Breakfast date

It almost turned into brunch because we got a late start this
morning. Bennett is being a very good girl for me this weekend, so
this is a treat for her (well, both of us).

Dora!

Me and my girl watching Dora on a rainy afternoon. What could be
better?!

Villanova Crew - Blast from the Past

My friend, Trevor, recently uploaded this video to YouTube, and it's too good not to share.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=tkavanaugh#play/uploads/0/vt-5mAXVUtk

You'll find me (and Trev) amongst my teammates in this vintage footage from my freshman year of college. A permanent fixture in Philadelphia since 1954, The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate rowing event in North America...

MEN'S F/N EIGHT Event 114, 2:00PM

1 Villanova, 5:56.03

2 Minnesota, 5:57.98

3 Purdue, 6:03.00

4 Delaware, 6:11.09

5 Army, 6:11.89

6 Coast Guard, 6:17.8

Enjoy!

Change, Change change...

There has been a lot of change going on around here lately!  

First, here is a bump picture from 19 weeks.  I forgot to post it a couple of weeks ago (I'm at 21 weeks now), so I wanted to get it on here before it was totally irrelevant.  I will have to post another one soon, though, because I've definitely gotten bigger in the last couple of weeks!

Next, we are loving our new kitchen table! We finally said goodbye to the bistro table that I have had since I graduated from college.  It served us well, but Bennett was definitely ready to move out of her high chair, so we needed another seat.  Thank you, Grandma Rull, for giving us the kitchen table from your old house.  It is the perfect size for us, and Bennett is really proud of her new booster seat, and is loving being able to sit right at the table with Brandon and me.  Here is a picture from breakfast this morning!

The big news of today, though, was that Bennett moved into her "big girl room!" I tried it at nap time.  She did pretty well.  She sat in there and read books, sang, talked to herself, etc. for awhile.  Then she got a little upset, so I had to make a trip in there.  I calmed her down and then she spent some more time in there.  After about an hour total, I got her out.  She didn't sleep but it was a pretty good first experience.  I was mostly happy that she made no attempt to get out!  With her bed pretty high off the ground, and the bed rails, I'm hoping she views it kind of as a crib, which she never tried to escape from.  Tonight, she was so tired, that Brandon had no problem whatsoever putting her down to sleep for the night while I was at my prenatal aerobics class.  I snuck in and took a picture of my big girl in her new really big bed! We tried to make it as crib-like as possible, so she still has her blanket from her crib on, and her soother is still in there too! She loves that thing and plays it constantly.  It just has to rest by her now though, since there is nowhere to hang it on her new bed! Jelly cats, hippo and books are a must too! I can't believe how big she looks sleeping in there!!  She also apparently insisted on using her new Halloween pillowcase that Nana and Papa sent to her today! Funny!

Finally, this video is just really funny.  She made up a "kitty song," and this is her rendition.  Although it doesn't feature many lyrics, you get an idea of the kind of inflection she uses in her voice.  This kid has a myriad of faces and lots of inflection in her speech.  It makes for interesting conversations.  Enjoy the song! 

Only 6 entrants so far. REALLY??

http://www.opsfultramarathon.com/Entrance%20List.html

"There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of the great and generous emotions of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder."
~Theodore Roosevelt

I figure this just means more food and drink for me at the aid stations. Bring on the hills.

Bennett's first day of school

I dropped Bennett off for her first day of school (Kids' day out) today! She was SO excited to go! We found her friends Addison and Sutton right away when we got there which helped too.  She went right in, we found where to hang her bag, then she washed her hands, gave me a hug and kiss and said, "bye mom." Then she was off playing! I was so proud of her that she had the confidence to start enjoying her day while other kids were clinging to their parents, crying and throwing fits in the hall.  I hope she has a great day and loves school! We'll find out at 11:30! I'm off to run some errands by myself (weird!).  

Bennett's daily schedule

Bennett and Addison

Her school bag, which Addison's mommy so nicely embroidered her name on for us. 

She insisted on carrying her bag all by herself.  She's such a big girl!

All ready for her first day of school!

It's a BOY!!!

Brandon and I had so much fun at our ultrasound today! We could have sat in that room watching the little one move around all day! Obviously from the title, we found out that we're having a little boy.  We couldn't be more happy!  He was very active today which was so fun to see...kicking, waving, putting his hands by his face...so adorable! Although we all know Brandon was wanting a boy pretty badly, our ultimate goal was to have a healthy baby no matter what the gender.  So we were relieved to hear that all of his measurements are good, and he looks very healthy and the perfect size for my due date...hooray!! Right now I am over 19 1/2 weeks pregnant, and he is 11 oz and 9-10" long.  It seems that everyone I know that is either pregnant or just had a baby is having a boy, so this little guy is going to have tons of buddies!! We can't wait for him to get here! 

Not sure why this picture wouldn't turn the right way, but here is his whole body, facing left (but actually down if the picture was the right way).  You can also see his stomach, which is the black hole in the middle of him.  

His right arm...waving hi!!

Profile shot...mouth closed.

Head back and mouth open.  You can even see his tongue! We think he was laughing! :)

Today is the day...

It is the day we get to have the big 20 week ultrasound and checkup. We will finally find out whether we're having a BOY, or another beautiful baby GIRL.

