Another type of expansion.....

Due to popular request and as someone who easily complies with requests...

I will demonstrate proof of my own expansion project.

The BELLY!!!

Belly at 12 weeks!! You can see the little pouch there :)  

Although Garrett says I was 'pushing it out'

Belly at 20 weeks! Starting to show....early December I think? 

At 26 weeks!! Really starting to show then. Between this picture and the previous, I could no conceal the pregnancy with my clothes at work....

The most recent shot! At 34 weeks. Of course it is the one that is a 'close up' so I look even bigger! I wanted to wear the same pants throughout but I can't find them right now.... That must mean that I need to do laundry....

A few benefits of the growing belly:

- Serves as an ever present conversation piece. Perfect strangers have no qualms asking about due date, commenting on my size, speculating on baby's gender, and offering sage (and not so sage) 'advice'. Those awkward silences on elevators and such confined places now have a simple transition to conversation. Regardless if I would like to participate in said conversation or not.

- SOMETIMES (an emphasis on some) I get preferred seating at crowded meetings. People are a little nicer about giving up their spot at the table when a large belly is hovering around..... although sometimes the seat is so coveted that it precludes chivalry. But my chances for a chair have dramatically improved as the belly grows. 

- I currently have an ever present resting place for my hands, papers, drinks, candy.....the 'shelf' is functional! 

- The belly also allows my caloric intake to continue to increase guilt free in public places. Saying 'baby's hungry' with a smile allows me to consume all the extra deserts I please. 

- Most of all, it serves as daily proof of the continued growth and health of baby Caris! It is amazing to have a daily reminder of the miracle of a new life. Keep on growing belly!

Linking you to the Bayou City....

Weekends in the Blundell household have been fully filled affairs in recent months. We are typically traveling to various destinations to celebrate one of our families many life events. Last week's trip to my doctor resulted in a prohibition of travel this past weekend as baby has evidently made some early progress.

How my suitcase has remained for the past 2 months....embarrassing? yes. but reality....

With travels halted, we missed out on my sister Tara's wonderful Albany pre-wedding reception party. My parents hosted a local event so those who couldn't travel to Sonoma for the wedding could celebrate with the Bobby and Tara. We hated to miss it! They all worked so hard and a lot of friends and family were able to attend. From what I hear, it turned out to be a great event.

My sisters attempted to make me feel included in the 'getting ready' process by sending me pictures of the bride; always a fun time for the Jones girls. Tara looks so BEAUTIFUL!! She's going to be a gorgeous bride. I hated to miss out!

So, instead of traveling, we filled our weekend with several Houston events. Saturday morning we attended the 4th Annual SCOPE Run . This event promotes awareness for Colorectal Cancer; March was colorectal awareness month, so although I am a day behind, check out the website and this video and be informed! I am the chair person for the Kid's 1K and entertainment, so I coerced Garrett into helping me coordinate the event that morning. When we arrived at 5:00 a.m., it was 32 degrees and didn't warm up until 10:00!! It was so cold, the kid's couldn't even participate in all the games we had arranged. Other than then the temperamental Houston weather, the event was a great success. We had a record number of participants and the kid's were entertained by a clown, puppet show, carnival games, arts and crafts, police officers fingerprinting, and a SUPER Colon!! A fun, but tiring, morning.

Continuing with the theme of weather, Sunday was one of those rare afternoons where all was right with the weather in Houston. A perfectly clear, warm, and non-humid day where the sun and breeze both made their presence known. We don't get too many of those around here! So to take full advantage of the day, Marci and I conspired to (coerce? include? bribe? force?) our respective spouses to join us at the Bayou City Art Festival. Although the traffic/shuttles/ crowds were initially a little more than we anticipated, we had a GREAT afternoon enjoying the local scene, checking out some great art, and visiting with one of our favorite couples, the Lane's! In the end, I think Garrett and Tyler enjoyed the art booths more than their wives did :) Garrett became obsessed with this :

The amazing wooden music boxes that G obsessed over....evidently Ben Harper plays one these drums. Subsequently, G and I have a renewed appreciation for this song/video....enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRm8PfrsCs8


What a great weekend in the Bayou City!!

Calendar Girl

A fun little activity my sisters brought to the shower 

was a 'When Will Caris Arrive?' calendar. Everyone was able to make their predictions as to when our little girl will make her debut in the world. 

Machita and Garrett are anxious for her to get here and lead the pack with their early prediction of April 15th! 

