Not really in the mood for writing right now -- but here's my most recent belly pic!
Edit: From the morning of 2/27:
(proof that it does grow throughout the day!)
Friday, February 26, 2010
18 week belly picture
I feel like I don't look this way at the beginning of the day, but I definitely do toward the end!
Not really in the mood for writing right now -- but here's my most recent belly pic!
Edit: From the morning of 2/27:
(proof that it does grow throughout the day!)
Not really in the mood for writing right now -- but here's my most recent belly pic!
Edit: From the morning of 2/27:
(proof that it does grow throughout the day!)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
the (slowly) growing belly
In my sixteenth week, Baby Stead will grow from a navel orange to the size of an avocado!! I am amazed by the recent growth and all of the changes in development. This week, the tiny bones in Baby Stead's ears are in place, making it likely that he or she can hear me! Fortunately my coughing has almost ceased, or the poor baby would be sick of me before meeting me.
Starting last weekend, we've done a lot of baby stuff! It was actually coincidental, as it started with me shopping for a girlfriend's baby shower. We were at Babies'R'us (which was a HORRIBLE experience, by the way... I have rarely had such poor service, and never when spending so much money) and I saw the display for a crib I'd been eying online. The only thing was that this crib, the one I loved, had been out of stock for a month! At one point Babies'R'us took backorders, but then they just stopped and no one would say when it would be back. Well, it was on display, so we thought we'd ask if they had it!
An hour later, we found out that they did (hence the extra-poor customer service that was provided by the assistant manager Curtis) and there was one left!!! We had to get it, right?
So we did! Following some other troubles (they gave us the wrong one, so we had to bring it back and exchange... uh!!) on Tuesday of this week we ended up with our crib. And what did we then do? Put it together, of course! Realistically, we didn't want it taking up space in the guest room/soon-to-be-nursery, but I was afraid if we didn't at least inspect it, we'd end up with a defective one past our return date. Now that it's together, it's not coming apart! I've just kept the door closed to that room -- we need to move out some furniture before it will look live-able :)
Here's a stock photo:
I don't have a complete photo of it in the room, and it doesn't have a mattress or any bedding anyway, but here's one of Roxie. She had a difficult time allowing us to put it together :)
I couldn't stop looking at diaper bags, and when I found this one I loved it. It happened to be on sale, so it only made sense to buy it, right?! I like that it's gender neutral and it's something I will be able to re-purpose in the future. (It's also made out of recycled plastic -- but that's just a plus!)
check it out:
Lastly, my belly photo for this week.. forgive me for looking very very tired! It was taken at around 6:30am!
Next week we're going to North Carolina to visit Scott's aunt and uncle at their beach house. I'll update with photos when we get back!
Starting last weekend, we've done a lot of baby stuff! It was actually coincidental, as it started with me shopping for a girlfriend's baby shower. We were at Babies'R'us (which was a HORRIBLE experience, by the way... I have rarely had such poor service, and never when spending so much money) and I saw the display for a crib I'd been eying online. The only thing was that this crib, the one I loved, had been out of stock for a month! At one point Babies'R'us took backorders, but then they just stopped and no one would say when it would be back. Well, it was on display, so we thought we'd ask if they had it!
An hour later, we found out that they did (hence the extra-poor customer service that was provided by the assistant manager Curtis) and there was one left!!! We had to get it, right?
So we did! Following some other troubles (they gave us the wrong one, so we had to bring it back and exchange... uh!!) on Tuesday of this week we ended up with our crib. And what did we then do? Put it together, of course! Realistically, we didn't want it taking up space in the guest room/soon-to-be-nursery, but I was afraid if we didn't at least inspect it, we'd end up with a defective one past our return date. Now that it's together, it's not coming apart! I've just kept the door closed to that room -- we need to move out some furniture before it will look live-able :)
Here's a stock photo:
I don't have a complete photo of it in the room, and it doesn't have a mattress or any bedding anyway, but here's one of Roxie. She had a difficult time allowing us to put it together :)
I couldn't stop looking at diaper bags, and when I found this one I loved it. It happened to be on sale, so it only made sense to buy it, right?! I like that it's gender neutral and it's something I will be able to re-purpose in the future. (It's also made out of recycled plastic -- but that's just a plus!)
check it out:
Lastly, my belly photo for this week.. forgive me for looking very very tired! It was taken at around 6:30am!
