Week 1: Success!

Well, we have survived our first week of being parents...!




Our little boy is doing well, eating and sleeping lots. (well, he's sleeping in spurts, but getting more sleep than Chris and I, so at least one of us is well rested!)

I have to admit, we are extremely blessed. My water broke early in the morning last week and Chris was able to be here for Theodore's birth.(We call him Theodore or Teddy...but some of the family prefers Theo...all are ok with us!!) He has been such a wonderful suppor through this whole process, not to mention our wonderful family and friends who were able to be near us this past week. Thanks to everyone !!

Here are a few quick pictures:



And our going home picture...He is all dressed up and cute:



Got his mittens, hat, and warm clothes on:



Here's one of the Grandparents...

Baby Brain, Visitors, and LOTS of Pictures!!

The past few weeks have flown by...why does it seem like I am always saying that?!

I have gotten to enjoy so many things, so as I think of them, I will try to include them here.

(as I am getting more forgetful by the day! Last night I was at Target with Carol...and we saw someone who looked rediculously familiar. He had a little girl in his cart and I was like-That is Maddie...hmm...what's his name....Matt. yes...NO...wait...MMMMMM ...grr it starts with an M....what is it!? He works with Karen and I can't REMEMBER WHAT HIS NAME IS! grr...Needless to say he was kind enough to remind me that it is Mike. AH ! Mike! Shep! Someone please tell me this "baby brain" thing gets better....right? Well....maybe I will recover slowly)

Let's start with some pictures:

This is myself and one of my best friends' (Brittany's) kiddo, Brandon. The last time I saw him I think it was for his 4th birthday. WOW he has grown and reminds me OH so much of her...it's amazing. And look how handsome he is! Well, I suppose I should say this photo is me, my baby, and Brittany's baby!



OK, One with silly faces: (because it is hard to get that goofy kid to sit still and not be silly...I mean come on...he is like 7 now, and very adorable!)



Look Brittany, Aaron and I both have goatee's on our faces! (oh wait, Brandon's is just ice cream...!)

As you can see above, I was able to spend some time with Brittany (best friend from grade school) and Aaron (a friend from high school) little boy, Brandon. It was wonderful to see both Aaron and Brandon again. Maybe sometime I will get to see Brittany again....(I can only hope!)

In my absence of blogging over the past few weeks, I have taken a few photos (remember, there are 40 weeks to be full term...so we are getting close...and in any "normal" pregnancy-baby can be born at 37 weeks...so it could really be any time now!):

36 Weeks

37 Weeks

In addition to a growing belly, has been me missing the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, the Future Astronaut Training Program Camps! So...I got word that there was a "25 year reunion" happening a few weeks ago. REALLY!? Funny...I haven't heard anything...maybe I missed an email...? Well, regardless, I did find out about it in time, but was only able to make it to the Sunday rocket launch. It was not as big of an event as I was expecting...but there were a few familiar faces-and we had a good time. I watched the rockets go and reminisced about the "good ole days" and many memories I had from my camping days. I remembered how the Cos (pronounced Cuh-awww-zzzz) (as we used to call it) was the first time I really realized my love of aviation and space. And, some of my friends from today go back to the Cos and my camper days.

They even gave me an "up front seat" in what I jokingly called the "box office" where the 5 individuals would arm their rocket and then count down and launch it.



This is the launch pad:



The enthusiasts who were able to attend this reunion event:



And 2 of my favorite people: Kate and Tom. I worked with them while I was an employee of the Cos and was EXCITED to see two friends still living the dream and inspiring young astronauts, engineers, and everything in between! (I was once inspired at the Cos...and then went on to Kansas State University Salina to be a pilot...and came back to be a counselor for 2 years...and inspired a few of the young minds myself. Now some of those minds are becoming pilots...and the trend continues. What a fantastic opportunity!)



Last weekend was the rocket launch and in addition to that excitement, we had visitors! Can you name that happy engaged couple?



