Happy Thanksgiving!

Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are?

We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

- Henry David Thoreau

Week 18: This week our little baby is forming its very own set of fingerprints and toe prints. These will be unique to our baby and unlike any other human on earth. Baby LaCoss is already so unique and special. I can't wait to tell my baby just how special he/she is. This week, when the lure of good sales may feel so overwhelming, it is important to remember just how thankful you are for everything that you do have.

This Thanksgiving, and every day I am Thankful for parents that brought me up with good humor, a lust for life, a curiosity about nature, love and kindness, and so much more. 

I am thankful that I have a sister who is one of my best friends, along with my mother. They're the two best friends that anyone could have :) 

I am thankful that I am ale to call my Grammy one of my best friends too. I love her to the moon & back times infinity plus 10. 

I am thankful that my father was and is a great man and showed me how a girl should be treated.

I am thankful that I found Scott, a man who treats me great and is my equal. 

I am thankful I have a job that has meaning and a boss that is nice to me.

I am thankful that my in-laws aren't crazy and that I am able to love them like my own without even trying.

I am thankful for my wonderful nieces and nephew, who made me realize that I wanted to give them a cousin.

I am thankful for true friendships, old and new. 

I am thankful for Pinterest, Pepto cherry chews, dirty vodka martinis (even though it will be 6 months or so before I have one again) my cats- who love me unconditionally, but most of all

I am thankful to be carrying this blessing of a child, who I will love unconditionally and will love me the same (or else...!), who is half of me and half of the love of my life, and who is unique and unlike any other person in this world. 

What are you thankful for?

Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren’t any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn’t be here in the first place. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life’s challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes in the world come about. So be that person.

-Buckminster Fuller

Happy Thanksgiving!

Operation: candle jar revamp, with bonus footage of a cat freak-out

Not only do I grow human beings, but I also craft! Ever feel wasteful throwing away cool candle jars? Scott and I are in love with Bath & Body Works candles. Actually we are BBW candle snobs and don't purchase non-BBW candles- they just smell that much better! If someone gifts us a non-BBW candle- I will burn it 'til it can't burn no more...but they just aren't the same. Plus, the jars are cool! So below, I have turned empty candle jars into sleek, stylish jars for the bathroom (you could use them for anything!)

Once the candle has burned down to its end, place the jars into the freezer for several hours. Remove the jars and break up the remaining wax and clean the jar. I used hot water and soap and some Goo Gone (Love that stuff!). Simple as that!

I used my jars in the bathroom for make-up pads, bath salts and Q-Tips, but you could put just about anything you wanted in them; hair ties or Bobbie pins, cupcake wrappers (mine seem to take over the cabinet once I have taken them out of the package), etc. Let me know what you would put in your jars!

Here is our 17 Week photo. Baby LaCoss was about 5.1 inches long and weighed 5.9 ounces. I am speaking the past tense because Sundays start the beginning of our next week and I am now actually in week 18! Apparently babies grow quickly (only 40 weeks for a whole human to grow!) and so I am sure those figures aren't even accurate anymore (although they are just rough guidelines to begin with).

Scott and I wanted to see how the cats would react to a baby crying. Trey and Boomer didn't seem to mind. George pretty much had a freak attack and was on pins and needle the entire day. Here is just a snippet of my baby boy freaking out, look at the poor thing!

Same old, same old

My 16 week photo- Baby is the size of an avocado!

No new updates on baby LaCoss except that we WILL be finding out the sex of the baby, I had my first baby dream (it was a girl) and the jeans that do still fit are on their last leg...shopping trip coming up!

This week we had our new carpet put in and the office/spare bedroom is just waiting to be turned into a nursery! Scott put together a new desk and an area in the living room for our computer since we will no longer have an office. The house is already starting to come together and we haven't even done too much.

And for those of you who really don't care about this sort of details: please stop reading this and go drink a Spiced Caramel Apple or a Pumpkin Pie for me!