Next week we're going to North Carolina to visit Scott's aunt and uncle at their beach house. I'll update with photos when we get back!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
update
I have not been great about tending to my blog lately! Although I've had time, I have been seriously lacking motivation and energy. Where is this second trimester energy everyone is talking about?!
In December, we had the opportunity to visit with Melanie, Jake, and Adora for a few days before Christmas. Adora had her first Christmas tree, but Mel and Jake couldn't place any presents under it in fear she would get into them early. Scott and I brought about 15 books for her Christmas presents, so we decided to wrap them individually (so it seemed like more, right?!) and place a few underneath the tree each evening. It was such a joy watching her search the tree for presents and open each one. Each time she would ask for help, but her mama would tell her, "You can do it" and she would. Each time she acted like she was opening a brick of gold instead of a book. Here's hoping she keeps that excitement for small things for years to come!
Here are the photos:
And a video:
Scott really enjoyed his time getting to know Adora. In past visits, he usually sees her in a large group of people and spends a few minutes with her here and there. Seeing them play in Adora's element was just so cute I had to get a few photos:
In baby news, I'm finally in the second trimester but not much has changed. I still look close to the same -- maybe a little more swollen than before! After getting two different infections and a load of medication, I am finally starting to feel post-pregnancy normal (which is nothing like pre-pregnancy normal!) I haven't taken a belly shot for a few weeks now, but I'll post the last ones I took:
at six weeks
at ten weeks
During week 14, the fetus will grow from the size of a lemon to the size of an apple. In the following week, it will grow to the size of a large naval orange! Surely by this point I will be showing a little something more... I think I am being spared now because my stomach wasn't rock solid to begin with (and the little bebe is so small).
At ten weeks, we took a test called Intelligender that allegedly reports the sex of the baby. We got a girl result! I'm not having a lot of faith in this urine and chemical test, but we should find out either way on March 8th (I'm hoping). My plan is to be sneaky and schedule my doctor appointment that day... then tell my OB "But I'll be 19 weeks and 3 days!" so he'll let me schedule the ultrasound then too. His preference is 20 weeks, but lots of women I know find out the sex at 16 weeks! I know, I know... he wants to wait to look for abnormalities... but I already know this baby will be perfect however s/he is, so I don't care about that!
We are using this time to do some serious nesting -- ie. complete projects on our home that we swore we'd get to but we'll never do post-baby if we wait. We're traveling in February and March, but once we return, our plan is to complete the kitchen remodel! We're replacing our white appliances with stainless and our tile counter tops with granite. Hopefully we'll throw some granite on both of the bathroom counters too -- but that may end up being more intricate than we think (with sinks and all). Either way, we're super excited to get the project underway and I'm even more excited for it to be finished before Baby Stead makes an appearance.
In December, we had the opportunity to visit with Melanie, Jake, and Adora for a few days before Christmas. Adora had her first Christmas tree, but Mel and Jake couldn't place any presents under it in fear she would get into them early. Scott and I brought about 15 books for her Christmas presents, so we decided to wrap them individually (so it seemed like more, right?!) and place a few underneath the tree each evening. It was such a joy watching her search the tree for presents and open each one. Each time she would ask for help, but her mama would tell her, "You can do it" and she would. Each time she acted like she was opening a brick of gold instead of a book. Here's hoping she keeps that excitement for small things for years to come!
Here are the photos:
And a video:
Scott really enjoyed his time getting to know Adora. In past visits, he usually sees her in a large group of people and spends a few minutes with her here and there. Seeing them play in Adora's element was just so cute I had to get a few photos:
In baby news, I'm finally in the second trimester but not much has changed. I still look close to the same -- maybe a little more swollen than before! After getting two different infections and a load of medication, I am finally starting to feel post-pregnancy normal (which is nothing like pre-pregnancy normal!) I haven't taken a belly shot for a few weeks now, but I'll post the last ones I took:
at six weeks
at ten weeks
During week 14, the fetus will grow from the size of a lemon to the size of an apple. In the following week, it will grow to the size of a large naval orange! Surely by this point I will be showing a little something more... I think I am being spared now because my stomach wasn't rock solid to begin with (and the little bebe is so small).
