford Escape) for 7 years now and he's past his prime, bless his heart. But, I couldn't part with him either, so they are the dynamic duo in our garage right now. I christened both of them with their names the day we brought Big Red home.

We had to clean out the garage and do some major organizing to get 2 cars in there. We've been a 1 car family for several years now. That usually surprises a lot of people to hear that. But, when Matthew traveled, I went with him and when he didn't travel, he usually worked from home. So, neither of us was ever without access to a car. So, it worked out nicely only having 1 car payment and 1 car maintenance schedule to deal with. Old Gray was paid off a couple years ago, right around the time we moved into the house and we said we'd get a new car "soon". Well, house stuff took priority and we just never got around to getting another vehicle. With our baby on the way, we figured it was time to go ahead and get the new car we'd been talking about getting.

Now both Old Gray and Big Red have car seat bases installed in them just waiting for the big day and they take turns transporting the actual car seat. No need to make one or the other of them jealous. :) I don't have any photos of Old Gray because he was in need of a washing at press time, but here are plenty of Big Red.

I'll check back in tomorrow after my ultra sound and doctor's appointment to let everyone know the latest. Also, the bedding for the baby's room arrives tomorrow! Matthew will get a new panoramic video up on his blog then and I'll let you all know when it is posted. A big thanks to Matthew for taking these photos for me so I could finally get them up on the blog.


Below: Big Red, looking snazzy, parked in the driveway for his photo shoot.
Below: A frontal view.
Below: The car seat, all ready to go!
Below: Another view of the car seat.
Below: Leather seats. Matthew really wanted leather which I've come around to and his beloved SYNC which I totally hate and will not come around to. For those of you not in the know, SYNC is a voice activated system that integrates with your cell phone. The SYNC is banned when I'm in the vehicle. It has an ear splitting ring to it when your phone rings. I don't mind the Sirius Satellite radio though. It is pretty cool to finally be able to listen to the radio without annoying commercials.
Below: Another interior view.
Below: A cool shot of the top of our house, taken through the roof of Big Red. I get a sunroof and a moonroof confused, but Big Red has whatever this thing is...I like it; it makes the car feel very spacious when it is open.
Below: Another side view.
Below: The "Easy Fuel" system. No gas cap to lose!
Below: One of Big Red's best features! His new Nashville Predators plate!

Well holy crap...today marks the beginning of my 9th month of pregnancy. To say that I am ready to get on with the getting on is an understatement. I also am starting to get nervous about the whole labor and delivery bit as well. I'm planning on getting an epidural so I'm not so concerned about the pain part of it. I'm scared of all the "what if's". What if something goes wrong with me or the baby? What if I don't know I'm in labor? What if someone isn't available for Lexi when we have to leave to go to the hospital? What if the house isn't clean when we leave and I have to come back to a dirty house? What if I forget one of the 4 bags I have packed to take to the hospital? What if I run out of Chapstick or mini Scope mouthwashes during my stay? You know sane, important worries like that. :)

This past weekend has been a busy one. First off my mom came down on Fri. to have one last shopping excursion with me before the baby comes. We only hit up half a dozen stores or so over the course of the weekend because I just can't hang like I usually can. We usually do 8 hour shopping marathons each day. I was ready to die after 4 hours on Saturday and I only made it an hour or so on Sunday before I had to come home and crash. I didn't get much rest though, because after mom left Matthew and I set out on a baby-centric shopping spree to get some of the last remaining items for the nursery (like a waterproof mattress pad for example). We did get his bedding ordered on Sunday but it could take a couple weeks for it to get here. So that is one more thing on my "what if's" list. What if the baby's bedding doesn't arrive in time? Yes, I know that we could just run on over to the mall and pick up a random sheet set to throw on his bed in a pinch. But, it wouldn't be the Pred-tastic yellow darlings that have to be custom made (hence taking up to 2 weeks) that I really, really, want him to sleep on. Oh well, I guess I'll live and so will he, if he comes early.

I'm now on a once a week appointment schedule with my doctor. According to him, nothing major is happening yet, so that is a good thing. As much as I am ready for the baby to be here, I want him to be born as close to his 40 week mark as possible. Today starts my 36th week, so we still have a month if all goes as hoped.

