The Warlick Family

Japan, Day Four

2012-01-29T17:53:00.000-08:00

Day four found us exploring an old castle. I love seeing places like this that are left untouched by man.

It was atop the hillside, so not only was the castle beautiful, but the views of the island were stunning.

Everyone went down to the well except from Liam and me. I was not trusting the slippery stairs.

There were tons of vending machines around the island. Kyle made it his personal mission to try a new drink every time.

A big part of our trip was keeping Liam happy in the car. We were not always successful, as Liam is NOT a fan of his car seat.

Next, we headed over to the underground tunnels that the Japanese dug during WWII. It was very interesting, but quite depressing at the same time. Lot of people died down there.

Following the trip to the tunnels, we visited a glass factory. The results are beautiful, but the labor looked intensive.

Lastly, we visited the Peace Memorial. It was the site of the only battle on Japanese land. They had the names of all the Japanese, American, and British soldiers that died during the battle of Okinawa.

The Americans won the battle, and many women and children chose to commit suicide by jumping off the cliffs. The memorial is built on the suicide cliffs. It was quite depressing.

Making our way back to the base, we stopped at a Japanese Steakhouse.

Japan, Day Three

2012-01-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

Day three was quite fun. We left the Air Force Base and wandered around the island in search for their childhood parks.The public parks are full of slides that are made up of rolling castors. We bought laundry baskets and had fun rolling down them.

One of our first stops was to the hospital where Cade was born 18 years ago.

We celebrated Liam's two month birthday with a trip to Baskin Robins

We had fun carrying Liam around.

One of the funniest memories from our trip came from when Ryan got stuck on the slide by a scared little girl. It took ten minutes of crying, negotiating, and translating for the situation to be resolved.

People of all ages were enjoying the slides.

Ryan talked me into letting him take Liam down...VERY SLOWLY,

Faffy was our superb driver.

We found our way to the zoo.

Our little family of three was assigned the back of the van.

I love our little family!

Japan, Day Two

2012-01-26T16:20:00.000-08:00

The next morning we were all awake and ready to go by 6am. Take note, I never really slept that night. Even though I was beyond sleep deprived and frayed, I was determined to have an awesome day...how often do you wake up in Japan?!? My brother in law Cade was born in Japan, so that morning he had sure to kiss his "homeland" good morning. In search for food, we walked up to the USO.

The USO had a Chili's Too. The smell of coffee was quite enticing. To be honest, the breakfast sandwich that they served knocked my socks off. The deliciousness had nothing to do with the fact that ANYTHING would have tasted amazing...it truly was beyond...in fact I made sure to get two more before our four day trip came to an end.

Since were all a bit jet legged, our first day was committed to touring the base where the Warlicks lived for two years. The first stop was the boy's old school. While I fed Liam in the car, everyone had a blast reverting back to their childhood and playing on the playground.

Finally Liam allowed us to emerge from the car.

After the park, we drove around a bit and made our way back to the hotel. I had to feed Liam again, and the rest of the family went off to the grocery store.

I may have had a bit of a sleep-deprived breakdown at this point when Ryan failed to come back right away from the store. I NEEDED a nap!

Kyle and Bree came to the rescue and graciously watched Liam for me while I got an hour of much needed shut eye.

After nap time, we went to check out the Warlick's old home. They has knocked on the door and asked to look around. The family that lives there now told us we could come back after three(when her husband came home) to check out their old place.

The back yard of their home had a big hill where the boys used to spend hours playing.

One of the family's that lived there at the same time as the Warlicks was the Thomas family. Mrs. Thomas made the cute hat for Liam to wear on our trip. We made sure to take a picture in front of their old home.

We explored the hill behind the home and found some sacred spots that the locals come to visit.

That night we went out for Mongolian BBQ and fell into a blissful sleep. Thank goodness Liam decided to sleep ALL NIGHT LONG!

Japan, Day One

2012-01-23T17:19:00.000-08:00

Step one to traveling to Japan was the 14 hour leg from DC to Tokyo. I was a bit nervous about how Liam would do on the plane, but those worries were useless. Liam was a ROCKSTAR! A huge percentage of this was due to the fact that I could breastfeed him on demand. Unlike the car, there was no "need to try to sooth him while we found someplace safe to pull over." My hooter hider got quite the workout. A huge bonus was that fact that we had bulkhead seats. ANA (the exceptional Japanese airline that we flew), has multiple bulkhead seats throughout coach. With those seats, we were given a mini baby bed for Liam, which also doubled as a changing station.

We all arrive with plenty of time to spare. Liam enjoyed checking out the plane, and I enjoyed some lovely Starbucks pre-flight. Going back to how wonderful ANA was, while we were waiting to board, the crew of flight attendants showed up. I use the word crew because there were at least eighteen attendants on our flight....hence the exceptional service.

Liam enjoyed his bed even while awake. At eight weeks old he quite enjoyed staring at the lights on the plane. Oh how I love our happy baby.

Having three extra loving sets of hands on board was quite the perk as well.

Once we got to Tokyo, we made our way to our next flight. It was a three hour leg to the island of Okinawa. Can you tell how happy we are to stretch our legs?!?

My wonderful men.

Liam was quite excited to get to our final destination.

We made our way to the hotel on base, where we later met up with the West Coast portion of our family. As for sleeping that night, Liam slept, but only on my chest. In the morning we had a refreshed baby, and a completely sleep deprived mom...so no critical judging the photos from day two!

Play Date

2012-01-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

Liam had his first play date! In reality, I had a perfectly low key evening with my girlfriend, but I am counting it nonetheless! After dropping Ryan off at work for the evening, I picked up a couple of hot chocolates and made my way out to Virginia Beach. My girlfriend Candice has two children (ages 1 and 2). Pretty much the evening consisted of her children playing while Liam ate, slept, and enjoyed gazing at the animals in her African tunnel. As for me, it was wonderful to chitchat with my friend and swap theories on the logic of our favorite reality shows...a perfect evening!

Packing Party

2012-01-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

As you now know, we are moving. My nemesis of packing was wonderfully reduced by the presence of my superstar mother in law. I've mentioned how ridiculously awesome she is before, but she is always deserving of an additional standing ovation...she is that awesome. She volunteered to help us pack/move TWO weekends in a row...who does that?!? It's my crap, and I wasn't even stepping up to the plate. Remember my plan of complete denial until it magically happened on its own? In between sessions of adoring the Babe, we knocked out the entire kitchen, living room, and family room. All we have left are our closets and bathroom!

Funny enough, Ryan and I started watching Storage Wars this weekend. Quite appropriate, since we are putting the majority of our stuff in storage for the next ten weeks. It is a bit like Pawn Stars, in the fact that you learn a lot about the value of random objects.

Little Man

2012-01-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

At the eight week mark I finally came to the conclusion that my Little Man no longer fit comfortably in his newborn wardrobe. I had been fighting this fact, but it was time. He is now sporting his 0-3 months clothing collection. His newborn outfits consisted mostly of sleepers, so it has been fun seeing him in actual outfits. He truly is my Little Man now. Not only are his outfit more grown up, but so are his expressions. I live for his little smiles, coos, and most recently, bubbling laughter. It is easy to remind myself every day that I really do have the best job in the world.