My prediction is May 1st. My aunt Mary and friend Lee are also wise.  I need to work that day to get that months PTO!! :) 

Several people anticipate Caris sharing their birthdays  - Suzann for April 16th and Lindsey for April 21st! 

My Grandmother and aunt Kathy B are predicting a late arrival on May 10th and Grammy B thinks she will be fashionably late as well on May 8th....

Leave a comment with your prediction if you'd like! You can also add time weight/height. We'll add you

 to the calendar (I hope it shows up okay!) I may have to send a prize to the winner! 

Will Caris be an April baby and be able to claim her birthstone as a diamond? Lucky JJ and Poppa G! Or will she stick to her original plan and arrive in the month of May, sharing a birth month with Grandpa JJ and Auntie Tara's wedding? We shall see!!

Grateful

Gratitude has been the prevelant emotion in our lives lately. We have truly been overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity of our family and friends as we prepare to welcome baby Caris into our lives.

Although the thank you's are endless, the weekends events epitomize all that we have been given. I have fabulous women in my life that support me in so many realms.

4 girls! Tara, Camille, Caris, and Shelby

My two amazing sisters, Tara and Shelby, and my aunt Mary hosted a baby shower in Houston. It was a perfect afternoon! I think it just might have been the most fun I have ever had at a shower. These girls are awesome!! It was really touching to have so many of my friends and family in one place to celebrate such an exciting life event.

Put on your smiling face....with Machita and Marita...they worked so hard on the party!

The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was great to be able to spend time outside enjoying the day. We also had an appearance by the Crepe Man! I love crepes.

One of the favorite afternoon activities was brought by Grammy Jane. She put together such cute fabric and adorable little bird and flower patterns for everyone to create their own quilt square which she is going to put together for Caris. Crafty Aunt Alli had completed her square, and it looks adorable (of course) so I can't wait to see the final product. Everyone had sooo much fun creating their square and they turned out great! We had a really creative group. I'll have to put pictures up when I get them!!

So many important people in my life made a special effort to make it there; I can't even express how much it meant to me to have everyone there in one place to celebrate with us. People from every aspect of my life were present: my mother (a.k.a. grandma Machita), Grammy Jane Blundell, my sisters, sisters-in-laws -Alli and Natalie, (Caris has the best Aunties ever who are already spoiling her rotten!), my grandmother made the trip down to represent three generations, my Houston aunts and cousins, Garrett's aunts and freinds from Texas City, friends I grew up with (the Tidwell sisters!), Baylor friends who mean so much to me, and my great work friends. My sweet Dad was present in theory as he sent flowers for his girls: pink roses for his daughter and a beautiful plant for the new life in the making. Garrett and Uncle Jordan also made an appearance - they couldn't miss out on crepes! Somehow I didn't end up with pictures of everyone, (my camera died -which was a bummer - so if you have any I'd love to have copies!) but here's a small sampling of the lovely ladies in attendance..

Katie (baby Dillard will be arriving any day!), Miriam, Stacy - great friends from work (missing Jeannette??)

Baylor girls - Marci and Martha!! Sweet Martha made the trip from San Antonio just to come to the shower, she is right in the middle of her surgery rotation and made a big effort to come down to Houston. It meant so much to me to have her there!

Everyone was so generous, Caris is a lucky girl! Our house is quickly transforming to a place for a little baby. We are somewhat failingly attempting to create space for all her new supplies. I'll have to put up some pictures of her new goodies, they are all too cute!

My favorite people, great weather, and crepes? Amazing!

A perfect afternoon and what a special time to celebrate Caris. We loved every second.


Grateful.

The 33rd Week...

A compilation of occurrences in the 33rd week of carrying baby Caris as told from the mind of a pregnant lady....I apologize in advance for potential rambling....

Clothing: Is becoming a challenge. I am getting pretty creative in that department.... Each morning I take on the quest of discovering which articles of clothing still fit and which can be manipulated in some manner to do fulfill their intended purpose. My greatest assets in successfully meeting my daily challenge: - the Belly Band - which has allowed me to continue wearing most of my pants and greatly expanded my wardrobe, it has been a lifesaver! -Noppies -which are by far the best maternity pants I have found - versatile, comfortable, washable, and no need to iron, all my favorite qualities!