For the past week or so, random strangers have started asking me when I'm due and when I tell them April 13th they get this horrified look on their faces and say things like, "I figured you were due ANY day now" or "Oh my gosh, you are so huge already". What?! What is a 9 months pregnant lady supposed to look like? Like she just ate a large lunch consisting of a salad and a bottle of water? I don't think I look THAT fat. After all, I've only gained 20 or 20 1/2 pounds. But, then again, I guess that doesn't help me out much because I wasn't exactly Miss Skinny Pants before I got pregnant. Oh well.

I guess I'd better get off here. My beloved Predators are in California all week this week and they are playing the Kings in 30 minutes. Plus, Matthew is downstairs marinating some yummy fillet mignon. I'll be sure to put on extra cheese, bacon bits, and butter on my baked potatoe tonight. That way all the commenters will really be able to say I'm fat!

Hello! I thought I'd share some of our favorite baby gear that we've gotten so far for our son. We did a lot of research before buying these items. Not only are we first time parents (therefore very picky), we're not really into "babyish" looking things. So, we wanted to find gear that was suitable/practical for a baby but also matched our tastes in style. That really is easier said than done. But, I will say that we only have 1 more item left to purchase and his nursery will be FINISHED! Not that we don't have a list a mile long with various sundry items on it left to get, but as far as things that go in the nursery, we are nearly set! We plan on ordering the remaining item (his bedding) this weekend! Take a look at what we have so far. I'll post some pics of his nursery after the bedding gets here.



Car Seat & Stroller: When I first found out I was pregnant, we made a trip to Babies R Us to look at car seats. We wanted to do all of our research early to make the best possible choice for a seat. Matthew test drove every car seat and stroller combo in the store and we also looked A LOT on the internet before we decided on the Chicco family of products. After we picked out the Chicco, we started seeing people out and about with their babies using it. So, me being the shy person that I am :) I just started asking people their opinions on Chicco car seats and strollers. Everyone said they were the best purchase they had made so far for their babies. Matthew was told by another dad in Babies R Us that having a stoller that stands up when it is folded is "key" so that is why he recommended the Chicco. While we haven't used these products yet, I have a feeling we are going to join the Chicco Nation and be singing its praises to every person we meet too. Check out the snazzy number we chose for our little guy in the link below. There are tons of other colors, if you aren't as fond of The Extreme as we are. I'm really liking The Miro too, but it wasn't available when we bought ours. I will point out that we bought the Key Fit 30 car seat. This car seat is rated for babies up to 30 pounds. Chicco also makes a smaller infant car seat that more people seem to own because it comes as a combo unit with a stroller. But, we made our own combo unit by just getting the stroller and car seat in the same color, but they came in different boxes. It really wasn't that big of a deal to buy them without them being a "travel system". The only difference is that they didn't come in the same box and our car seat is rated for a baby up to 30 pounds so we'll get more use out of it. We bought The Cortina stroller, but there are a few other stroller choices availble as well.

Swing: We went back and forth on our decision to purchase a swing. We know he'll only use it for a few months but this one was too cute to pass up. One of the main reasons we didn't want a swing to begin with is because they are so dang ugly and babyish (usually). Even Matthew loved this one when we got it out of the box. It matches perfectly in our living room. Since we were going to be keeping it in the living room, we wanted something that would look nice in there and not scream "look at me, I'm a baby swing." This one does the trick. The seat is removable and can be used as just a baby carrier. That was the reason I wanted it. It doubles as an infant carrier for around the house and it is also a swing. We haven't found it in any stores, but had no trouble ordering it off of amazon.com. The swing is made by Fisher-Price and they have an entire collection of items in this same design, called The Zen Collection. We've got our eye on the high chair for use down the road.

Play Yard: Again, Chicco made the cut for one of our baby items. This one was a gift from my parents for our baby shower. Since we will most likely use this in the living room as well, it needed to go with our decor/match like the swing. I didn't want to just get a basinette, as I figured he'd out grow that too quickly. The play yard is a play pen and a basinette and has all kind of cool features like music, a night light, and vibration. We bought this from Albee Baby and were very satisfied with their service. They have free shipping on all items over $100 and had the play yard we wanted for the cheapest price. I would highly recommend using them, as it was our first time using them and we were satisifed with their business. This play yard also comes in the cool Miro color that I really liked.