The Move

2012-01-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned earlier, we are moving! It is all very exciting (except for the packing of course). Ever since high school, Ryan has been applying to enter the military as an officer. For a variety of reasons(aka God's timing) his dream had not come to fruition. That is, until last month when we found out that he had been officially accepted to join the military as a Reserve Marine Officer! For us, that means Ryan will be spending ten weeks at OCS (equivalent to boot camp), starting the 23rd of this month...so prayers would be lovely!

Now what does that mean for Liam and me? We will be boxing up all our home goods, dumping them in storage, and trekking 160 up north to live with my sister's family for the ten weeks. I am so blessed to have an amazing sister who is willing to shift her whole home around to accommodate us. Plus, we shared a room our entire childhood, so we both know we are uber-compatible in the living department.

Following the first ten weeks, Ryan will have an additional six months of training, all in the northern Virginia area. From there, he will have more training designated by his specific job lasting anywhere from two to four more months. In other words, 2012 will be surely full of adventure and surprises! The fact that I get to experience them with my two favorite men is all I need to anticipate a wonderful year!

Ten Weeks

2012-01-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Our Liam is indeed growing up too fast! At his check last week he weighed in at 11 lbs. 6oz. He jumped from the 25th percentile to the 50th! Is it bad that I want him to stay in the lower end of the spectrum so that he can stay small for longer?!?! Honestly I do love that he is growing at a super healthy rate. His cheeks have gotten juicer and his little chin is adorable...more to smooch on! Lately he has discovered his fist...namely inserting it entirely in his mouth. Ryan hates this! I read that it is good, because it helps him self-sooth, but Ryan thinks it is the gateway to thumb sucking. Neither of us were thumb suckers, but it ranks high on Ryan's fears for our children. So every time he sees Liam happily gnawing away, Ryan quickly swaps it out for his pacifier. This is our last week in our current home...Liam's first...it will be emotional for me only for his sake. I know Liam could care less and will automatically adapt, but the life changing memories we had together as a family of three will be emotionally noted.

Real Deal

2012-01-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

So I am currently stalling on posting about our recent trip to Japan due to the fact that I am waiting to get the pictures off my mother in laws camera. When it does happen, there will be pictures galore...I promise! Until then, here is a visual of our day-to-day life. Oh so glamorous I know. Messy hair, little to no makeup, thick sweaters, and lots of kisses for my snuggle-bug. I wouldn't change a thing! Liam's sleep schedule has been a bit haywire since our return from the Orient, but that has given me more time to snuggle my little bundle back to sleep. The last two nights have been showing signs of normalcy, so I have been able to recharge my batteries in the last 48 hours. Getting much needed sleep has helped with our next big task...packing...because we are moving! I hate packing. Since we have found out about the move, I have been living in a state of denial. I am excited for changes, but the actual act of packing makes my stomach curl.

Christmas

2012-01-05T20:01:00.000-08:00

It's true...holidays are best with family...and even better with little babies! I know Liam is too young to get excited over his gifts, but I was excited enough for the two of us! One of my favorite gifts for Liam was the collection of golden spine books from Grandpa and Grandma Warlick! There was a mixture of classic titles like the Baggy Saggy Elephant, and new ones that featured Toy Story characters. Our opulent stockings featured amazing plane supplies like hand sanitizer, magazines, and books!

After being showered with gifts, the majority of us headed out to see MI:Ghost Protocol. This was not the first movie Liam has sat through(more like fed and slept through), and I wonder how long he will be a compliant movie companion. Following our movie, we headed off to the gym to get the blood flowing before our 18 hours of stagnant flight time we were committed the following day. It was the first time I was able to run post-Liam! I had tried once before at my six weeks postpartum mark, but it was not pretty. Since I am nursing, the ladies felt WAY too sore to run for more than 30 seconds. This time around I took my mom-friend's advice and layered up for more support. I successfully ran a full mile! Since then I have ran several more times...stretching out the distance each time. I am now back up to three mile run stretches!

This picture is so sweet! Love and snuggles are still his favorite present of the day!

On the Eve of Christmas

2012-01-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

This year's Christmas was jammed packed with excitement and fun. Since our schedule was so crazy, we made a point of celebrating together as a family of three before we headed off into the scheduled chaos. Several days before Christmas we went to our favorite restaurant (the one that is ten yards from our back door) and enjoyed a lovely meal accompanied by Liam crying. No worries though...we were the only dinners in the place after the first ten minutes there.

Once home, we practiced out our baby carrier, to see if Liam would like it. He was fairly comfortable, but fussed after only a couple of minutes. The rest of the night we spent lounging around, waiting for Liam's 10:00 bedtime, after which we toasted in the holiday season with some deliciously dry bubbly.

Our original Christmas Eve plans were changed due to my sweet little nephew getting rsv only days before. Potentially deadly for little Liam, we switched route and celebrated in Maryland with the in-laws. We continued my family tradition of eating up clam chowder and sandwiches. We wish we could have all been together, but we made the best of it!

On Christmas Eve we opened up our Christmas PJs, which we super comfy. I love that the blue line down Liam's outfit accentuates his adorable belly!

The Warlick's Christmas tree was made up of all the boys homemade ornaments throughout the years....so precious!

$20 Tree

2011-12-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

I love decorating our tree every year. we stick to a strict tree budget of under 20 dollars. This year, we got our fine tree from Walmart. Every year it is exciting to decorate our tree with our new ornaments. Traditionally, I buy all my new ornaments after Christmas when they are on extreme clearance...so every time it is fun to see the new additions. My favorite part about our tree this year is the dual star toppers. The big star was too heavy for the highest branch, so we made it work!

Seven Weeks

2011-12-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

One of the most precious aspects of bringing Liam home is watching Ryan with our little sweetheart. It's true, I have fallen more deeply in love with Ryan over these last several weeks. I have dubbed his "the baby whisperer." Ryan has amazing soothing abilities. He can calm Liam down during the times he is crying, yet not still fully awake. Our nighttime routine has bee pretty amazing from the get-go. When Liam does wake up, Ryan gets him, changes him, swaddles him, and brings him to me to eat. This allows me a solid three extra minutes to wake up fully and arrange the pillows for feeding, Those three minutes are precious. Over Thanksgiving I was apart from Ryan for several nights, and I totally felt the difference in the morning. When we are all together, Liam only wakes up once or twice a night, which allows me enough sleep so I feel refreshed in the morning...no zombie sleep deprived mommy for Liam! Over the past several weeks I have vastly cut down on caffeine(diet coke is now reserved for celebrations and coffee is put aside for social girlfriend times), so I feel very blessed to have a good sleeper. Since he does sleep at night, Liam is mostly awake during the day. I love it! He has the sweetest little voice and his smiles melt my heart. He will randomly cat-nap throughout the day, and I always indulge in holding him during one of his snoozes, I know holding a napping baby is sometimes frowned upon, but my one nap splurge has yet to negatively affect his ability to also nod off in his car seat, stroller, swing, vibrating seat, or crib. So until it does, I will be enjoying the sweet smell of my baby's hair and the noise of his sleeping baby breaths.