Thanksgiving drink: Pumpkin Pie

Perfect Fall drink: Spiced Caramel Apple Spiced Caramel Apple

Week 16

To wait or not to wait, that is the question. When people find out we are expecting, after they congratulate us and usually tell us a story from their pregnancy experience, the one thing that almost every single person has asked us is

"Are you going to find out what sex it is?"

Not sure, but I bet you will tell us why we should or shouldn't! I love that people are so curious and excited. The closer it gets to our next ultrasound, the more I think I would like to find out the sex. Scott has wanted to find out all along. Until the final decision has been made I thought I would check out some of the crazy gender predictors that are out there. And some are OUT THERE!

Mayan Legend: Girl
Frequency/Strength of morning sickness: Boy
Craving sweet vs. craving salty and savory: Boy
Chinese Lunar Chart: Boy
Presence of breakouts vs. clear skin: Girl (legend has it that if you have breakouts it's a girl because she is stealing my beauty)- Don't boys want to be pretty too?
Dry hands or soft hands: Boy
Baby's heart rate (140+ = girl, under 140 = boy): Girl
Hanging my wedding ring over my belly: No idea- can't tell if it is swinging in a circle or swinging back and forth!
Eat a clove of garlic, if it seeps out of your pores its a boy, if it doesn't it is a girl: no thanks- not trying this one!
The list goes on and on but these are the ones that I could do without having a big belly yet (Are you carrying high or low?) or urinating in a cup of Draino. WTH?!

Girl: 3
Boy: 4

This week our baby's ears are developing and is able to hear our voices which is pretty amazing! Scott has already acted upon this new development step and likes to talk to the baby. I feel great, aside from the nightly heartburn and frequent headaches!

Love this Obama Maternity Shirt!

And now that we all know that Obama is going to be President for 4 more years (hooray!) and that the gay marriage law has passed in MD (woohoo!) here is a little pregnancy humor to get your mind off the election!   Awkward Pregnancy Photos

Facebook official

How far along? 15 weeks [and 3 days ;)]
Total weight gain: 6.5 lb
 Maternity clothes? 'normal' clothes but my jeans are getting tighter and I am totally digging leggings
Stretch marks? no
Sleep: still waking up to go to the bathroom around 4 every night, joy!
 Best moment this week:  Heard the baby's heartbeat and got an A from the Dr!
Miss Anything? The vodka to go with my olive juice!
 Movement:  not yet
Food cravings: I feel pretty hungry and just about everything sounds good! Can't wait for our grocery store trip to get Talenti Gelato though!
 Anything making you queasy or sick: not at this point. Scott is still in charge of cooking ground beef just in case the preparation ruins dinner for me
Gender: The first questions most people ask me...Are you going to find out the sex? but no, we don't know yet and still contemplating not finding out- we have 4 weeks to make up our mind!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Heartburn and acid reflux, yum.
 Belly Button in or out? inny
Wedding rings on or off? on and actually feeling pretty loose with the weather getting colder!
 Happy or Moody most of the time: happy and excited!!!
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving food, duh. We are also fast approaching the halfway point which is utterly insane!

Today we had a Dr. appt and we finally got to hear the heartbeat! There was not a peep to be heard from that exam room except for the fast swishy sound of the heartbeat. Scott, myself and the Dr just all stood there listening. Life is amazing and we are so blessed! All other health checks were good too- so far so good!

Scott's been waiting for weeks to tell the Facebook world so I told him he was allowed to do so after this visit. We both started laughing at the immediate 'Likes' and the number of them just kept rising and probably will continue to for a while. Its crazy how much Facebook has become part of everyones lives as a way to communicate and connect! Even the term 'Facebook Official' is commonly used! Well- we are official now and the excitement and joy only continue to grow as the days pass and our baby grows too!