Diaper Bag: I really, really wanted a diaper bag that matched our car seat and stroller. This is easier said than done. I searched orange diaper bags thru google until I was sick of searching for them. There was always something "wrong" with every bag I looked at until I came across
this one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond online. I had no idea Bed, Bath, and Beyond sold baby items, but they do! I actually found it by searching for "orange diaper bags" through nextag.com and I really liked this one. When it arrived, it did seem a little large but I know babies have a lot of junk to tote along, so it will work out fine, I'm sure. Plus, it comes with stroller clips so I'll be able to attach it to the stroller most of the time instead of lugging it around on my shoulder. The two insulated pockets are what sold me besides its color. And, yes, it does match nearly perfectly with The Extreme. The Extreme has a gray stitching pattern running through its orange color that makes it not match exactly, but I don't think you could get any closer unless Chicco sold a diaper bag themselves that went with it. This bag also comes in other colors, that I think would work for those not interested in a bright orange diaper bag. :) Wouldn't you know it that I did find a smaller version post purchase that would also match with The Extreme Chicco Car Seat and stroller? It is sold on amazon.com and I just now found it while trying to look up the other bag that we actually bought.

Bedding: This one was the most difficult of all--trying to find bright, solid color crib bedding is nearly impossible. I searched and searched and of course Matthew ended up being the one to find the bedding we plan to order. He's a luckier "searcher" than I am apparently. We were so thrilled to find yellow crib sheets that weren't pastel, I just had to add this to my list of must have baby gear. They have other solid colors too, if your nursery is decorated in something other than Nashville Predators Hockey team colors. :) What sold Matthew on this bedding was that the dust ruffle is available in a box pleat as well as the ruffle variety. He really wanted a dust ruffle that wasn't a "ruffle" and they have them here.

If there is anything else that you'd like to know about our nursery purchases, please feel free to ask. I'm glad to give advice/opinions about anything we've bought if you want to know more. I'm sure I'll be updating this page once he arrives and actually uses some of this stuff. :) Like Matthew said last night, "The baby has more gear than we do!"

On March 1st, two of the sweetest gals I know threw Matthew, baby Rorex, and I a shower! I've known Carrie & Tara since college and they are great friends. I'm so thankful to them for all the hard work they put into our shower. It was so fun and we felt so loved by all our friends and family who were able to be there! One thing about the shower that I didn't expect was that it made everything seem so "real" now. We are definitely getting closer. As of this post, I only have 5 more weeks to go!

I also want to say a special thank you to Doug & Phyllis, who had such a long drive to come to the shower. We were so glad to see you and hope you can come back and see the little guy after he gets here! My parents and Leann also had a hefty trek to make. Thanks guys for coming! It meant a lot to us that you could be there in person!


Below: An adorable bouquet, made by Carrie and Tara. It took me a few minutes of staring at it before I realized that what I thought were roses were actually tiny, baby socks! How neat!
Below: All the yummy food! I consumed at least half of those strawberries. :)
Below: All our thoughtful gifts. Thank you so much everyone.
Below: The Daddy & Mommy To Be, with our diaper cake--also made by Carrie and Tara. Those two sure are talented!
Below: Another pic of me with the diaper cake. I put this one on here mainly so you could see how huge my belly is! Yes, I am barefoot. Deal with it. :)
Below: L to R: Tara, Me, Carrie
Below: L to R: My mom (Adele), Me, My dad (Lonnie). My mom is going to LOVE this photo, because she appears taller than me in it. She's shorter than I am by about 2-3 inches, but since I am barefoot, she gets to be the tall one. :)
Below: L to R: Matthew, Me, and Matthew's sister LeannYes, I do have photos of Doug & Phyllis too, but they would never speak to me again if I posted their photos. I had to beg them to get their pics made with me and their pics turned out just great. But, I do want them to speak to me again so sorry, no pics of them. There was a particularly good one of my Dad and Doug, but again, I can't post it. I threatened to put it in the newspaper, but I value their friendship too much. ha.ha. Love you guys! :)

Hello there. I know you are shocked beyond belief that I am back for the 2nd day in a row. I know I am! ha.ha. But, I have wanted to post these pics from Hilton Head forever and have kept putting it off.