Leg Cramps: Intensified!! YIKES! Overall, I have been very blessed in the pregnancy symptom department; I really can't complain at all. However, the one consistent and earliest symptom I have had are these crazy feet/calf/leg cramps. These are not your run-of-the-mill feet cramps either. These suckers feel like they go straight to the bone and last for 30 minutes! I regularly wake up in the middle of the night screaming in pain, literally, it is bizarre. And there is no amount of stretching or massaging that can help. Last night, I had the worst foot cramp yet. I had to resort to a hot bath just to get some relief.....but they came back....on my drive to work...which is complicated.

Sleep: Has become an elusive commodity. I spend my nights searching for a comfortable position and waking every few hours with a new pain. Two king size pillow and a heating wrap have become essential in creating a sleeping 'pod' that provides some relief. God's way of preparing me for the next few months :)

Losing the proverbial "IT": I am becoming increasingly random and wandering in my thoughts and actions. Although some may argue this is not pregnancy related. And I will wholeheartedly agree...but this is getting worse. can you imagine? bad news. poor Garrett!

For example, this morning for breakfast I had this:

Not separately, which would be perfectly acceptable breakfast fare. I actually used chocolate soymilk as the medium in my cheerios. Honey Nuts have been my staple food of choice these days, so when I poured my bowl this morning and shortly thereafter discovered there was no more milk in the fridge....I had to do something. It was interesting; not all bad, but not all good. Kind of like a dessert I vaguely recall having before... Hey, it was either that or cranberry juice.


An update from the previous post: My commute to work has seen a dramatic decrease in time rendered in the car. We are down to 10 minutes, and that is record time for morning traffic! Spring Break is a gift that keeps on giving....even when you don't have one yourself. I am now officially embarrassed and reprimanded about my complaints.

And this post is officially proof of point number 3. Random. We have had quite a busy few weekends and once I get pictures, I hope to give an update on the recent events, nursery, etc.....the goal of which is to transition Random to Purposeful.

It's Rodeo Time....

The annual Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has arrived....

Houstonites everywhere have donned their boots and western wear and made their migration to the Reliant Center stadium for fair food (yummy!), entertainment (the Jonas brothers? at a Rodeo?) and of course, the livestock and the rodeo.

Now, I think the rodeo is a great event and I can't wait to bring Caris there in her little boots and tiny pink wranglers (thanks Aunt Alli!). I have always enjoyed my trips to the rodeo in years past (but I haven't actually been since we have lived in Houston? is that a bit strange?). I look forward to rodeo season. I'm a country girl at heart :)

However, the rodeo currently impacts my life in a not-so-positive manner. Primarily due to the location of this heralded event and the nature of my job.

You see, the Reliant Center stadium right in between my home and the hospital I work at. This presents problems.

One: The visitors and participants who have made the trek to Houston want to stay close by; understandable and expected. This creates complications for all the medical patients who would also like to stay close their respective hospital....this includes MD Anderson. There are no rooms in the entire area available. And for some reason, everyone in the hospital feels as if the social workers have magic rooms in their pockets and can fix this problem. And we don't. Although I wish we did. And that leaves frustrated patients and frustrated medical teams. All that to say, increased stress at work.

Two: My daily commute from home to work (and vice versa) leads me directly in the path of the reliant stadium. What is typically a 20 minute drive has become a 40 minute drive. This morning I was blocked by a LONG line of vehicles turning into the stadium - and these were no ordinary vehicles - every last one was a large 4x4 truck pulling a trailer. Not the typical traffic fare. Increased stress to and from work.

So I guess that means I need to take some time to de-stress. Maybe an evening out to the rodeo will do the trick? Irony is always a good solution....

On the plus side, I DID get to wear jeans to work one day last week for Go Texan Day, so really, I can't complain.

Let's Rodeo!

Spring Break!!...???

Our eternal student Dr. G is officially on Spring Break at age 28! Woohoo! Spring Break! No parents!

G just finished another round of tests and we are so excited to have him back from the land of study mode; not our favorite... Recall how your college place looked during finals? That's how our house has been the past few weeks. Papers, snacks, and dishes! The way Garrett's residency is set-up, he attends 2 years of medical school to get his M.D. It has been a bit of an adjustment transitioning back to school mode, but study master G has done great (as usual). Only a few more to go!

Garrett is seriously one of the hardest working people I know and deserves a break. I mean really, anyone who attends 10 years of school post college? Enjoy SP '09 G!!

