22 Week Ultrasound

Here is Foster's Profile. I went to the Doctor last Monday and had the "official" ultrasound done. All looked good and Foster is in the 50th percentile for weight at 1pd. He was very active and punched and kicked the entire time we were there. I feel more movement with each passing day. It seems the monster inside me has just as much energy as Daniel and I did as kids- SCARY!!! Perhaps he won't talk quite as much as I did and still do. Maybe he will have Daniel's more reserved personality!

It's Official!

Well everyone, here we are...up and running on our first official blog. With so much happening in our lives and with our family and friends literally spread all over the world, we figured this would be a great way to update anyone who wants to be updated on the happenings in our life.

As opposed to facebook, you won't receive annoying messages on your blackberrys or junk in your inboxes. Just come and check us out when you want to, or ignore us completely- your choice!

Since I will be a stay at home mom next year, and who knows what that will entail- Does anyone really know what to expect???- I thought it might be time to enter the modern age and do " the modern mom" thing 100 percent. What does a modern mom do you may ask??? They BLOG!

So here is my best attempt. Will I update daily? Probably not...weekly? perhaps. I figure that as long as I am adding pics and captions more than once a year, I am already well past my record for adding pics and captions to facebook. By the way, pictures from Christmas two years ago are still on our camera- pathetic. I am hoping this will inspire me to get with the program.

I am currently 22 weeks preggers with our first child...a boy. We are naming him Foster Ryan Russell. Foster is my maiden name, and I have always wanted to name a baby boy Foster. We also think that Foster Russell sounds like a famous athlete, so with Daniel and my genes combined...here's hoping! I am feeling pretty well. My energy is back up. Not like I am going to run a 5k tomorrow, but certainly not falling asleep at 6 p.m. anymore. Just a few walks with our dogs a day and 5 days a week with 4th graders pretty much zaps all my energy anyway.

After our final Hurrah (trip to NYC after Christmas),we have spent the late part of winter and early spring trying to put together our nursery. Daniel will deploy soon, so it was important for us to have everything ready before he left. Unfortunately, in case you haven't heard, Daniel will miss the birth and first 4 months of Foster's life. Therefore, I will be the most insanely stressed out, emotionally nightmarish mom ever!!! I won't think about that now...that is for later- just think of me each night before you go to bed between this fall and remember that it could be worse! To all of my wonderful family and friends...you are welcome anytime and your help will be appreciated more than you will ever know. I will truly need all the help I can get!

The nursery is perfect- or will be once the curtains are up. We are waiting for the hardware and finials (which are red airplanes- super cute) and then we can truly finish the room and I will post a picture. The bedding I had made came in last week and I am in love! Colors are black, white, red, and Tiffany Blue!

Mom and Jaime have risen to the challenge of finding the most adorable boys' clothing you can find. I have already seen a few items and I am telling you- they should go into business and buy for a kids' boutique. Although the initial disappointment of it not being a girl still surfaces each time they see a polka dot dress or ruffled pant-a-looms, they have immersed themselves in seersucker jumpers and embroidered sun suits. Foster will certainly be the best dressed tot on the block!

Our dogs will be making the largest adjustment, as we have had a Kanine Behavior Specialist/Trainer to the house to help us teach our dogs- who think they are human- to once again be dogs. With a child coming into our home very soon and pooches who run our home 24-7, we knew we had to do something. I was amazed; Chloe and Welli were swept away by the storm! We have much more training to partake in (more Daniel and myself than the dogs), we are now hopeful that we may actually be able to have a peaceful, calm environment in which to raise our son. Not to mention- it will be much less stressful for me. Already the dogs are more respectful of their alpha and omega (I'll let you guess which of us is which!) and there is less barking and chaos...thank goodness. Even Chloe, who we thought would never be able to just "chill out" has already made such a change!

Anyway, that is our first attempt at making a connection to you all. As I said before, check us out for updates, or choose to ignore us altogether. Life is too short to feel overwhelmed with information technology, right?

I will get back to you soon.