While there we saw the most jellyfish I have ever seen at one time. Maybe it was the time of year? I hope there aren't that many jellyfish in the summer, because I know it is a popular family destination and some of these suckers were HUGE. I'd hate to meet up with one of these while swimming, especially if I were a child. I have never seen any this size, except in an aquarium. I've been jellyfish stung twice in my life and believe me when I say it is NOT fun.

We also saw a starfish (pictured below). I've been to the beach more times than I can count and this is the first time I've ever seen a starfish, dead or alive, in the "wild". I also added a photo of one of the many sand dollars I rescued. Some of these were most definitely alive, so I picked up as many as I could and tossed them back into the ocean. On one of the days, I found at least 20, so Matthew kept teasing me that I found "20 dollars" on the beach. :)

I still have a lot of Hilton Head pictures and baby shower pictures that I need to post. But, I'll get to those when I can. In the meantime, enjoy the jellies and other sea creatures.


Below: A basketball sized jellyfish.
Below: Matthew poses with it, to show its size compared to his hand. No, he didn't touch it, even though I tried to get him to. :)
Below: Another huge jelly. See its size compared to my size 8 1/2 tennis shoe?!
Below: The one and only starfish I've ever seen at the beach.
Below: One of my rescued dollars, pre-rescue.

O.k., yes, I know I said I was going to get better about blogging more often. It just gets more and more crazy as the weeks go by around here, with the anticipated arrival of our little boy! I'm currently 34 weeks. Only 6 more weeks to go. If I've ever had a better excuse to be slow on blogging, that would be it!

Well, I guess the last time I talked to you, I was complaining about Anoop Desai being voted off of Idol. Now that is the least of my worries. Truthfully, I haven't even watched Idol since that post back in mid Feb. I guess this past weekend was the craziest, but one of the most fun, we've had in quite a while. I will say that the most excited I've been was this Sat. when the Preds beat Detroit 8-0. I don't think I've screamed that much since my high school cheerleading days! Way to go Preds!

My sister-in-law Leann and her dog Maggie came up to stay with us. We had never met Maggie and it has been nearly 3 years since we've seen Leann so we were very happy to see them! We had a busy but fun weekend catching up.

I also had down 3 good friends from high school, Elisha, Amy, and Angie on Saturday for lunch. Then, on Sunday was the baby shower. Needless to say, we crashed Sun. night! I think Lexi slept for 2 days after Maggie left. ha.ha. Lexi isn't used to having someone around to play with. She usually leads a pretty boring life, with just Matthew and I for company. I guess she was glad to have another canine in the house.

The pictures at the bottom of this blog are of the pups. I'll post the shower ones later. A special thank you to Mom, Dad, Leann, Doug, and Phyllis who all had long drives to come to the shower. We were so glad you all could make it! And, a million hugs to Carrie and Tara for hosting!

We have done a lot to the nursery, but I don't want to really post pictures until it is totally finished. Matthew has been sneaking a few shots up on the baby's blog. You can find it at our http://www.mrorex.com page and go to the baby's blog from there. We'll have some good pics up in a couple weeks of his room. The only things we have left to get into his room are the rocker glider (which has been ordered) and we need to order his crib bedding. I'm also psyched about the arrival of his play yard (a gift from mom and dad) that should arrive sometime this week.

A little note about the following photos: I think Maggie takes some great pictures. Leann was so shocked after returning to our house after dinner out with friends that we had gotten Maggie to hold still for a photo shoot. These aren't some of Lexi's finest shots, but Lexi was tired after a long day of running around. She's an old grumpy girl and can't hang with a pup like Maggie. ha.ha. But they still both look cute in these pics!


Below: I'd LOVE to know what was going through both of their heads in this photo. Any guesses?

Lexi (left) and Maggie (right)
Below: Don't I look so sweet and innocent?
Below: Lexi is down for the count. Maggie is just getting warmed up. :)
Below: Who me? I didn't do anything?!
Below: The sad eyes. Do you have a snack for me? Pretty please?
Below: I'm getting tired now.....
Below: Success! Both cousins are FINALLY asleep for the night. Yeah right! Try a 15 minute power nap for these two! ha.ha.