Birth Story

2011-12-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

My last day of work was planned for the 28th of October. In a festive spirit, our office decided to dress up for Halloween. Keeping to my economic-friendly costume beliefs, I threw on Ryan's uniform and went as a Soccer Ref. Since it was my last day, the office threw a fun pot-luck lunch with tons of delicious treats. The best part, though, was the fact that we spent an hour playing charades...only the best game ever. As per usual, I ended up yelling, jumping, and laughing the whole time. My coworkers and I jokingly talked about how all this fun would surely send me into labor.

On the drive home, I started feeling contractions. I wasn't too worried, because I had been having pretty regular Braxton-Hicks every evening for the past two weeks. After Dinner, I was still feeling contractions, so Ryan and I decided to start timing them. Using a timer on Ryan's Ipod, we started the count. After an hour, I was still having regular contractions, lasting a minute, every 1-3 minutes. According to my midwife, I was allowed to go into the hospital at this point. Instead, I decided to move around and see if this truly was the real deal. I was scared to be a false alarm, and to be sadly sent home. Also, at this point, the contractions were far from painful.

In order to move around, I decided to vacuum the house. That kept me busy for about a half an hour. I wasn't timing anything at this point, but I could feel them still being present. I sat down again for another hour and found that the contractions still indicated that I should go into the hospital. In an attempt to stall, I told Ryan that we should put our bags by the door, and go to bed. My thought was that if the contractions continued and were strong enough to wake me up, it would be worth going in. At this time, It was about 11:00. When I was brushing my teeth for bed, I finally started feeling pelvic pain. Finally, I was willing to acknowledge that we should go in. Above is our last self portrait taken on our way out the door.

We were excited to find out if we had a boy or girl!

We finally left the house at 11:45pm. The hospital was only three miles away, and there was absolutely no traffic. Since it was after 8:00, we had been warned that we would have to enter through the ER. Thankfully, it was a slow night, and the ER waiting room was completely empty. After being buzzed through to Labor and Delivery, we were greeted by two tired nurses. We approached them and told them that "we believed that I was in labor due to my regular contractions." They both stared at us rather blankly until one of them flat out said "you don't look like you are in labor." To this Ryan replied "she had an extremely high pain tolerance." They agreed to check me into Triage and to see if my report held any merit.

After I changed into my hospital garb, the nurse checked me for dilatation. Being checked, while having contractions, was quite the painful experience. The last time that my midwife checked me was on Wednesday, and I was sitting pretty at 1.5cm. At the hospital, I was at 3! The nurse also said that the baby was extremely low and she could feel my water bulge. In order to get admitted, she said I would have to make progress in the next hour. She was fairly confident that I would get admitted, but recommended that we spend the next hour walking the halls. As soon as she gave us the go-ahead, Ryan and I took off turbo-walking the halls. Ryan was a wonderful support, and forced me to walk through all of my contractions. This resulted in me making quite the face as I breathed and walked through the pain. When we neared an hour, I decided to keep walking instead of having the nurse check me, due to the fear of getting checked again. Around the hour and a half mark, the nurse insisted on checking me. Ouch..once again...but I was ecstatic when she announced I was five centimeters and would get officially checked in! When she asked about pain management, I told her I would love an epidural.

We transferred to the Labor and Delivery suite and Ryan went down to bring up our bags. The nurse meanwhile told me that she put in the order for an IV and epidural. While we we walking over to our new room, a lady on a gurney was wheeled into the Labor wing. Our nurse informed us that she was brought via ambulance from over an hour away and she "didn't even know if she was pregnant." A half hour later we hear two bloodcurdling screams and a baby start crying...Well...I guess she was pregnant. An hour following that, I am still having pretty intense contractions, and we have yet to see an IV or an anesthesiologist. Ryan went on a hunt for the drugs, and found out the delay was due to the fact that the two nurses were both tied up dealing with the unexpected birth down the hall.

I finally get my IV and have to wait for the entire bag to drain before they could do the epidural. It was at this point, that Barbara, my mother in law, made it to the hospital. We were so happy to see her safe. She had been driving for three and a half hours in the middle of the night in order to make it to the birth. Also en-route was my sister an her entire family who were also making a four hour dive in the dark. Finally my IV fluids were drained and the nurse anesthetist was given the word that we were ready for action. The nurse set me up on the side of the bed and coached me in the proper leaning technique. Upon entering the room the NA announced that this "was his first epidural EVER at this hospital." AWESOME! Not exactly what I wanted to hear while I was hunched over praying for relief. Luckily, since he was new, he didn't follow the rule that stated only one family member was allowed in the room during the time of the procedure. Both Ryan and Barbara were there the entire time. It was true, the only painful part of the epidural was the Lidocaine...it felt like a burning pinch. After stating how I had the perfect long and lean spine for him to work with, he proceeded to get blood in the catheter of his first attempt. Bummer...round two worked out well though. After he established that the second one was doing the job, he felt free to share that the mistake he made in the first attempt had only happened twice before in his entire career. Excellent...I was making the record books all over the place for this guy. Right after my epidural, the nurse checked me...I was at seven centimeters!

Shortly after I received my epidural, my sister Chelsie arrived and sent her family off to wait/sleep at our house. To entertain our guests, Ryan did a reenactment of my attempt to walk through the contractions. He named it the Egor. We were all laughing and enjoying our time together. Unfortunately, the epidural lowered the baby's heart rate and I had to breath in oxygen. Also, the nurse had me lay on my side and rotate every 5-10 minutes in order to simulate walking. About an hour later I progressed to a nine. When my midwife came in at around 7am, I was back down to an 8, so they decided to break my water. After this, they told me that they would check me a gain only if I felt pressure low in my pelvis. We all took the next couple of hours and slept, which was the best decision at that point.

Chelsie and Barb plotting out their vantage points for the delivery.

The moment after I was told I would be allowed to push

At around 10:30, everyone was still sleeping, but a nurse came in to check on my vitals. I whispered to her that I was feeling pressure, so she decided to check me. As soon as she checked, she announced that the baby was in the correct position and that I would be ready to push! All three of my cheerleaders popped up off their makeshift beds at that point and rushed to my side. The nurse just started chuckling and told them all that we had time, and instructed all of them to take a bathroom break now, since they had to set everything up. The room was almost instantly transformed into the birthing suite. Before anyone else came in, the nurse coached me in pushing for the delivery. I got in a couple of practice pushes before the other nurses and my midwife rolled in. One of the nurses swooped up my camera and took amazing pictures throughout the entire birth. Those pictures are priceless.

For the next forty minutes, I pushed according to the guidance and encouragement of my midwife and family. It may have lasted forty minutes, but it felt like ten.Throughout the process, my midwife was rubbing me with warm oil in an attempt for me not to tear. When our little one was part way out, they even put some in his hair, to make a little curl! About halfway through, I was able to reach down and feel his little head. It was wonderfully encouraging. While I was pushing I will always remember how Chelsie was whimpering on my left, telling me how beautiful our baby was, while on my right, Barbara was pushing with gusto, encouraging me to get the baby out. Ryan was pretty silent the whole time, until the baby was born. He got to be the one that announced that "We had a boy."(As per request to the hospital staff)

As soon as I saw our baby, I was instantly in love. He had the most intricate face of a little boy. In all the time that we hoped, prayed, and dreamed about our child, I was never able to fathom such a beautiful baby. After Ryan cut the cord, Liam was placed directly on my chest. I spent that entire time crying and staring in wonder at the little man that we had created together.