And look, they brought their "fur baby", Charlie with them. She enjoyed getting out of the car on their stop. Even though she is a basset-something mix, she thinks she is a lap dog. Well, Charlie, my lap is still occupied with baby, so there is no room on my lap for you. Sorry!



And here is a quick pic of all of us:
Robin (and baby), Theresa, Ashley, and Jeremy



We were so excited to see them and be able to have lunch while they were here. They went home to Leoti, KS for the FAMOUS fair with 25 cent rides. I was sad to miss it this year, but I have learned that pregnant people do not do well on long car rides, nor in the heat. So this year I sat it out and am hopeful for next year.

Last item for today's post: Where was Chris in the last photo? Good question. See if you can guess where he has been over the past few weeks:

Clue 1:



Clue 2:



Clue 3:



Clue 4:



Clue 5: I think this last one gives it away...




ANSWER: Vegas and Hawaii!

And we look forward to him coming home late this week. :-) Hopefully baby will be here shortly after his arrival to meet him too...we can only hope! (Chris will be home for a couple weeks after his return, hoping the little one decides to be born in his time home)

Baby Shower with Some Girlfriends!

Yesterday a few of my college girlfriends threw me a small baby shower with a few friends from college. It was so much fun hanging out with the girls again. Being a small group, it was hosted at my house. (which means they made yummy treats and left me some at home to munch on this week! yay!)

An old roommate of mine came up from Texas (YAAAAY!) and was able to stay with us for the entire weekend. It was just fun to have a guest over and catch up. On Saturday night, I FINALLY got to meet my friend's fiance, Dan. (whom we love calling "Dan, Dan the Fireman! so as not to be confused with our other college friend, Dan) We hung out at their house and watched a movie for awhile. Being the good friends they are, they noticed I was getting tired (even though I THOUGHT I was still doing ok), they strongly encouraged me to go home and get some sleep. Sadly (because I knew they were RIGHT) we went home. Needless to say, I fell asleep quickly : ) Thanks for being good friends and taking care of me!!
(ok, so I should give up on the "thinking I'm doing ok" thing, as obviously the further I get along in pregnancy, I believe there is a strong negative correlation between preggo thought process and reality of a situation, therefore concluding Preggo Robin is not good at making decisions about taking care of herself. Yup I just admitted it-go ahead and say "I told you so.")

When Sunday came around, my house was filled with giggles, laughter, good treats, and good friends. I could not have asked for a more fun day. I'm excited to see this next chapter of our life unfold. So far, the forecast looks like many good years are ahead. I can't wait!!

Sunday evening, I was tired from the long day of having fun (amazing how having fun and chatting all day is so exhausting!) I decided to sleep on the comfortable couch in the cool basement. Ah....cold just like the polar bears like it! About 10 pm...the door to the house opened. (uh oh...who is home? Chris and Theresa are both gone-and Theresa's not supposed to be back until Monday night-I think?) So-I lay there on the basement couch-thinking--hmm...it has to be Theresa...right?

I listened attentively for the footsteps which were moving around the upstairs of our house. Baby must have been startled too...as it started kicking. Shhh.....be quiet belly-don't kick! A few minutes later, I saw the familiar feet strolling down the stairs: THERESA!! Needless to say, she was just as confused as I was. Since I was sleeping on the basement couch, she was confused as to why my car was here but there was no Robin-and my bed was empty...and apparently I left the light on in the baby's room...oops. I was confused because I thought she took Monday off...but apparently not-and we laughed at ourselves and chatted for a bit before going to sleep. It was nice to see her.

Tonight: dinner with my parents. (yum!) I'm not sure what is on the menu, but it doesn't matter...all I have to do is show up to eat. I'm starting to work up an appetite now...

House Projects

Oh no....those two words.... HOUSE PROJECT
(I'm starting to sound like Karen!!)

After I returned from Chicago (and had the house all to myself for nearly a week, I had the opportunity to work on some things that I had on MY list to get done. (Everyone tells me that I'm "nesting" and preparing for baby....but I like to think I have been so busy that there has hardly been any time to get anything done with our busy schedules and work...maybe I AM nesting....!)

Uh oh...Power Tools!