15 Weeks

15 Weeks pregnant today!

We don't have much news but our next appointment is Nov 1 and maybe THEN we will hear the hearbeat! What a waiting game :)

I've been feeling really good and finally seem to have gotten my energy back. Up until about 2 weeks ago I was taking naps quite often because I was so darn tired. Headachaes have been quite common in the past few weeks but I'm not sure if it pregnancy or allergy related- Scott has been getting them too. No wierd cravings but I do often think about those 3 jars of olives I ate in 4 days a few weeks back! (that's including drinking the juice of 1 jar as well). Sorry if you just gagged.

The baby is the size of a navel orange! Baby LaCoss is about 4 inches long and is moving and possibly hiccuping in there, though I can't tell. Baby can wiggle fingers and toes and even make breathing movements in preparation for life with us!

14 weeks pregnant....starting to show!

Milk, Does a body good.

My nurse and Little Red Riding Hood. I can't wait until my belly is actually this big!

Tylenol, Pepto and Gas-X

Forgot to post this a few days ago:

I have been so lucky up until this point. But now I have seen the other side and I am weary, very weary. This week I was struck by abdominal cramping and really bad nausea. Turns out the cramping was just some gas making its way through. I may have  found a way to get the bed to myself at least, if nothing else positive came out of this experience. As for the nausea, time and a few goodies have really helped me through. Rice and ginger ale are now household staples. I was also lucky enough to receive this awesome surprise package on the day that I felt the absolute worst! Earth Mama Angel Baby has natural, organic products and several of them are intended to help with nausea!

Earth Mama Angel Baby products just for me!

The Morning Wellness tea was amazing and calmed my nerves enough for me to get some rest and the Happy Mama Spray smells ah-mazing. I have since used every product and they all feel great and smell great! My sister has gotten our entire family into essential oils and when I first started feeling bad, Scott made his own calming concoction of oils into a spray for me to use. Completely different smell but just as nice, and it makes me smile when I spray it just thinking of Scott at the kitchen sink, mixing oils for his pregnant wife. The doTERRA essential oils that Carrie sells are addicting but my all-time, go-to favorites have been Serenity, with Deep Blue coming in at a close second. Don't get me wrong- I am in no way, shape or form throwing away my Tylenol and Pepto chews, but the doTERRA products can substitute or compliment many OTC drugs.

Since I am spending a lot of my free time surfing the web, browsing baby and mama items, and getting emails from every company that has ever made a baby product, I would also like to take this time to share a product that I think may be the coolest thing since sliced bread! Of course there are the pregnancy pillows to choose from and belly bands to extend the life of my jeans, but who know there were cameo baby rattles out there!? I know this product may seem a little extravagant (and at $180, who wouldn't!?) but I still find the idea way too cool not to share! The rattles at Cameobyrux are carved to mirror silhouettes! Pointless, possibly. Awesome, yes!

Cameo baby rattles- wha?!

Camden will be turning 2 this weekend and I can't believe how time flies! I will try to take every moment in, completely- even the ones where I am nauseous! 

13 weeks pregnant!

Week 12!

We know nothing is written in pen (or is that saying 'in ink'?), but I think we both have taken a little sigh of relief knowing that we are now almost into the 2nd trimester. And as each week passes, it get a little bit more acceptable to start thinking about the nursery! We rent, so nothing too dramatic will be getting done- but what crafting, pinterest-loving, mother-to-be doesn't love dreaming of the possibilities!? My first thoughts are to decorate the room around this book:

 

 KIDDING! We haven't really given serious thought to nursery design but there have been some inspirations. Weirdly enough, we both have had the recent opportunity to get some of our childhood items back from out parents (Which goes to show what amazing parents we have for keeping our stuff for years and years!). Scott got back all of his baseball cards and Boy Scout items, I got some of the toys that I played with as a little one; a rattle, baby blankets as well as Trolls, dolls and LOTS of NKOTB memorabilia (that I reluctantly decided not to keep). Step by step, oo baby... anyways...Little things that bring back memories and allow us to remember bits and pieces of our wonderful childhoods. Here are a few nursery things I like:

Found a metal garbage pail similar to this at a flea market to repaint for diapers

Love the sayings on these posters, especially the first two!  From the Etsy shop HarperGrace

One of my most favorite songs of all time! From the Etsy shop TheInkSociety

Scott and I have very different backgrounds. He grew up as an 'Army brat' and got to live in far off places like Germany and Japan and got to travel to places in Europe. I grew up the same state, mostly the same house, always close to family and vacationed at US destination locations from Maine to Florida to California. I will always remember when we first started dating and I told him I had been to Disney World in FL and he respnded by saying that he had been to Euro Disney. Each of us was intrigued by the others childhood. It has had me thinking about our child's childhood and I can't wait to make it as memorable as me and Scott's combined! What better place to start a childhood than a nursery!

On another note, I am getting extremely excited about the upcoming holidays! Pumpkin decorations, Thanksgiving food and Christmas gift making!

If I was a cat or an otter, the baby would be born already

We had our second Dr. appointment this week and have some edits. According to the ultrasound and Dr. Barnett our due date is now April 21, 2013 (yikes-a Taurus!) and we are 11 weeks prego (I was just glad to hear someone confirm the week # for me!). The due date may change depending on the information they get from future sonograms but he says that sonogram due dates and much more accurate that determining the due date any other way. We also listened for the heartbeat but alas, we didn't hear it. We did get to hear my insides gurgle. OK, that's weird, sorry. On to baby stuff!

How far along? 11 weeks
Total weight gain: 3 lbs since our last visit (4 wks ago)
Maternity clothes? not yet
Stretch marks? nope. (not even going to say 'not yet' because that implies they will at some point show their wicked faces).
Sleep: interrupted by the constant need to visit the little girls room
Miss Anything? wine and my energy
Movement: still too early but can't wait!!
Food cravings: anything cheesy and olives. I don't usually crave something until I hear someone mention it- then I want it RIGHT THEN!
Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing in particular but white rice or toast usually make me feel better pretty quick
Gender: unknown. You can make your guess in the poll on the right side of the blog though :)
Labor Signs: oh gosh- I don't even want to start thinking about that yet!
Symptoms: heartburn, migraines, mild nausea (very seldom and usually doesn't last too long!), and we musn't forget the awesome breakouts
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: one word. emotional.
Looking forward to: our next Dr. appt @ 15 weeks and getting to finally hear the heartbeat

Baby LaCoss is about the size of a lime right now! Too bad that makes me think of the wonderful little concoction called a "lime-a-rita". Sounds gross and it's best described as a beer and a margarita mixed but they are wonderful. Try one and think of me :) Little baby LaCoss no longer has webbed fingers or toes and is also starting to grow tooth buds, nail beds and hair follicles. To add to the alien-like appearance, the head-to-body ratio is 1:1. It is incredible that we are almost at the end of the first trimester! Time flies!

Holy. Shit.

There is a real live baby growing in my belly! No more talking the talk- we are walking the walk too! Up until this point, Scott and I have sort of been in a make-believe zone, in awe and wonder- is this real!? Well, we've got proof and this is whole having a baby deal is on like Donkey Kong!

Wednesday Scott and I had out very first ultrasound appointment and it was unbelievable! They need to warn people:

CAUTION- may cause unexpected explosion of insane emotions!

Laying up on the table and seeing the little baby come into view, realizing that that's what it was- a BABY, was such a crazy feeling! I busted out laughing and made the ultrasound tech loose her place, Scott's bottom jaw JUST about hit the floor. We both were grinning ear to ear. We got into the elevator, stared at the ultrasound pictures for a while, and then remembered that we needed to push the button to take us downstairs! "Sorry- Scott and Sarah have checked out- will return in....who knows if they ever will!"