They cleaned him up and recorded his weight while I was being stitched up(I ended up having an episiotomy). My father and brother-in-law had arrived right before I started pushing. They chose to wait outside the door, but were able to see Liam get cleaned up shortly after he was born.

After Liam got cleaned, I was able to spend an hour feeding and cuddling with him. When he was taken off to the nursery for more checks, Ryan was able to go with him. This resulted in my favorite picture from one of my favorite days. These two hold my heart.

Week One

2011-12-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on writing down the birth story of our little man, but until then, here are some pictures from our first week home. Even now, a mere six weeks later, Liam has grown so much. Every day I remind myself to remember and cherish every moment we have together.

Walking

2011-12-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

One of the postpartum mandates is that exercise has to be put on hold for six weeks. Seeing how I was exercising pretty much every day throughout pregnancy, this was going to be a big life change for me. One activity that wasn't completely outlawed was walking. This, I did with gusto. Not gusto in the sense that I speed walked for hours on end, but in the fact that I have cherished my walks around town. Since baby, we have also made the adjustment of downsizing to one car. This means, for about half the day, I am sans transportation. No longer do I leave the house on a whim, so getting out and walking is a wonderful activity.

You know how when you are younger and you get terribly embarrassed at the things your parents do? Well...turns out as adults, I like to do some of those formerly dreaded activities. Prime example: Ryan and I now enjoy going on walks in nice neighborhoods and critique the houses. We point out things we like/don't like/would choose to change...all while pretending we live in the neighborhood. The funny thing is, since we go walking in the same nearby neighborhood all the time in these last six weeks, people probably think we do live there. One lady even stopped us and asked us for directions to a certain address!

Ryan and I have also been super impressed with our fall weather this year. I was a bit fearful that we would only be able to fit in walks for a couple of weeks before it got too cold, but it has yet to dip below 55. It is fun to watch Liam on the walks as well. He usually says awake for the first half, just looking up at the sky through his little moon-roof on the stroller. Our stroller is amazing by the way! We debated spending so much on it, but we have both agreed that even after these short five weeks, it has paid off. It seriously rolls like butter!

Walking has also helped me drop the baby weight. At the ten day mark, I had lost all of the eighteen pounds that I gained during pregnancy. A portion of that was also due heavily to breastfeeding...and the fact that I stopped weightlifting two months before Liam was born...so I'm sure I've lost quite a bit of muscle. Next week I get the green light on going back to the gym!

Parenting Cliches

2011-12-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

I know I have greatly slacked in updating my blog, but every time I even try to envision a post in my head, I have no clue as to were to start. It has been five weeks now since we have welcomed our sweet baby Liam into our lives. Our lives have changed in many ways, but at the same time it has been the most natural and anticipated life transformation to date. He is such a sweetheart...and honestly all of the positive cliches about parenthood are true. I did fall in love with him at first sight, I did fall more deeply in love with Ryan from the first time I saw the two of them together, and I can no longer imagine my life without our little family of three.

Thankful

2011-11-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

We are so thankful for our little family.

Cousins Jackson and Cambria are so loving with little Liam.

Grandma B came up from Florida to meet her newest great grandchild.

Daddieo made a makeshift pacifier!

Cade loving on his nephew

Love his little face

A whole lot of manly going on!

Lots of family time

Melanie and Faff worked out an amazing turkey.

His first Thanksgiving outfit

Bonding time

Love how my me love each other / Jackson loved holding his cousin

One Month

2011-11-29T15:45:00.000-08:00

Happy one month to my most precious bundle! Every day is brighter with him in our lives.

Parents

2011-11-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

Our son has arrived and we couldn't be more elated. We have spent the last several weeks living in our baby bubble, but soon I will update the blog on the past several weeks. They have been unparalleled.

39

2011-11-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

My last week pregnant! This picture was taken two days before Baby W made HIS appearance!

38

2011-10-25T04:20:00.000-07:00

In reality, I have hit the 39 week mark today, but all of my 38th week was filled with bouts of contractions! They seem to come mostly in the evenings, but are super sporadic and mostly mild. I have only had a total of five painful contractions over week 38.

I have continued to work out by walking on the treadmill, doing the elliptical, and taking my Zumba classes! I am really looking forward to tomorrow when I can be checked again to see if I have made any progress. I feel like with all the contraction action, i should show some sign of progress, but I have also heard of women feeling contractions and being surprised about their lack of progress.

Ryan and I had a date this weekend! We went out for cry-its-so-spicy thai food, and saw the movie Real Steel. The movie was really enjoyable. The little boy in the film was so lovable. I left the theater thinking about what our little boy would look like if Baby Warlick is a boy!

Also a big decision next week will be regarding our car situation. We are down to one car, and I think we will keep it that way. My coworker has been sweet enough to give me a ride to work in my last week. At the end of the week we are thinking about trading in our Volvo for a more fuel-friendly car option. I can't believe I have started my last week of work!

5K

2011-10-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, a group from my work got together and participated in the Run Like a Girl 5k race that focused on raising awareness and support for ovarian cancer research.

We all had matching shirts that featured an older lady walking with braces...the concept for the design was lost on me, but it was fun to have a matching group. I chose to walk the event, but a handful of our girls ran like champs!

Even though "boys weren't allowed" Ryan was sweet enough to come along and be our event photographer. Honestly, I didn't really want to drive an hour away from home by myself after talking to my mom last week and learning that her water broke with all four of us kids. One of my worst case scenarios is having my water break dramatically in public. What would I do? For example: if I Was at the gym on the treadmill, should I worry about cleaning the machine, or should I hightail it to the bathroom and try to stop myself from causing any more of a mess? I'm still working on a solid game plan. Any suggestions?

37

2011-10-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

37 weeks...Baby Warlick is full term and welcome to make a healthy entrance into the world whenever he/she deems it is time! At my appointment this week I gained a little over a pound, putting me at 21 pounds total gained! I also chose to let them check me, and I am 1.5cm dilated! The process of being check wasn't the most pleasant, but it was encouraging to know that my Braxton Hicks have been working, and aren't just for show. I also had the midwife compliment me on my pelvis...why thank you...I passed the compliments along to my parents.

This weekend Ryan and I went on an outing to Target after church where I introduced Ryan to their delicious soft salted pretzel. It has been my go-to item for my calf cramp remedy. I am still focusing on our wonderful "couple time" before the baby arrives. We have several potential dates lined up to live up our freedom.

We received our 10% off registry coupon this week, and i put it to use buying the final baby necessities. Our place it slowly getting ready for the baby. I also finished our nursery curtains this week, which hopefully means our baby will sleep a little better.

Life

2011-10-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

Last week was one of those filled with emotions that involved being equally terrified and thankful. Ryan was in a car accident. Thankfully it was a complete accident. An older couple ran a stop sign and hit the back of Ryan's car, sending both cars into a guardrail. Everyone is safe, but both cars got totaled.