The week started out perfectly. Sweet Garrett came home from a week of not sleeping and studying all night and spent his afternoon preparing to take his ladies on a date night :) We had a great dinner out preceeded by the receipt of one the the greatest letters I have ever read.We were able to spend time talking about our vision and goals for our new little family. Truly one of my favorite evenings in a long time!

Out on the town.....soon we will need a babysitter to do these things!

However, in accordance with his hard working style, when G is left with a little free time, there is no telling what will happen. He always finds a new project or hobby and has it mastered within a few short hours. An entire week unsupervised??? There is no telling what he will come up with!

Garrett's latest projects just over the past few months have included (just to name a few): spending hours traversing our attic space to add ventilation to our bathrooms, building a new patio, learning how to refinish furniture, mastering several new piano songs, endlessly researching all things political and financial, becoming a master chef, and building closet shelves. I truly never know what I will find when I come home! Garrett will research and learn how to do anything and always does it on an expert level.

Garrett becoming a master chef....will we be having lobster for dinner this week?

Predictions for this weeks endeavors? Only time will tell..... I have a wish list for him which includes building a changing table for Caris. We are hoping to make some good headway this weekend on her nursery and the house.

But who knows......I could come home to find the likes of this.....

We love you Garrett and are so proud of your hard work! Enjoy your week off!

Caris in 4-D!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to get to see little Caris live in 4-D! It was pretty amazing. It took quite a bit of coaxing, but I think we managed to get a few really good pictures and the video is really quite amazing. (of course, we are probably a little biased...)

Unfortunately, I can't edit the video or upload it....but I'm working on it! For now, the pictures will have to suffice.

The ultrasound tech really had a hard time at first getting a good shot (she is nestled really low and snug),but while she was trying, her phone rang with one of those 'song rings' and right then, Caris started to wiggle around! The tech got a big kick out of it and I tried to enlighten her to Caris' dance moves (see previous post) but she wasn't buying it. Caris stopped moving as soon as the song was over and I made Garrett play some music from his I-phone. True to form, she started moving right then.....she made a believer out of the tech too, she loved it! We actually got to see her dance to the beat in 4-D!!! She's got rhythm!

The way little Caris is positioned made it a little hard to get a good view of her face; her nose kept coming in and out of the 4-D frame, so it looks distorted in some of the pictures. But it's a normal nose!

This was one of my favorite shots :) I can't wait to hold her! She looks so peaceful....

Garrett has termed this picture as 'The Thinker". It looks like she is resting her little chin on her hand and is deep in thought! And she probably is......

This is one of the pictures where I think Caris looks like Garrett in her eyes/eyebrows. There were a few times in the video where I really saw Garrett in her eyes!

Caris is sticking out her little tongue in this one! It looks kind of funny, but she kept opening her mouth so wide and sticking out her tongue in the video. Maybe she was singing??

Caris kept putting her hands in her mouth the whole time! I don't think we got a single shot where her hands weren't right by her mouth. It was pretty cute:) We think it looks like she will have Camille's nose and round face. Can't wait to see her in person!

Baby girl continues to grow and everything looked great on her ultrasound! She is measuring right on target (she has pretty consistently measured about 2 days ahead of her due date). We are at week 31 now and with each passing week are more anxious for her arrival. Getting closer!

Tiny Dancer

Baby Caris loves to dance....


Music really gets her moving! Her first substantially felt movements coincide with my introduction to this cute little personality trait of our baby girl. As I was driving home from work one day, a Colbie Caillat song started playing. Naturally, I cranked up the volume and suddenly felt little Caris kicking away! I was pretty excited to finally feel her kicking and happily enjoyed her little movements. The song ended and Caris settled back down. I decided to try an experiment and turned the song on again......right away she started to dance!

Of course I excitedly called big Daddy G to let him know I thought his little girl inherited his love for music and quite possibly her momma's sweet dancing moves. Lucky girl : ) Garrett was excited to try out the same experiment when we arrived home and Caris did not disappoint! As soon as her favorite new song came on, she joined in with her dancing shoes.

Initially I just attributed this cute little phenomenon to coincidence. However, Caris continues to prove her love for music. And that she has pretty good taste in her musical selections. Her favorite artists currently consist of The Stars, Imogen Heap, Colbie Caillat, Tori Amos, Jason Mraz, and Leona Naes (the new playlist is in honor of Caris). Almost everytime one of her favorite songs starts playing, the girl starts grooving. When a family member wants to feel her move, we turn on the tunes. It's pretty cute!