The tech was amazing and answered all of our questions and amused us by letting us watch the tiny baby for a really long time! She pointed out its little nubs that are currently arm and leg buds, and we even saw it move, which was really just seeing the image get a little blurry for half-a-second- but STILL!! Here are some stats from the visit:

Heart beat: 168 beat per MINUTE! We did not get to hear the heartbeat but we did get to see something just as incredible- our baby's tiny heart, fluttering with those insanely fast little beats!

Size: 1 inch. 1 INCH! (I know most of you are estimating an inch with your fingers right now- yes it's itty bitty but growing bigger every day!)

Estimated Due date in relationship to the baby's size: April 14. We will still go with April 12 that the Dr estimated, for simplicity's sake.


Here's Baby LaCoss' premier!


Baby LaCoss 9 1/2 Weeks Old 9/19/12. Head is to the right. Blows my freakin mind!

I notice that I use the words 'little' and 'tiny' frequently in this post. One thing that was not little during our first ultrasound was my bladder! It should be cruel and unusual punishment to require any human to drink at least 16 oz of water 1 hour prior to an ultrasound, not allow any 'emptying of the bladder' and then push really freakin' hard on said bladder with the ultrasound wand. I guess that's only just the beginning of the discomfort I will soon be enduring!

11 weeks prego today (I think. The whole week this has totally got me confused! Nope- still brunette). I may turn into a smoothie any day. Can't get enough of them. I use fruit that I have cut and frozen, Greek yogurt and either coconut milk or OJ. Put all that jazz in the magic bullet and YUM-O! Jelly Belly's are another necessity! True. love. Scott is doing a great job with quitting smoking and is having cravings of his own- anything for that sweet tooth!

Olive ya baby!

Scott sent me a text a few days ago that may be the most amazing thing he has ever said to me. It gave me chills, made me smile, scared me a bit and made so glad to be going through this with him as my partner. He's the best.

"There is a little girl here in the waiting room at Dr. Henderson's. She is so cute, she is playing with the toys and singing along to everything she does! Can't wait for ours!!!"

Excuse me while I dry the tears from my eyes! 

Baby LaCoss is the size of an olive this week. Olives ---> Olive juice ----> dirty martinis. mmmm. Must. think. straight. So...olives. Scott and I share a lot of inside 'jokes', bits of memories that have stuck when the rest of the memory has faded away and silly sayings that only ever strengthen our bond. When we first started dating, Scott, being silly, used to tell me that everyone was jealous of us because of the love that we had found. Nasty look from a fellow bar-goer? Jealous of that sexy arm candy :) Bad hours at work? The boss is just jealous. Mayo on your burger when you ordered it plain? Jealous burger joint employee. My mother even surprised us and on the back of our Bride and Groom table place card at our wedding was printed "Jealous table".  Remember, never take yourself too seriously! Be silly, laugh, smile and love.

Now I would like to take a moment to tell Scott that I can't wait until we are watching our little one play and sing, and I love the moments I have with you when we play and sing together and Olive Juice 2tM&b x infinity +1. 

 

Now back to the baby! 9 Weeks Pregnant. The tail is gone but the heart beat is strong enough to be picked up by a Doppler ultrasound- hopefully we will get to hear it next week! Baby LaCoss has also graduated from an embryo to a fetus this week~ Growing up so fast already. I am feeling pretty tired but otherwise happy and healthy!

Saw this photo on Pinterest and could not stop laughing!

One thing leads to another

 

Baby LaCoss is the size of a raspberry this week! Which got me thinking of chocolate raspberry cheesecake and raspberry smoothies and sorbet, oh my! Hadn't had any major cravings, until this past Sunday when I wanted Chinese food at 8:30 in the morning! Scott laughed when I told him, reminding me that they were probably not open yet. I settled for a normal breakfast and had the best Chinese food of my life for lunch! I am always up for shoving my mouth full of fruit- but I have loved fruit my whole life so that's nothing new.