Getting a phone call from my husband to pick him up from a car accident was extremely scary, but the fact that he was well enough to make the call himself was a huge relief. I am so grateful for the safety of everyone involved. Life is so precious, and I am constantly reminded of God's grace and how every day is one to savor with our loved ones.

36

2011-10-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

I love feeling all of Baby Warlick's squirms lately! Our baby is definitely active, and I especially get a kick out of when the baby is rocking out so hard that my entire belly shifts to and fro. I mentioned working on the baby's crib skirt this week. Sadly, that was a bust. I ruined it by washing the fabric before hemming it... rookie mistake! Now our crib will be sans skirt since my motivation died along with the fabric. What the baby's room does need is more color! I think I'll find a super colorful crib sheet to make the area more lively.

At our doctor's appointment this week I lost 0.25lbs, so pretty much I stayed the same, or ate less salt, which I would believe since my calf cramp reared its ugly head again last night. I tested negative for Strep B, which means I don't have to worry about getting antibiotics during the delivery. The nurse did highly recommend that Ryan and I get our flu shots. Straight from the appointment, we headed to Walgreens where we both got our shots. They told me that it takes my body two weeks to develop all the antibodies for the flu, so as long as I stay pregnant for two more weeks, our baby will get the antibodies through me. Otherwise, the baby would have to be six months before getting the shot directly.

This weekend I drove up to northern Virginia and stopped by the Ikea where I got the baby's dresser and curtain rods. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing with Chelsie, Jims, and their adorable babies that I still pretend are my own. As far as traveling goes, that was my last trip away from home that I am willing to take. From here on out Ryan and I are keeping it local. On next week's to do list is assembling both of our hospital bags.

Cowgirl: Light of My Life Studio

2011-10-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Cowgirl: 11x14, acrylic on canvas board, 2011

I just recently finished my latest addition for my Light of my Life Studio website. This piece was especially fun, because it was for Mollie Wilkinson, my uber-talented photographer friend...remember...the one that made me feel super pretty as as a pregnant lady in our maternity photo shoot in July!

35

2011-10-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

This week flew by! We had fun celebrating the first birthday of my adorable little nephew Samuel. With celebrating came lots of tasty treats...which showed up at my weekly doctor's appointment in the form of six new pounds over the last several weeks since my last weigh in. That brings my total gain thus far to 19 pounds. I know that number will only increase, especially with my newly found food love: salted soft pretzels from Target! They are so delicious! I first tried them because Ryan suggested I incorporate more sodium into my diet in order to prevent the massively painful calf cramps that have been attacking me in my sleep. Well, mission accomplished, in the last several weeks I have not had any charlie horse pain! I may have developed water retention-pregnancy fat face as of Saturday, but I am cramp free!

Working out has improved some, in the fact that I have been fortunate enough to get some substitute teachers in my Zumba classes! The regular ones were getting so boringly repetitive in their song choices that it is quite refreshing to have some new material to move to! I got my run in this week as well! I have dwindled down to one mile of actual running, but it felt great!

I was able to borrow my friend's sewing machine this week, so I look forward to launching my curtain hemming project along with my crib skirt construction project.

As far as baby goes, I am loving feeling the arms and legs swirl around inside of me. At this point, I am told that the baby has reached their complete length, but is actively working on putting on the scrumptious baby chub that I will soon spend hours kissing. Also, the lungs are hard at work getting ready for outside breathing. It's bizarrely fascinating for me to think about how much our lives are going to drastically change in just roughly a month! It's something I thank God for daily and ask for loads of wisdom in the time to come!

Labor Day

2011-10-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

We spent Labor Day weekend up on Maryland with the family.I may have dragged the family to no less than three Targets in search for the perfect baby swing that I had spotted several weeks back. Lucky for me, the babies love Target! I finally took advantage of the expectant mothers parking spot. I've felt silly in the past, because I feel completely physically competent, but my mother in law was able to talk me into it...and sweet enough to get photo documentation. The Labor Day sale at Carters was amazing! With a coupon that I got online, all clearance items were an additional 70% off. This was the first time I bought gender-specific items. I feel like I came away with a lot more cute boy outfits than girls...maybe because the girls were already quite picked through...we figure we can easily return the unneeded gender's outfits post-baby. Carters does have an amazing one year return period.

One

2011-10-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

Photo by Lovely Moments Photography

Sprinkles-Cupcakes-Funfetti-Banners-Balloons-Family-Peas-Mac&Cheese-Lentil Soup-Kisses-Presents-Sweets

Photo by Lovely Moments Photography

Samuel, we are so blessed to have you be a part of our family. We love being your aunt and uncle! You easily hold the title of cutest, happiest baby ever...at least for a couple more weeks when we may be slightly biased upon Baby W's arrival. Here is to many more birthdays filled with love, kisses, and sweets to come!

Love, R&H

34

2011-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

34 weeks brought some much needed relief in the rash department! I have been using my combination of steroid and anti-bacterial creams, and have noticed a positive visible difference.

Perhaps the most memorable event of the week was the fire. Yes, I may have set fire to a potholder in my house. As soon as I am feeling confident in my ability to care for a child, I go and do something totally braindead. I think this is God's way of keeping me humble and on my toes for when the baby comes. So onto the fire details. It was Sunday morning, and i woke up before Ryan, which is quite typical in our house. I went out to the kitchen and put a pan of water on the stove so I could have a cup of tea with my oatmeal. We didn't have to leave for church for another two hours, and I was excited about the possibility of having a lazy morning. After setting up for breakfast, I went into the bathroom, stripped down, and applied my double layer of creams to my rash covered legs and arms. From there I went into our bedroom and started getting dressed.

Several seconds later I hear our smoke alarm going off. Now this is pretty common, since if you cook anything over 425, it usually sets of the alarm. My first thought was "which one of the silly neighbors is baking."..because I knew that I certainly wasn't baking anything. Then it clicked...I did turn the stove on! IT could be us! At this point I am clothed in nothing but my underwear. Crap! It took a slit second to decide if I should bother with a shirt, or investigate the problem before I left the shirt behind and went running to the kitchen, slapping the leg of my sleeping husband on the way out. As soon as I saw our living room, I was enveloped in smoke. Entering the kitchen, I noticed that I had turned the WRONG BURNER ON! Instead of my water, I was heating up a potholder! At this point there was no fire, just a glowing red oven mit. I was smart enough to turn off the stove, but thoughtless enough to pick up the potholder(in retrospect, I should have left it there and covered it with a pot lid). This is when, with the newly introduced source of oxygen, the potholder burst into flames. I turned, dropped it in the sink, and started spraying it with the water hose at our sink.

At this point, Ryan is rounding the corner like Rambo and yelling me to "clear out...save the baby." I swiftly run back to our bedroom, hop into my maternity pants, throw on a tank, and find a sweater to tightly wrap against my still-braless top. From there I opened our outside door and sat at the top of our steps(our apartment is a basement unit). Ryan came out with our phones after turning on the fans and making sure that the fire was totally out. Later he told me that the smoke had gotten so bad at a point, that he had to army crawl across the floor.

