Watching You

Even before I knew we were having a boy, I thought about the song Watching You by Rodney Atkins as it relates to a boy and his Dad. I just know that this is how our little boy will be. Here's an excerpt from the lyrics:

"He said, I've been watching you, dad ain't that cool?
I'm your buckaroo, I want to be like you
And eat all my food, and grow as tall as you are"

"We like fixin' things and holding moma's hand
Yeah, we're just alike, hey, ain't we dad?
I want to do everything you do
So I've been watching you"

I can just picture a little toe head following Nate all around. I know....no guarantees that he won't look like me and I realize it will be a while before the little guy can walk and talk.

I'll get to hear Rodney sing this song in person on March 21st at the Gettysburg Majestic, can't wait!

All About the BAG!

Check out my new diaper bag! I love bags and didn't want your average diaper bag. My Mom got me this very stylish bag, I love it! The bag seems spacious, organized, easy to clean, and doesn't have a long strap (which I wouldn't be able to stand). Check out www.ebags.com for lots of neat diaper bags. The site does run sales and offer coupons.

Another site you might want to check out is California Leash Company, I have an adorable purse from them and they sell a diaper bag which comes in many neat patterns. The material that is used in the California Leash company would be very easy to clean and hold up well.

Blue, green, black and white. Perfect colors for Mommy and Baby Boy.

Cell phone pockets

Inside

All Things Blue

It's a BOY! If this little one is going to play hockey it will be on the ice! It's very exciting to know and be able to start planning. Let the internet nursery browsing begin! I had flowers sent to both of the Grandmas today to tell them since we weren't able to see them in person. I think they enjoyed their presents. I couldn't resist making a stop at the mall on the way home to buy a couple of little boy things. Here's some pics from the exciting day:)

Mom's arrangement

Melissa's arrangement from Summer Thyme Floral

Card- click picture to enlarge and read text

Baby boy shoes, aren't they adorable?


With matching shirt. From Old Navy.

Baby camo to match his Daddy! From Old Navy

Love these! From JCP- Click picture to enlarge and read text.

19 weeks- He weighs 9 ounces and is approximately 6 inches long.

Too Cute

Check out this adorable hat that my Gram crocheted for the baby. I'm going to start making these too. Since so many of my friends are having babies I think making these will be a little more manageable than making blankets. I believe these are the instructions.

Nate Bear with the hat on.

Adorable!- Thanks Gram!

Tough as Sh!t!

I told one of my former players that I was pregnant a couple of weeks ago, after she congratulated me her reply was "That baby is going to be tough as sh!t!" Now, some people might have taken this as an insult but I thought it was a great compliment. Through coaching I've realized that toughness is something you can't teach, it's the same with hustle, dedication, and desire. Athletes either have these traits or they don't, and if they don't an infinite amount of coaching, motivating and bribing probably won't instill it in them. I have some girls who will play through anything, the girl who made the comment above was prone to concussions and we literally had to force her sit down even after she was hit on the head. Other girls, will take to the sideline if they get a splinter. Of course the really great players, the ones you love to coach, are tough as nails.

Lindsey Vonn, is the perfect example of toughness, as she battled a bruised shin to win gold today. This is the same woman who was airlifted from the slopes in Torino, and competed 2 days later. I'm sure her coach sees her as a coach's dream, oh wait, he sees her as his dream girl too. Lindsey's coach is her husband! I really can't even imagine being coached by your husband. I personally think that it's a bad idea to coach your own kids once they get to a competitive level. Parents are naturally going to be more critical of their children, therefore making it very difficult to treat them the same as the other players. I think it would be even worse to coach your spouse. It must make for some interesting conversations after a bad practice or meet, and how do you ever get away from the sport if you are sharing a bed with your coach?! Maybe, Lindsey's husband as her coach is more of technicality, obviously throughout her career she has had other coaches who helped make her the skier she is today. Anyway, I do hope our baby is tough as sh!t, maybe I have the next Lindsey Vonn growing in my belly.

“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”~~~~Larry Bird

Happy Birthday Nate

Nate turned 29 today and today marks 18 weeks in my pregnancy. Next week this time, assuming the baby cooperates, we'll know if we are having a boy or a girl:). Cast your vote in the "Boy or Girl" poll to the top right. This week the baby has grown to about the size of a bell pepper and weighs approximately 7 ounces. The baby is busy moving around and I should be able to feel the movements any day now, but I don't think I have yet.

Whoever said that pregnant women should just relax and wait for the baby? I know these folks are out there, even if you aren't one of them. Did you know that Canada has an expectant Mom competing in the Olympics? She makes me so proud! Check this out. If she wins, I wonder if they will give her 2 medal? They really should.