We had our first Dr. appointment and really like our OB. No ultrasound yet but we have an appointment on September 19 for ultrasound #1. Taking bets on whether Scott will pass out or not! Hopefully we will get to hear the heartbeat then.

Every fox has a tail...

Most of you will never understand and that's OK- my father and I share the same humor and often we are the only ones that really ever 'get it' or think it's funny. Scott is one of the few people that not only gets it but has been blessed with some odd humor of his own that he received from his own father.

We used to take family vacations in beautiful Sanibel Island, FL and to get there we drove for 2 days in the family van. Carrie and I always fought over the back seat because it had those few extra, precious inches of space. Driving such a long distance you are sure to hit a few pot holes or bumps along your journey and dad thought he was being clever by yelling "Alligator!" anytime we hit a bump. Carrie and I would scramble to the windows, surveying the road behind the van, looking for that poor alligator that we had just run over. On vacation this summer I was driving with my sister through a wetlands/marsh area in Primehook Beach, DE and shouted "Alligator!" Carrie followed immediately by "Where?!" and I just could not contain my laughter. Of course, she knew there weren't alligators, but our brains have been shaped by our fathers humor. 

Such is the story of our tails. Carrie and I had tails when we were babies. They cut them off when we were very, very little. Ask my mother or father, they will both tell you the same. A few days ago my mother sent me and Scott this email:

From: Carole Waddell
To: Sarah LaCoss; Scott LaCoss

Sent: Mon, Aug 20, 2012 7:37 pm
Subject: your baby

Ha, Ha! Right now your baby really does have a tail!

www.babycenter.com

Love you!!!

xom

And today my pregnancy update email reported that the tail will disappear within a few more weeks. It was a little sad. Not that I want our baby to be born with a tail, but sad because we will never get to see the actual tail like my parents got to see mine, before it was removed. I guess we will just have to make up a story to tell our child....

PS. The baby is the size of a blueberry! 

Peas on Earth

Week 6

The most amazing thing is now happening with our baby- the heart is BEATING!

And is the size of a pea!

Moods are swinging in the breeze this week. Scott's a good sport. The breeze is strong but at least it is short-lived!

I am not sure why I never enjoyed flavored sparkling water before but I cannot get enough of it now!  Haven't seen this in stores yet but I will not be able to hide my excitement when I do! What wonderful 3 words: Coconut. Sparkling. Water.

I thought I would miss wine and booze more... give it some time.  We are looking forward to our first OB visit next week! 

Sitting 'round waiting on 2 pink lines....and then waiting for Scott to make his coffee!

Aug 15 2012. 10 days late. Could we really...?

Laying in bed at 5:30 am. No falling back asleep at this point. Today is the decided day that we will test our patience (longest 3 minutes!) and take a pregnancy test. Or 2.

Pregnancy test #1!

This is where it gets tricky. I had recently purchased this awesome custom spoon to share the news with Scott for just this moment. Trouble is, he had to find the spoon on his own. So at 5:45 am I tip-toed downstairs, placed the spoon on the Keurig and then laid back in bed and waited. and waited.

"Good morning love, we're having a baby" spoon from Sycamore Hill Etsy shop

Luckily I fell back asleep and when we both woke up, I couldn't believe it-  I would finally be able to tell him (via the spoon). The suspense would be over! It was just my luck that this morning Scott wasn't rushed to make his coffee. I had waited too long already to blow it, but I so badly wanted to shout from the top of my lungs "WE ARE PREGNANT!". But I waited. and waited more. Finally Scott came to me holding the spoon "What is this? Are you serious!?" Big grin on his face and butterflies in my stomach. This is the story of a new chapter in our lives and the journey that our pregnancy will surely be taking us on.

Family and friends, come along for the ride.




August 17 2012

Blood test results from the Dr are in. Its definite and we are 5-6 weeks pregnant! Baby brain has taken over for both of us already :)