At ten weeks, we took a test called Intelligender that allegedly reports the sex of the baby. We got a girl result! I'm not having a lot of faith in this urine and chemical test, but we should find out either way on March 8th (I'm hoping). My plan is to be sneaky and schedule my doctor appointment that day... then tell my OB "But I'll be 19 weeks and 3 days!" so he'll let me schedule the ultrasound then too. His preference is 20 weeks, but lots of women I know find out the sex at 16 weeks! I know, I know... he wants to wait to look for abnormalities... but I already know this baby will be perfect however s/he is, so I don't care about that!
We are using this time to do some serious nesting -- ie. complete projects on our home that we swore we'd get to but we'll never do post-baby if we wait. We're traveling in February and March, but once we return, our plan is to complete the kitchen remodel! We're replacing our white appliances with stainless and our tile counter tops with granite. Hopefully we'll throw some granite on both of the bathroom counters too -- but that may end up being more intricate than we think (with sinks and all). Either way, we're super excited to get the project underway and I'm even more excited for it to be finished before Baby Stead makes an appearance.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Love her :)
Uncle Scott reading to Adora. I love to hear her say our names. ("Cott" for scott and "Lala" for Laura)
Friday, January 1, 2010
Another year
I did this last year and enjoy looking back at it, so here goes again!
January-- Scott and I celebrated our first anniversary as a married couple on December 31, 2008. We woke up January 1 at our lovely house in Southdowns, but only lived there for a couple weeks. On January 16 (also my sister's birthday!) we closed on our first home in Springlake subdivision in Baton Rouge. We spent countless hours painting and making other small changes before moving in a week later. We bought our first fancy washer and dryer and a great new living room set.
February-- The delivery of our wonderful things took quite a while! The first few weeks we were in our home, we didn't have our new things. That meant lying on a blanket on the floor watching DVD's (our television service wasn't yet set up either). We made the best of it and spent a lot of time unpacking. We celebrated our 3rd Valentines Day together as a couple.
March-- Our new home was missing something... so we planted an Oklahoma Redbud tree in the front yard. We were easily swayed by the beautiful early Spring blooms.
April-- We celebrated my 26th birthday/Arbor Day by planting a red maple in the back yard. Scott and I both took that Friday off of work and we spent a wonderful day together. I ate at India's with Jeff for lunch.
May-- School ended mid-may, and I had a lot of work to complete to close out the school year. My position ended May 31, so I had almost an entire month off of work in June. We spent our time getting our last minute things together for our big vacation in June.
June-- Scott and I spent a week in Montego Bay, Jamaica at the Sunset Beach Resort. We enjoyed our time but found Jamaica to be a very sad, desperate country. Later that month, I threw a baby shower for a co-worker who was adopting. I visited Melanie, Jake, and Adora for five days. Near the end of the month, I started in my new position at a middle school in Baton Rouge. Roxie kept me busy with two dog parties in one day.
July-- We celebrated Scott's birthday with dinner at a Thai restaurant that he loves. I convinced him that we would be picking up take-out, but when we got there, my mom and Jeff were there. He still thought it was a coincidence... until I told him to go sit down. We ended the evening watching a movie (his choice, which is rare!) The next day we met our dear friends Jeremy and Ashley in New Orleans to visit the "bug zoo." We spent some time at the museum and enjoyed a day of summer in the French Quarter. Scott and I joined the YMCA and started regularly attending classes.
August-- School started early August and I started at my new school. We went to the Baton Rouge Balloon Festival and Scott was interviewed by Channel 2. We DVR'd the news that evening and were so tickled to see Scott on TV. We decided Scott has a Southern accent -- something I've never noticed before!! We went to Austin, Texas for five days and loved it so much that it was hard to come home.
September-- We spent the day in New Orleans at The Aquarium of the America's and Cafe Maspero. We did a little shopping in the French Quarter and drove past our favorite hotel, La Pavillion.
October-- Scott and I had the opportunity to attend a tailgate party on the terrace of the journalism building at LSU. We watched James Carville broadcast Serius XM radio from the terrace and I was lucky enough to snap a photo with him. We watched the Tigers flood the streets around the stadium, but we weren't lucky enough to get tickets to the game! On Halloween night, we finally made it to the Tiger Den Suites -- courtesy of AT&T. I have no desire to ever sit in the regular stadium seating again :)
November-- I found out this month that I was pregnant. It was everything we have wished for and I didn't believe it was true. After two blood tests, I started to believe it. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom, Jeff, brother Joshua, and step-brother Joseph. We went to LSU vs Arkansas in the suite and I was unable to enjoy the complementary alcohol! Fortunately I wasn't feeling sick, but it was very cold.