18 weeks

Dreaming of Decorating

I've been looking at nursery decor since I found out I was pregnant. I know the baby doesn't really care what the room looks like but I do and I can't wait to start! 8 more days and then I can start seriously looking at bedding and paint chips:). Here are some of my favorites inspiration pics so far:
I love the tree and the name decal behind the crib. Photo credit

Another cute name behind the crib. Photo credit

Love this fun, girly bedding with white furniture. Photo credit.

I think this baby boy bedding adorable, I could do without the wall hanging behind the crib. Photo credit.

I have many more pictures saved but I'll stop with these 4 for now....

Happy Valentine's Day

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."~~Lao Tzu

Today, Nate and I celebrate our 10th Valentine's Day together. On our first Valentine's day he gave me "Nate Bear." Today, Nate Bear is wearing a diaper because we wanted to see if we could figure out how to put one on. Neither of us have ever changed a diaper. In 5 months we'll experience a new love; love for a child. Here's to all kinds of love from kindergarten crushes, to first loves, to everlasting loves and everything in between. Happy Valentine's Day!

Nate Bear

In honor of Valentine's Day and the Olympics, here's and Olympic love story. These Chinese figure skaters are currently 36 and 31 and still chasing their dream of an Olympic gold medal. Not only have they been a pair on the ice for 18 years, but they also fell in love while chasing their dream and they are now married. A perfect pair is not a cliche when it comes to this figure skating duo, they just finished their short program and their score was an all-time high in the current scoring system.Love might just conquer all, even in the Olympics.

Restaurant Reviews- Starting with A

Altland House
Nate and I celebrated Valentine's Day a day early at the Altland House in Abbottstown, PA. The Altland House dates back to 1790 and includes a restaurant with several rooms, a bar area, a downstairs tavern and guest rooms. The place was packed last night and you needed reservations in order to get a table in the dining rooms. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is very nice, just ask for a table that is private so you do not have to listen to others conversations, some of the tables are close together. Last night I started off with the bib salad and Nate had a Cesar salad, both were very generous portions and tasty. My salad had a sweet and sour dressing that complemented the bib and cucumbers very nicely. Nate salad had homemade croutons and Parmesan cheese. The bread which served prior to dinner is wonderful and they offer seasoned butter, roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese and olive oil with it. For my dinner I choose the seafood scampi. The scampi included an angel hair pasta with shrimp, clams, scallops and tomatoes. I usually don't order scampi because I'm afraid I'll be overwhelmed with the taste the garlic. This was not the case with the this scampi as the sauce was light and didn't overwhelm the seafood. The portion again was very generous. The clams in the pasta were excellent and next time I'd like to try the clams appetizer. Nate had the filet mingeon which was served with a Parmesan risotto. I tried his steak; the flavor was excellent and the meat was very tender. For dessert, Nate had an apple dumpling and I had the Valentine's day special which was a chocolate cake with a thin layer of cheesecake on the bottom, all dipped in chocolate. Nate liked his dumpling but it was a served in a puff pastry and he prefers the traditional pie crust for the outside. My chocolate dessert was tasty but not what I expected. The waitress called it chocolate covered cheesecake, if I had know it was composed primarily of cake I would have chosen the peanut butter pie which looked excellent. Prices at this restaurant are on the higher end of local restaurants, comparable to the Blue Parrot and Cashtown Inn. My only complaint with the restaurant was that the service was slow last night. I think they were slightly understaffed for the amount of customers. Of course, if I were allowed to sip on wine I probably wouldn't have minded the wait.

The Avenue Restaurant
Our go to breakfast restaurant in Gettysburg is The Avenue. We go to the Avenue often on Sundays so I thought it was worthy of a review. The breakfast menu is extensive and you can get just about anything you are craving. They even have a few unique dishes that you'll probably only find at the Avenue, such as ice cream with cereal. If it's tourist season expect to wait for a table. In the offseason it's always busy but you can usually walk in and be seated right away. In the winter time it's hard to pass up the hot chocolate or vanilla steamer, both are excellent. Today they had a special, but I'm hoping it's on the menu all the time....eggs in a hole. I love eggs in a hole and these were very good served with homefries, which are the real thing at the avenue. Today Nate had french toast, he deviated from his normal two eggs over easy with bacon and toast. He seemed to enjoy his french toast, I didn't try it. Today, service was slow. We didn't have a waitress that I recognized. The normal waitresses are usually very prompt. The Avenue is affordably priced and real home cooking. You can also sign up for a frequent diner club to earn points towards free food.

Winter Olympics

Turn your tv on to NBC, it's time for the Olympics! Even if you are not a sports fan, the athletes deserve your respect and support as they've dedicated their entire lives to training in their respective sports. If you can't tell I LOVE the Olympics. Yes, I live vicariously through our athletes since I don't think I'll achieve my dream of being an Olympian. However, someday I will attend the games (most likely the summer games) to watch in person. I'm sure I'll have chills as I watch many of the events over the next 2 weeks and maybe even shed a tear or two. Go USA, make us proud!