Even though the fire was out, we needed to clear the smoke, so we decided to call the non-emergency number for the fire department. I called my sister, got the number, and was about to dial when we heard the sirens. Instead of calling, we watched three fire trucks and a police car pull up to our building. They men jumped out, and Ryan met them to direct them to our smokey apartment. The report that they received was for "smoke billowing from the roof, so they asked Ryan what was the best way to "Get to the top." Ryan explained that we were actually in the basement, to they went traipsing down our steps to evaluate the situation.

They found our chared potholder, and set up industrial fans in order to get the C02 in check. They ran the fans for a good twenty minutes before giving us the clear. Ryan actually knew several of the guys, since he works with them at the rescue squad. It was all quite embarrassing, especially when the cop asked if it was "Safe for the neighbors to go back inside." The whole time we had been standing in the back, but hearing the cops request, we looked up towards the front where about a dozen of our neighbors were semi-dressed in bathrobes clutching their dogs. Oh goodness...we were the culprit neighbors!

When the firemen left, we simply got dressed and headed straight to church. We stayed out until about five, hoping the smell would be better by the time we got back. It was still pretty bad upon our return, so we commenced to clean and swiffer our entire apartment.

Ryan was sweet enough to give me words of encouragement throughout the day reassuring me that I "will in fact make a good mother." Pretty much, pregnancy brain is only cute until you set something on fire. Ultimately, it was a learning experience on being more aware of my actions. Prayers for future wisdom greatly appreciated, if you would be so sweet.

I am still feeling healthy and got in 1.5miles on my run this week. Honestly, Zumba is starting to get a little boring. I am probably just getting burned out from the lack of variety. I know post-baby before I am cleared to exercise, I will be craving even the most mundane Zumba class, so I'm trying to relish it to the end!

Nursery Wall

2011-09-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

After Ryan assembled the crib, we rearranged our room to "make room for Baby." Changing up the layout wasn't the only change that we wanted to make. We wanted to add a whimsical element, that would be both appealing to our Baby and us. I have been enjoying looking at all the modern wallpaper options that are online, but being renters, and being on a tight budget, dropping hundreds on a non-essential wasn't an option. Enter Cutting Edge Stencils...our $60 substitute! We had the time, so we were willing to try it out.

This is how we started out, all of our walls had been painted Valspar's Voyage, ever since the weekend we moved in.

For our particular stencil, we had to paint the image color first, and then come back with the filler. I used the leftover Valspar Swiss Coffee that I had from the hutch project.

The next day, we started the stencil process. The key to painting is to roll the paint on the roller via the tray, and then run it across a plastic paint to ensure a light, even application. If you look closely, the lines are far from perfection, but as a whole it looks really good. Any imperfections will be credited towards the trees being organic.

Five episodes of the View later, the wall had been transformed into a birch forest. I smile every time I enter our room. Hopefully the contrasting image will be a good mental development tool for the Babe. Up next for the Master Nursery...sewing curtains and the crib skirt!

L Jaggers

2011-09-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

You know how I mentioned that during the hurricane, Ryan and I were placed in a situation where we had to triage our "most valuable possessions." I noted that my original Lindsey Jaggers artwork was one of the items that made the cut, in fact, I would have to say that it is honestly my favorite thing that I own. Lindsey is an exceptional artist, and I had the pleasure of watching her style grow and transform through art school, and into her own style. The painting that Ryan bought for my 22nd birthday is an example of her collage style of art. There are so many intricacies within the piece, that I am always finding little things that delight me in her work.

My painting was a part of her final project that she created for her art degree.

She has recently started an art blog that follows her in her journey to compile her Master's portfolio while also highlighting many interesting artists along the way. Her skills and style continues to grow, and it is wonderful to be able to see.

33

2011-09-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Thirty three weeks in! This week can be known as the week of the rash. The midwife thought that it was an environmental allergy, so I've been taking antihistamines to combat it, but it has decided to spread from my arms and legs up to my belly! To be totally honest, I may have scratched a bit...which I was strictly warned against, but regardless, we decided to see a dermatologist just in case. I now have steroid cream to apply to my legs and arms...so hopefully it will be gone within a week!

Meanwhile, I am loving how much Baby Warlick is moving around. The midwife believes that the baby is now head down! This means I can feel specific heel digs...which my sound painful, but only result in bringing a smile to my face!

I have gotten quite a few comments from my coworkers and people at the gym about how I have really "popped" lately...well it only took eight months I guess. A bigger belly means plumper baby, so keep growing little one. I'm pretty sure I've been having the first of my braxton hicks contractions.

How sweet is the blanket in the photo? Family and friends have been so generous sending Baby Warlick such wonderful presents. Up next on the to do list is catching up on thank you notes this weekend.

Pax River Air Show

2011-09-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

Over the Labor Day weekend, we decided to visit the Pax River Air Show. I am not personally a big fan of air shows, seeing at my very first air show I walked in and literally three minutes later a plane crashed killing the pilot. I know that that occurrence is SUPER RARE, but at the same time, I try to limit the chances of having to see anything like that ever again.

Ryan on the other hand LOVES going to any airshow!

It took us two hours to get from the front gate of the base to the show grounds.

Much sunblock was needed for the entire family!

We found prime real estate under the wing of a plane in order to get shade.

Samuel is so adorable!

The babies were super excited to go inside a plane, so we split up. The girls took the kiddos to the planes, and the boys wandered off the get a seat for the Blue Angels.

After lasting an hour at the actual show the babies were ready for their naps, and I was personally ready for some AC.

Babymoon

2011-09-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

I really loved the idea of taking a babymoon before our family became "officially three." Yet, we sat down and crunched the numbers and decided that we could not afford even a little weekend getaway. Instead, we decided to be content savoring every weekend that we had left with just the hubs and myself. We have been trying to appreciate every moment!

Then hurricane Irene showed up and turned our little haven into a smelly flooded mess. There was no way that I was going to be able to sleep in our apartment under those conditions! We came home to it on a Tuesday, and I was more than willing to pack up and drive another three hours to the in-laws in order to avoid the headache of the smell. Ryan, being more practical, decided that we had to go work that week. I know, he's such a grown up.

Luckily, the angel of mercy...aka my mother in law Barbara, was able to find a hotel that was open, had power, and an available room! We stayed there for two nights and deemed it "our babymoon." Since it was during the week, we both still went to work, but I had fun in the evenings shopping our baby registry, catching up on Bravo, and waiting for Ryan to get off work and bring us Coldstone.

The Master Nursery

2011-09-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, our master bedroom will soon also function as our nursery. This weekend we will be working on some features to help us bring our Little One home.

Crib Building

2011-09-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday night was the night to build the crib! We chose the Babymod Olivia crib from Walmart and so far, in our four days of living with it, we love it! The simple solution would have been to build the crib in the nursery(also known as the master bedroom seeing as we live in a one bedroom apartment), but simple was not what Ryan was going for. He was determined to fit in watching football while being productive.

He pre-measured the door frame and decided that the door had to go.

We've chosen to keep up several of our baby shower decorations...since they make us smile. I am especially fond of the baby prediction charts.

A shot with the baby and the crib.