WHY did Chris sound SO concerned when I was lookig for the drill? All I wanted to do was replace a towel rack holder "thingy" in the bathroom...I was going to let him do it when he got home, but it just looked too simple...So I thought I'd do it and check that item off my list. Hesitantly, he told me where the drill was...and then, realizing he didn't tell me where the drill bits were....I assured him I would not hurt myself or break anything : ) PROMISE!!! He did tell me where they were (and I'm pretty sure at this point, he closed his eyes and said a prayer, but who knows for sure!?) Well, the result was good. We now have a hand towel holder with two hooks (and installed very nicely if I do say so myslef). Note the one on the left with the blue towel on it:

And, I decided to FINALLY hang up my cork board for my necklaces. (there are necklaces on it now, but I was just excited to finally have it up on the wall, I snapped a quick pic):

Well, you cannot tell it from the picture, but our bathroom countertop IS now clean...which I don't think I have seen since we moved in! It is SO nice to have one little corner of your house clean and be able to get ready without looking all over for things. I even took the time to go get some baskets. (Chris doesn't like them as much as I do, but I find them quite handy) I organized my drawer (and his drawer...although I don't think his drawer will stay organized...he didn't seem to like it as much as I did--but it is HIS drawer...so as long as I don't have to get into it, I suppose he can do whatever he wants in his drawer : )

After our bathroom--the bedroom! Clothes, junk, stuff...and Ta-Da! look at that brown dresser...I haven't seen the top of that since...well-I can't remember when! I got rid of some tubs and boxes that were at the end of our bed and it really makes a big difference. Makes me feel like the room got five feet bigger...oh wait...I think it did!

After that...on to the hall closet. I have towels with nowhere to put them...and washcloths-well, they don't really have a home either. (since we decided to put in a new A/C unit when the old one broke, we opted NOT to put in the desired 3rd bathroom in our basement until a later date. So our upstairs "main" bathroom is Theresa's bathroom. So, I try to leave her room for all her things she needs)

So, in an effort to do as Better Homes and Gardens does-I set out to organize: THE CLOSET. I got some wire shelf/racks (of course way more than I needed--as I wasn't sure exactly what sizes or shapes would work best for our closet-so I have to take a few back...) But the end result is quite nice.

Top Shelf:



Lower Shelf:

And after all that, I decided...one last "little" project...Baby's Room : )
Well...It had LOTS of boxes. So-still feeling motivated-I "scooted" the big boxes to the office or living room, depending on what was in them and their final destination. I finally found most of my sewing boxes, so those were set to go downstairs. (NOTE: pictures of the pre-boxed room is not shown...as to not divulge how many boxes were really moved....!)

AHA! Clean room!

And after cleaning, organizing, moving/scooting, etc...this little birdy was TIRED. (finally) And...after admitting that I had over-exherted myself...I took the next week to recover. (and one trip to my lovely Chiropractor who KNEW I had been doing something I shouldn't have...was nice enough not to make me feel any more guilty for over-exherting myself than I already felt. Although, it did come out a few days later at a get together...and she gave me the "you know you shouldn't be doing that" look...in addition to a good laugh, as she knows she is just as stubborn as myself when she sets her mind to doing something)

And then Chris and Theresa came home and I got in trouble for moving things...but they both said the house looked nice. Although, I have agreed that I will not be doing "anything" else...except for vacuuming...on ONLY one level of the house (and I won't haul the vacuum up and down the stairs). And I can vacuum as long as I don't do any other work. They run a hard bargain, eh?! Well, trust me-I have learned my lesson. I have been recovering for the last week, so I am not feeling like doing any more housework or organizing or cleaning.

Now Theresa can paint clouds on the walls, as she has mentioned interest in doing. This past weekend, she had time and was able to do just that. I have to admit, they turned out really good:



(the best part is, everyone seems to see different animals!! Gotta love the big, puffy clouds) So now I guess we can say we have "painted the baby's room."

4th of July

Towards the last week of June, I went up to Chicago for a seminar/conference to complete my training. Despite some "minor" delays, I finally arrived in Chicago to get a few hours of blissful sleep before my conference began on Monday morning. yawn!