Anecdotally, Laura's dreams suggest that it is a girl. Of all the absurd methods/tricks/wivestales for determining the sex of an unborn baby, I am most inclined to believe the dream. The subconscious mind can be very powerful, so perhaps there's something to it.

But I asked Bennett yesterday if she thought Mommy was having a girl or a boy, and she didn't hesitate to respond, "Girl." For what it's worth, she has a history of stating the facts. For instance:

"Daddy's face is ROUGH!" - hey, it's the weekend, and I don't shave on the weekend if I can help it.

"I've got A LOT of library books." - there's never a shortage!

"Daddy went for a run, and when he comes back we can stretch and have a chocolate milk treat." - it's our thing.

Finally, we resorted to real science. A classic method that has been used with uncanny accuracy for years. It goes like this; put a ring on a necklace or string and rest it on the pregnant tummy in question, then pick up the necklace until the ring dangles over said tummy. If it moves in a circular motion, it's a girl. If it moves back and forth in a straight line, it's a boy. This method told us BOY.

We will update again no later than tomorrow with the official news. As if the "ring on a string" method isn't official enough!

Meet the Teacher Day

As Brandon mentioned, last night Brandon and I went to Bennett's new school for meet the teacher night.  Then today I was able to take Bennett up there to see her new classroom and meet her teachers and other classmates.  Brandon was able to come up and meet us up there for a few minutes too.  Bennett was a tiny bit hesitant as we were walking in the front door of the school, but as soon as we got to her classroom she charged right in, said hello to her new teachers and started playing! I think she hardly cared that I was there! She had a lot of fun experimenting with lots of new toys and I think she is going to love her Kids' Day Out experience! She will only be going Tuesdays and Fridays from 9-11:30, which I think will be perfect! We're all looking forward to it.  Also, in true St. Louis fashion, I recognized one of her teachers, who is my age and was friends with a lot of girls in my high school class.  Always a small world wherever you go!  Here are a few pictures from this morning. 

Bennett spent some time organizing the room.  She took all of the dress ups out of the box and put them on another table.  She also moved the barn to another part of the room...

Bennett lining up the animals.

Bennett was able to find her name on the wall and point it out to Daddy.

I love this picture! She is looking up at her teacher, Miss Amy, like "don't you think I'm cute?" Also notice the wall of purses in the background.  TOTALLY up Bennett's alley! Along with the baby changing table and bath set-up!

LOTS of toys! The kids pretty much destroyed the room in the 2 hour visit.  I felt sorry for the teachers! They claim the kids this age love to clean up once they get in the routine, and pretty soon they are telling the teachers if the teachers didn't put something in the right place!! haha

It's official: Crocs banned

Finally, some legislation that makes some sense and truly helps people! Let me explain.

Last night, we were at Meet the Teachers night for Bennett's new school. She's starting in the "Butterfly" room with other 2-yr olds, two days a week, for about 2hrs each time. At the briefing, we learned that the school has instituted some new policies, one of which is that the little ladies must wear shorts or bloomers under their dresses in order to encourage a little modesty. Dora the Explorer underpants are NOT for showing off. That makes sense. We don't want any shady 2-yr old boys slinking around the swingset for the wrong reasons.

But the real nugget of rule-making prowess is that Crocs have been banned in the entire school district. At last, somebody thinks they're as ugly as I do. They've come to their fashion senses and realized that people look ridiculous in oversized rubber sandals. Or maybe it was for safety reasons. I don't remember.

They accused Crocs, and other sandal-like footwear, of being the cause of many schoolyard injuries. Namely, broken ankles. Yikes! So there you have it, the footwear designed for comfort and health has been deemed "dangerous." It brings me great comfort to know that my daughter's school is proactive about these things. If I could get on the school board, I would target Uggs next. They hurt my eyes.

On a different note, it was pretty weird to be meeting Bennett's teachers. I mean, she's 2. She can barely open a door! But don't let that fool ya about how smart she is. We were at the Big River Running shoe store the other day, and promptly on walking in, she proclaimed, "You've got a LOT of things in here." No argument, there. It's a well-stocked running store. She looked at the wall covered entirely in shoes, pointed at a familiar yellow/black Asics shoe and announced that "those are Daddy's running shoes." Nothing gets by her.

Our little girl is going to school. *Sniff*

New Pics

Sorry about the lack of pictures lately.  The ones I tried to post the other day apparently didn't work.  So although I don't have much to report today, here are a few recent pictures of Bennett that I wanted to share.

Snuggle bug with Mommy.

Bennett loves reading! And she really loves Dora! The best combination!!

Bennett puts her tutu on at least 5 times a day.  Usually it is accompanied by her high heeled shoes, and jewelry is an added bonus.  Typically with this outfit on, she asks to dance to her Dora CD.  I guess here she was all danced out and decided to read instead. 

Bennett is a big fan of the Mother Goose book she got from Great Grandma Rull's house.  The book was published in 1965, and still going strong!! :) 

Bennett is really proud of her new chair for her big girl room from Grandma Joje and Pa.  It's going to make the greatest little reading nook! Her new room is coming together, but she hasn't moved into it quite yet.