There are lots of interesting stories already these games: young US pairs figure skaters who date each other but not the partner they skate with, a veteran speed skater and dancing champion looking for repeat gold, the world's most decorated snowboarder hoping to add to his collection, a men's skier who vow's to contain his free spirit in favor of a more conservative races in order to medal again, and USA's top women's skier who is battling an injury to still compete. If you don't know who I'm referring to in regards to the previously listed athletes, then it's even more reason for you to tune in! Unfortunately, tragedy has already struck these games, a luger was killed during practice runs. It's heart breaking that this 21 year old was so close to realizing his dream of competing in the Olympic games and now his family and country must deal with this tragic loss.

Time for the opening ceremonies....

What a Mess!

Another 20+ inches and it's still snowing and even worse, blowing! We've gotten about 50 inches in the last 5 days! At least we are warm and have lots of food...and Nate and Sophie are good company:) I even made homemade pot-pie for supper.

Almost up to the top of the deck railing!

Can you find Nate?

Recipe for Gram's pot pie:
1 ham, cooked to make lots of broth
2 cups flour
1 walnut size ball of shortening
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
2 potatoes

Bake ham, reserve broth in large pan to cook pot pie.
Blend flour and shortening, then add baking powder and water. Mix dough.
Roll dough and cut into small squares and add to broth.
Cut potatoes into small pieces put into to broth to cook.
Cut ham into pieces and add to broth.
Cook approximately 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Good comfort food for cold winter days, although not exactly good for you!

Another week, another snow storm

Today marks week 17! 2 more weeks until we find out the sex! I feel like my belly has popped out more in the last few days, but you can be the judge of that (see the picture below). This week the baby should weigh about 5 ounces and be about 5 inches long. The skeleton is now changing from soft cartilage to bone. The baby should also be starting to move its joints. No change in the way I feel or any symptoms. I've gained a total of 7-8 pounds according to my scale.

Fox news reported over the weekend, that researchers have found a link between folic acid taken during pregnancy and asthma. This is concerning as all doctors want you to take a prenatal which contains folic acid. My prenatal contains 800 mg of folic acid in addition to many other vitamins. Here is an article about the research. I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'll call the doctor but I know what they will say....continue to take the vitamins. This pregnancy thing is kind of like planning a trip you can usually find better and more thorough information through your own research than by going to a professional. No offense to my doctors, but in the 10 minutes total that I've spent with them I haven't found them to be a wealth of knowledge.

Looks like I'll have some time to crotchet the next couple of days, it's snowing very hard with another foot or so possible. We haven't recovered from the 2 feet that came over the weekend. Now I know how my friends' who grew up in Maine and Buffalo experienced winters. Ohhhh, how I miss skiing though!!

17 weeks and lots of snow!

Holy Snow!

Wow, Mother Nature has made her presence known again! We have over 2 feet of the white stuff here. We've had over 50 inches of snow this year! Nate shoveled the driveway once last night but it doesn't seem to matter now. He hasn't ventured out again today. I think we are just going to hope the neighbor comes and plows us out. If not, I guess we'll have to dig out tomorrow after it's done drifting. It's a good day to get some things done inside....Nate is tiling the shower and I'm going to spend some time organizing closets and drawers and crocheting.

Sophie has to stand on her back legs just to try and see out over the snow at the door.



Look how high the snow is on our 6 foot tall grasses in the yard.


Snow piled on the grill.
Out back.

Poor cedar trees, the weight was too much.

16 weeks

Another week down, today starts week 16. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday; it just took a few minutes and all is well. No real changes this week still dealing with back pain and a stuffy nose. , Oh, and I'd hate to forget to mention the lovely acne on my face that makes me feel like an awkward teenager. So much for "glowing." There is not to much I can do for any of these issues and as the doctor said "the back pain is likely to get worse before it gets better." So I'll stick to Tylenol and a heating pad and hope for the best. This week the baby is about 4 inches long and weighs approximately 3 ounces. So very tiny, but the baby can already hear. I'm sure Baby Horton is enjoying my singing, country music of course, on the way to and from work:). A growth spurt is approaching as the baby will double in size over the next couple of weeks. Grow, baby, grow!

16 week belly

On Friday, Nate's coworkers held a baby shower for him. They had been telling him since he announced that he was going to be a Dad, that they were going to have a shower. Now, picture a bunch of construction workers planning for a baby shower! I had to post a pic of the gift they gave him, it's an apron complete with a mask and surgical gloves, haha. I love it. The apron and gift box also included lots of other necessities such as pacifers, wash clothes, burp clothes, wipes, fingernail clippers and more. They went all out for his party cooking ribs, and even deep frying a turkey! It was very sweet of them to celebrate with him.

Camo supply apron.

Do you think our next baby will sleep as well as this baby? Isn't she cute?!