32

2011-09-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

32 weeks already! This week will be known as the week filled with Mexican food...and the week I got a rash. Starting with the positive, I have always loved Mexican food, and being pregnant didn't change or amplify my feelings towards it, but I think it lowered my inhibitions to say no to it. This week was a perfect example. Totally unplanned, Ryan and I feasted on enchiladas, tacos, Chipotle, and/or guacamole every single day this weeks. In addition to my Mexican food, I have been good about working in a number of sweet potatoes per the midwife's suggestion. Such a good week.

Onto the rash announcement, on Sunday, I woke up with a rash that looked like bug bites all over the top of my thighs and the backs of my arms. Lovely. I know skin conditions are often a pregnancy side effect, but I spent Sunday drinking even more water than normal in an attempt to flush it out of my system. No such luck...Monday rolls around and it decides to travel up my forearms and down my calves. After my shower Monday I looked down at my thighs and noticed I had subconsciously been scratching the tops of my thighs. Where I scratched was left with brown, blue, and bright red streaks. What the Crap! I called Ryan and he told me to take a Zyrtec, just to see if it helped. Tuesday morning I called my OB to see if it was worth coming in to get checked out, but they just told me they would look at it on Friday at my next appointment, unless it changed of got worse. I am really looking forward to Friday now!

My hours at work have changed, so I am now able to do Zumba on Friday nights as well. There was another super pregnant lady in the class, so that was fun to be around this week. Honestly, I haven't been feeling like the greatest employee lately. I have to run off to the bathroom at least every hour, and I hit an exhaustion wall around 3:00. I did put in my official last day notice. The date set is October 28th, unless Baby Warlick decided to make his/her debut sooner.

Ryan an I toured our hospital this past weekend, and I am feeling really excited about our stay. I have always loved hospitals and the smell of their linens, so I feel it will be an amazingly positive experience for us on the big day. The labor rooms are all private and they all have windows looking out over a lush group of trees. The nurse who gave us our tour was extremely sweet and informative. We left even more excited for the Baby's arrival.

Unedited Edition

2011-09-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more of the photos that Jims took of Ryan and I around our home. We are so excited to meet our little one!

31

2011-09-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

31 weeks means that we could potentially be in single digit countdown mode! How crazy is that! The outfits in the picture are the ones we picked out together for a coming home outfit.

We met with the midwife this week, who gave us an amazing rundown of our labor and delivery situation. Since Ry and I decided not to take the class, she was sweet enough to walk us through the hospital's basics. She encouraged me to eat more sweet potatoes and yellow squash, in order to help out the baby's eyesight development. As far as weight goes, I finally gained a good amount. I am up 14 pounds! The midwife told me it was perfect, and that I was measuring beautifully! From here on out, I should gain about a pound a week.

As far as exercise goes, I am still feeling healthy and fitting in my Zumba, elliptical, and once a week run. I am still willing to eat Mexican food every.day.of.the.week.

Flood Prep

2011-09-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night when Ryan was trying to calm my fears, and I was anticipating the worst, this was the end result of our hurricane flood prep.

All our baby shower gifts piled up top

The rug was on the bed...

You know how you play that game where you ask yourself what you would grab if you could grab one thing besides people in a fire? Well, we had several days warning and a car, but this is what we took:

1. My three favorite paintings...one of them being a Lindsey Jaggers Original

2. My memory box of Ryan's love notes and photos of us dating

3.Baby Warlick's photos and ultrasound DVD

4. Ryan's guitars

5. Lots of non-refrigerated food

6. Clothes for a couple weeks

7. Our lock-box with documents and passports

Bottom line, everything is just stuff and I am glad that Ryan, the baby, and I made it our safely.

Since then, we returned to our stinky, powerless, flooded apartment, but were blessed with a knock on the door asking if we wanted help getting the water out with the use of a shop vac and a generator. Yes please! I still don't know who those two two guys were, but they were definitely an answer to prayer. We have mopped our entire apartment twice, and I think I can officially way, it no longer smells! Now, we are praying that the new hurricane that is rumored to hit on Friday will veer off course and die in the ocean.

First Day

2011-09-06T04:54:00.000-07:00

Since we were not willing to drive back the day after Irene, due to fear of trees being in the road, we were able to take JAckson to his very first day of school! He was so excited! He had been waiting for this day to come for close to a year.

We are all about the oral hygiene in this family.

Both JAckson and Samuel wore their Star Wars shirts.

There was a fascinating bug on the way out.

As the middle child myself, I knew how sad Cambria would be to see Jackson leave. My solution? Starbucks!

Such a great day!

Evacuated

2011-09-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast, and Ryan and I took no chances by leaving Hampton Roads on Thursday night. Chelsie and Jims welcomed us with open arms, ad we set up our little survival fortress with plenty of canned soup and weather channel watching.

Ryan checking out the weather via computer.

Lots of cute babies helped distract from the impending doom of the storm.

Ultimately, west of DC worked out to be a perfect haven. We never lost power, and no tress fell around the house. Hurricane weekend turned into "take advantage of being close to Baja Fresh" weekend.

Kisses for the Baby...Jackson is beyond excited for Baby Warlick. He is constantly telling me how much he loves my baby/belly. It is the sweetest thing ever! He also likes to check in at least once a day to make sure the Baby is still going to take two months to get here. He's all about learning time schedules lately.

30

2011-09-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

Week 30 has sure been an eventful one. Many of the crazy events didn't directly affect the baby, but being pregnant definitely heightened the emotions of the week. Several ongoing events include the swamp in our town being on fire, and my car being held hostage at the Volvo dealership. Yeah, that's right, we have a swamp in our town, and it has decided to catch fire. What I don't quite understand is the fact that the firefighters have decided not to battle the fire, but to just contain it and let it burn out. Meanwhile, we have been dealing with ash and smoke over the past several weeks. Ryan has been the most affected by it since he works outside all day. His energy level has taken a hit and he is about as energetic as his super pregnant wife!

As far as my car goes, the engine light has been on and they are trying to figure out how to turn it off. So annoying! The worst part is the closest dealership is 45 minutes away, which makes it all that much more complicated. Fortunately, Ryan has stepped up as the point man on the repairs, and we got our car back at the end of this week.

The week started out with an earthquake. Crazy right?!?! I'm from California, so in terms of earthquakes, this one was extremely minor. It was just weird that it happened. All my coworkers were asking me for survival tips if there were aftershocks.

The big deal of the week was the hurricane. At first, I didn't think much of it, but by Thursday it started to look serious. The doctor I work for gave us continuous updates about the storm prediction. By the end of the workday, I was determined to get out of town that evening. While driving home, the freeways were already filled with horse trailers and U-hauls. While I was waiting for Ryan to get home from work, I started rolling up the rugs and stacking light furniture. Ryan did all the heavy lifting, and we trekked it out to my sister's house that night. It was such a great decision, our apartment ended up flooding and loosing power.

While we were up north with my sister, Ryan and I made our first baby purchase together! We picked out our "coming home outfit" for if we are having a Baby boy! Right before we picked it out, Ryan did announce that he no longer is thinking we are going to have a boy...his prediction has recently changed to a Baby Girl. Either way, I look forward to Ryan being the one to tell me if we have a little boy or girl!