Lucky for little Caris, her dad has quite the musical repertoire already in place for her. Caris has several playlists on her I-pod ranging from 'Playtime' to 'Naptime'. Some of our favorite new finds came courtesy of Uncle Bobby in the form of these great lullaby renditions of Coldplay! We can't wait until she arrives so we can see her dance in person :)


Yesterday was a hard day for Caris and her mom. I came home and decided to treat her with her own personal jam session. Garrett let us use his good headphones and I put them on where I assumed to be her little ears. Last nights favorite dance selections included: (of course...a Caris staple) Colbie Calait - Bubbly, Macy Gray - I Can't Wait to Meetchu, and she particularly enjoyed dancing to The Streets (I figured white, European rap is okay to play for my little girl, right? cultural diversity and all?).

She danced her way to sleep......

We love our Tiny Dancer!

'My Best Friends Weddings' ......

In honor of Valentine's Day...... and in true accordance with my belated style...... a tribute to love.

Last year was the year of weddings! (and yes, I am taking the liberty of including December 'o7 in the category of 'last year'...it was a long year!) It was such an honor to stand by 4 of my best friends' sides - Laura, Ashley, Lindsey, and Martha - as they began their marriages. I love these girls and am so excited they have found their forever Valentines :)

Laura, Ashley, Martha and I were college roommates and have remained close in our post-college years. We have had many an adventure together and are sure to have many more. The four of us have served as bridesmaids for one another and it has been such a special process to celebrate each others weddings.




Laura and Taylor Moore are two kind and gentle spirits and make quite the beautiful couple. They met in medical school and we were all quick to realize that they were the perfect match. On December 22, 2007, they were married in a beautiful ceremony followed by an eventful 2008. We have been lucky enough to see Laura and Taylor as they journeyed to Houston for boards and interviews this past year....and speaking of perfect match, we are anxiously awaiting to see where they will match for residency! (HOUSTON! HOUSTON!...a selfish wish). It has been such a blessing to be have been able to spend time with them this past year as they proceeded us into the journey to parenthood by a few months and have been able to provide great advice and support. Their absolutely beautiful baby girl, Adelyn Taylor Moore, made her arrival on January 20th, 2009 and is sure to be Caris's best friend! We love the Moore family and can't wait to see them again!

Ashley and John!! From the moment these two met, it was clear that they were destined to be together. I had never seen Ashley so sure of anything! John allows Ashley's
amazing spirit to flourish and they are never short on adventure. They also make quite the handsome pair. (see picture...told you!) Ashley and Laura got engaged on the same day and fittingly married in the same week!! I loved it! Ashley and John Ellis were married in a stunning candlelight ceremony in The Woodlands on Decmenber 28, 2007. Soooo beautfiful! They now live in Chicago so we don't get to see them too much :( But I hold out hope for a return to Houston. In the meantime, we will hope to visit them wherever their journey leads them. A visit to the Ellis' is sure to include lots of laughs and undoubtedly a coersion to a random Ashley adventure! Never a dull moment with these two to say the least.

Sweet Martha and Ben! They are the quintessential Hill Country couple. They began dating when Garrett and I lived in San Antonio and we had so much fun getting to know Ben and see how happy he made Martha. These two are always on the go and you could expect
a day with the Gray's to include hunting on the ranch, a perfectly grilled meal courtesy of both Ben and Martha, and great conversation. We also love that Martha did not have to change her monogram after she got married....and that she will be Dr. Gray. Martha and Ben's wedding on September 5, 2008 and she was a gorgeous bride, it was a true Hill Country event! The Gray's live just a few hours from us and we look forward to any excuse to visit them in San Antonio. (As an aside...Baby B was unknowingly 5 weeks old at Martha's wedding! her first big event of the season...We found out about baby the day after the wedding!)

Sweet Lindsey has been a true life long friend. We grew up together in Albany and were kindergarten BFF's ....and since that final 'F' stands for forever, we followed directions and remained that way! Lindsey and I have shared many life events and she is such a precious friend. We have been lucky enough to re-unite in both Austin and Houston in our post Albany days. Lindsey and Patrick Gore have been great friends during our relocation to Houston. They are a beautiful, happy couple who just may the kindest people you will ever encounter. Their wedding in Lakeway, TX was an absolutely amazing weekend and Lindsey was the ever gracious and beautiful bride. I can always count on these two to liven up my Houston parties and to contribute Chik-fil-A!! Love you guys! (They are such a photographic couple too...seriously they take the most amazing photos together!)