December-- The last week of school, I took off some time and Scott and went to Wichita Falls to visit Melanie, Jake, and Adora. We spent our last Christmas as a two-person family. Christmas Eve we ate dinner with my mom. Christmas morning we shared breakfast with my mom and our family, and then went to Slidell to spend time with Scott's family. We shared our news with Scott's mom and she was overjoyed. For our anniversary, we drove all over town getting ingredients for the perfect stay-at-home dinner. We made a fantastic cheese fondue (with fancy cheese from Whole Foods) and dipped vegetables, bread, and apples into the cheese. Scott had a grilled his steak and I baked a stuffed chicken breast. By the time we got to the main course, I couldn't eat my chicken!! We stayed up reading until midnight (thrilling, I know!!), kissed for the new year, and went to bed.
I can't wait to see what 2010 brings us! Happy New Year!!
January-- Scott and I celebrated our first anniversary as a married couple on December 31, 2008. We woke up January 1 at our lovely house in Southdowns, but only lived there for a couple weeks. On January 16 (also my sister's birthday!) we closed on our first home in Springlake subdivision in Baton Rouge. We spent countless hours painting and making other small changes before moving in a week later. We bought our first fancy washer and dryer and a great new living room set.
February-- The delivery of our wonderful things took quite a while! The first few weeks we were in our home, we didn't have our new things. That meant lying on a blanket on the floor watching DVD's (our television service wasn't yet set up either). We made the best of it and spent a lot of time unpacking. We celebrated our 3rd Valentines Day together as a couple.
March-- Our new home was missing something... so we planted an Oklahoma Redbud tree in the front yard. We were easily swayed by the beautiful early Spring blooms.
April-- We celebrated my 26th birthday/Arbor Day by planting a red maple in the back yard. Scott and I both took that Friday off of work and we spent a wonderful day together. I ate at India's with Jeff for lunch.
May-- School ended mid-may, and I had a lot of work to complete to close out the school year. My position ended May 31, so I had almost an entire month off of work in June. We spent our time getting our last minute things together for our big vacation in June.
June-- Scott and I spent a week in Montego Bay, Jamaica at the Sunset Beach Resort. We enjoyed our time but found Jamaica to be a very sad, desperate country. Later that month, I threw a baby shower for a co-worker who was adopting. I visited Melanie, Jake, and Adora for five days. Near the end of the month, I started in my new position at a middle school in Baton Rouge. Roxie kept me busy with two dog parties in one day.
July-- We celebrated Scott's birthday with dinner at a Thai restaurant that he loves. I convinced him that we would be picking up take-out, but when we got there, my mom and Jeff were there. He still thought it was a coincidence... until I told him to go sit down. We ended the evening watching a movie (his choice, which is rare!) The next day we met our dear friends Jeremy and Ashley in New Orleans to visit the "bug zoo." We spent some time at the museum and enjoyed a day of summer in the French Quarter. Scott and I joined the YMCA and started regularly attending classes.
August-- School started early August and I started at my new school. We went to the Baton Rouge Balloon Festival and Scott was interviewed by Channel 2. We DVR'd the news that evening and were so tickled to see Scott on TV. We decided Scott has a Southern accent -- something I've never noticed before!! We went to Austin, Texas for five days and loved it so much that it was hard to come home.
September-- We spent the day in New Orleans at The Aquarium of the America's and Cafe Maspero. We did a little shopping in the French Quarter and drove past our favorite hotel, La Pavillion.
October-- Scott and I had the opportunity to attend a tailgate party on the terrace of the journalism building at LSU. We watched James Carville broadcast Serius XM radio from the terrace and I was lucky enough to snap a photo with him. We watched the Tigers flood the streets around the stadium, but we weren't lucky enough to get tickets to the game! On Halloween night, we finally made it to the Tiger Den Suites -- courtesy of AT&T. I have no desire to ever sit in the regular stadium seating again :)
November-- I found out this month that I was pregnant. It was everything we have wished for and I didn't believe it was true. After two blood tests, I started to believe it. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom, Jeff, brother Joshua, and step-brother Joseph. We went to LSU vs Arkansas in the suite and I was unable to enjoy the complementary alcohol! Fortunately I wasn't feeling sick, but it was very cold.