Lucky for me, I had a good looking dinner date! Chris was able to come up for a couple days, as his schedule happened to work out for a few days off. Additionally, My younger brother, Paul, was able to drive to Chicago from the Urbana-Champaign area !! Look how cute we are (younger brother, and big-sis):

I could not have been happier to see Paul for dinner, and Chris for a few days (as our schedules have been crazy, he left for work when I got back-so it was nice to see him)

Soon after I returned, it was time for the 4th of July! Our "tentative" travel plans were to go out to Leoti for the holiday, but due to Chris' schedule (and me not wanting to drive there all by myself), plans changed. Although, my mother in law did say she was thinking about houlding out 1/2 a cow hostage so that she could see us over the holiday, but I am thankful she did not. We have been enjoying the meat since June when she brought it out to us : ) We look forward to seeing the Laws' in the next few weeks.

So, with Chris out of town, and Theresa galavanting on vacation in Colorado, my mom, Carl, and I hung out with my friend Jourdan and then shot some fireworks off at the house. Here is a picture of Grandpa Benny and I, visiting that afternoon before I went to see the rest of the family:

And here is a picture of me, dressing the baby up for the 4th (see the headband?):

We had a nice time watching the fireworks go off and hanging out. When I got home, it looked like a war zone on my street! There were kiddo's and fireworks EVERYWHERE! The neighbors said that the 4th is ALWAYS a holiday that they spend at home, due to the entire block of families having an ongoing show all night long. I think next July 4th, we will be staying home to watch the festivities : )

Sleeping in PAST Sunrise!

The past several weeks have been BUSY! Between Chris starting a "normal" schedule and me completing training for work, it seems like taking each day-one day at a time-has been the best approach.

Here are some pictures from sunrises over the past several weeks. I know most of you are blissfully curled up in bed (which would be nice) at the hour the sun rises. But here are a few pictures to show you what you are missing:







This one had the most beautiful rainbow!

Well, this morning I did sleep in past sunrise...and it was wonderful ! Chris was able to come back to town for a day and we spent it catching up and hanging out with friends. A friend of ours is moving to the DC area with his lovely wife, and we could not be more happy for them!! I had the pleasure of having dinner with them and getting to hear all about their excitement and adventures that are ahead. I jokingly told them it "must be a real job if the company moves you across the country!" : ) heheheee. We could not be happier for them.

We enjoyed Saturday of spending time with some "old" Phi Delts, joking, and catching up. It was a perfect day for us. It felt like one of "those Sundays" that people talk about when the day seems to last forever and you don't look at your watch-and, before you know it, four hours have passed and it feels like you still have all day ahead of you. It was relaxing and fun. Many thanks to Debbie (Hinnen's Mom) for allowing us to come and invade her house--and also for the wonderful hospitality and food provided. (now I know where Bryan gets his sense of hospitality from!!)

I wish I would have taken a picture of a few people floading in the pool. Delton had his floaties on while sitting in one of those inflatable chairs. He looked comfortable. (only to be splashed by a cannon-ball a short while later by Troy....! Although, they were nice enough to pull me away from the pool so I didn't get wet : )

Belly Getting BIGGER!

As many of our friends and family have been asking for, here is a post dedicated to Robin's Growing Belly. We began taking pictures around 4 months (16 weeks). I really didn't start showing until after that. Here is a picture of some of the first people we told that we are expecting (notice the skinny Robin pictured below--where are you hiding the baby?!)

Pictured Below: Chris, Robin, Bryan, Delton:

(Robin is at 12 weeks in this picture)

Doctors "set" the due date based on a 40 weeks of pregnancy. Below are picture with the weeks included for your convenience.

17 Weeks (4 months)

20 weeks

20 weeks (again)

24 weeks

28 weeks

31 weeks

...And the little one is still getting bigger...!

So far, all good reports from the Doctor. Baby seems healthy and active. Robin is still feeling good and trying to stay out of the heat as much as possible.