December-- The last week of school, I took off some time and Scott and went to Wichita Falls to visit Melanie, Jake, and Adora. We spent our last Christmas as a two-person family. Christmas Eve we ate dinner with my mom. Christmas morning we shared breakfast with my mom and our family, and then went to Slidell to spend time with Scott's family. We shared our news with Scott's mom and she was overjoyed. For our anniversary, we drove all over town getting ingredients for the perfect stay-at-home dinner. We made a fantastic cheese fondue (with fancy cheese from Whole Foods) and dipped vegetables, bread, and apples into the cheese. Scott had a grilled his steak and I baked a stuffed chicken breast. By the time we got to the main course, I couldn't eat my chicken!! We stayed up reading until midnight (thrilling, I know!!), kissed for the new year, and went to bed.
I can't wait to see what 2010 brings us! Happy New Year!!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving
I've had plenty of time to reflect on the many things I am thankful for this year. Although I'm not a big fan of holidays and huge get-togethers, this year has me nostalgic in a different way. Instead of spending this time wishing I could change all of the things that I don't like, I'll take a moment to reflect on all of the positivity that has occurred in my life, shaping who I am.
I am thankful for my mom, who made her life a struggle so mine wouldn't be. I am thankful for all of the things that she did that go unrecognized, such as maintaining my mental and physical health. I fully believe I would not be the person that I am today without having such a strong role model in my life.
I am thankful for my sister Melanie, who has been not only a sister but a best friend throughout the years. I'm thankful for the things that we've experienced together and also those separate experiences that we can both learn from. I know she is always there for me whether I need to laugh or cry (or, like many times, both).
I'm thankful for my older brothers, Joshua and Jonathan and my younger step-brother, Joseph. They often keep me in touch with the male perspective, making me both laugh and glad to be a woman. Without my brothers, I would not be as well rounded a person.
I'm thankful for my step-father, who came into my life at a time that I was rebellious and unmanageable! He still loved me and showed me what it was like to have a supportive father. Jeff made my wedding so special by walking me down the aisle and handing me off to my wonderful husband.
I am thankful for Tracie and Dale Singleton, who are wonderful parents for my niece Bethany. I cannot imagine a better home for Bethany and am so thankful for her wonderful family.
I'm thankful for modern medicine for making things happen that were otherwise not possible. I'm thankful for my job and my supportive co-workers and supervisor. I'm thankful for my beautiful home, my car that always starts, my friends and family that are always there when I need them, and my animals that always make me smile.
Lastly, I am so thankful for my husband Scott, without whom I would not be as sane as I am right now! Scott is my best friend, my rock, and the love of my life. I couldn't ask for more.
I am thankful for my mom, who made her life a struggle so mine wouldn't be. I am thankful for all of the things that she did that go unrecognized, such as maintaining my mental and physical health. I fully believe I would not be the person that I am today without having such a strong role model in my life.
I am thankful for my sister Melanie, who has been not only a sister but a best friend throughout the years. I'm thankful for the things that we've experienced together and also those separate experiences that we can both learn from. I know she is always there for me whether I need to laugh or cry (or, like many times, both).
I'm thankful for my older brothers, Joshua and Jonathan and my younger step-brother, Joseph. They often keep me in touch with the male perspective, making me both laugh and glad to be a woman. Without my brothers, I would not be as well rounded a person.
I'm thankful for my step-father, who came into my life at a time that I was rebellious and unmanageable! He still loved me and showed me what it was like to have a supportive father. Jeff made my wedding so special by walking me down the aisle and handing me off to my wonderful husband.
I am thankful for Tracie and Dale Singleton, who are wonderful parents for my niece Bethany. I cannot imagine a better home for Bethany and am so thankful for her wonderful family.
I'm thankful for modern medicine for making things happen that were otherwise not possible. I'm thankful for my job and my supportive co-workers and supervisor. I'm thankful for my beautiful home, my car that always starts, my friends and family that are always there when I need them, and my animals that always make me smile.
Lastly, I am so thankful for my husband Scott, without whom I would not be as sane as I am right now! Scott is my best friend, my rock, and the love of my life. I couldn't ask for more.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
LSU vs Tulane
Scott and I had the opportunity to sit in the Tiger Den Suites. We hosted Scott's customer's niece from Scott's Fence and wined and dined courtesy of AT&T. I haven't been feeling well this whole weekend, but the buffet and ice cream cooler in the suite definitely helped!
Here are a few pictures from the game:
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