R+H

2011-08-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

I loved having my maternity pictures taken in California, but I was sad that Ryan was unable to be there and be included in the shoot. Several weeks later, we recruited my brother in law Jims to take some pictures around our house, where we will be bringing our bundle home to. Being spoiled by Mollie Wilkinson's professional level of photography, I was bold enough to ask if she would edit our home session as well. She did an amazing job making our couple shots memorable as well.

Still waiting to find out boy or girl...

I love this wall by our house. Is is mold, algae, general wear and tear? Whatever it is, I find it visually stunning.

Baby Shower

2011-08-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

I had the most fun baby shower! My friend Candice and my mother in law Barbara hosted the grey and yellow bird-themed bash! I requested to have it at my home, which I know is "against tradition," but I really wanted to fill our home with our family and friends. My new years resolution this year was to make our house feel like a home, and I think we have come a far way to making that happen. Also bending the rules...men were included!

I vetoed all baby-food/diaper related games, so the belly guessing game was a fun one to play. There was even special belly measuring tape.

The winner? My four year old nephew Jackson! I guess it makes sense since he is the one I insist spends the most time hugging/cuddling me.

The amazing cupcakes were special ordered to have little birds on top! Too cute. There were four flavors, but the coconut ones were my personal request.

We had fun watching our guests predict the gender, birthrate, and weight. The posters are staying up until D-day...they make me smile!

Favors were lemon heads(a childhood favorite) and sunflower seeds. I loved having my Mollie Wilkinson photos in time for the shower.

The group project was to create a piece of art for Baby W's nursery. Everyone chose a bird stamp and then personalized it with their initials.

Little duckies swimming in the lemonade.

Barbara with Samuel, who was super happy the entire time. He has been the talk of the office in the following weeks.

Everyone was so generous! Both Jackson and Cambria were eager helpers in the unwrapping department!

Winding down after the party we were able to spend more time with family that traveled all the way up from South Carolina. We love you Grandpa and Grandma! Everyone that came and celebrated Baby Warlick made us feel so loved and blessed to have so many family and friends in our lives!

Lucky Pirates

2011-08-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

I love that Ryan has continued to pursue his love of soccer by playing in an adult league. This season, we decided not to enroll in an effort to save more money for the Baby, but towards the end of the season one of the players dropped out and didn't want his dues back. Enter Ryan! He already had the teams uniform, so he jumped at the chance. Due to the late start, I can officially say that I attended every game that Ryan played in this season...all 1.5 of them(the first game we showed up late to). It is super fun to watch Ryan's team. They have now won a game in the two years we have lived here, but they all have super good attitude. Compared to Ryan's old California team, I'll take that combo any day.

Chelsie+Babies

2011-08-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

We had the treat of having my sister Chelsie and her precious babies stay with us for the entire week following our baby shower.

Her youngest, Samuel, is so cute! The fact that he is also the happiest baby ever makes him beyond precious.

The babies quickly went through our limited childrens' book collection, and a trip to the library was a fun outing.

Winding down for the night, hanging out and reading with Ryan.

I loved having these smiling faces to come home to all week long. They make me even more excited for the arrival of our Little One!

29

2011-08-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Baby Love is the size of a squash this week. I feel like the baby has been a size of a squash before, but I guess now the baby is now a more small-pumpkin sized squash rather than a butternut one. Several more patients have asked about the baby this week. I love it!

This week Ryan and I have been debating our stroller purchase. We have one in mind, but we have to determine whether its worth the cost involved.

I'm still working out on the elliptical and running once a week along with my Zumba classes. I look forward to being able to get back to spinning after the baby is born. IT has been quite a few months since I have left a workout feeling hard core and covered in sweat.

The pregnancy is still feeling like its moving crazy fast. Next up on my agenda is to research more on breastfeeding. I have several resources that have been recommended to me, so off to the library I'll go...

Maternity Shoot

2011-08-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

While out in California I had the treat of having my super talented photographer friend Mollie Wilkinson shoot my maternity photos. Having the pictures taken in California was very sentimental. Living in Virgina for the past two years, Ryan and I have yet to relinquish our identity as Californians. Even though Ryan has lived many places, California is where we met, first started passing notes in the hall, went off to college together, fell in love, got married, and started our family that has grown to include little Baby Warlick. California still has our hearts. The top photograph was taken at the ravine where Ryan and I went running as a form of a date night when our 15/16 year old budget couldn't handle anything else. The canyon literally ran between our two childhood homes, so it made the best meeting place.

Next, we went out to the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens where they have a redwood grove.

That morning I drank two bottles of sparkling water in order to maximize le bump.

25 weeks, 6 days

The fields at the garden were beautiful as well!

Last, we went down to the beach in front of the four seasons, where I had been for Brittany's wedding just days before.

I am so thankful for Mollie for sharing her wonderful talents. She will start shooting lifestyle photography by the end of the year. If anyone is in the Southern California area, I highly recommend her. She was simply lovely to work with!

28

2011-08-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Officially, I have entered into the third trimester! The baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage. I have suddenly become a lot more tired lately, and my nightly trips to the bathroom have increased from one to three times a night. I am still singing praises for my amazing body pillow! I had doubts at first, but you can now quote me as making that my first official "pregnancy need"...right after prenatal vitamins of course!

I had my OB visit this week. I have gained zero pounds in five weeks, but the doctor says I am measuring beautifully and is not concerned in the least about my eight pound weight gain thus far. He has been confident from the start that most of my weight would be gained in the third trimester. I loved getting to hear the heartbeat again...going strong at 143 this week. I also had the glucose test performed, and honestly, it wasn't that bad. People hype it up way too much. My liquid that I had to drink was fruit punch, and chilled. The lab tech told me that if I smoked, ate, chewed gum, or threw up in the hour between drinking and my blood draw that I would have to reschedule my test. Um ok...smoking...really...it that truly such a common occurrence for seven month pregnant women to be smoking, that it has to be incorporated into her instructions...scary! Aside form hearing Baby Warlick's heartbeat, my favorite part of the appointment was being able to take Chelsie and the babies with me. While I was checking in, Jackson (my four year old nephew) turns to Chelsie and asks "do we get to watch Hillary's baby come out now?" It was the cutest thing ever! The entire waiting room exploded in laughter! Both Jackson and Cambria(three year old niece) are super aware of my baby growing inside of me. Since they have been staying with us for the week, they will spontaneously tell me how cute my baby belly is and how much they love my baby and can't wait to kiss him/her!

I also had the best baby shower ever this week! I felt so loved and my baby will be very clean and clothed over the first several months of their life. A full post on the festivities to follow, once I get pics emailed to me by my lovely hostess...

Baby Love

2011-08-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

Jims acted as photographer in our at-home maternity shoot. This outtake has stolen my heart as my favorite.

Night Out

2011-08-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

We went out on a hot date for our 4th anniversary this year. I got the opportunity to wear my maternity dress again! The goal was to keep it low budget, but still special since this will be our last anniversary with just the two of us "out and about." We wanted to go to our favorite place, Mosaic Cafe, but they were under renovation...bummer. The last time we were there was the night we celebrated Valentine's Day...and the night I am claiming we got pregnant(since it was my last glass of wine before finding out about Baby W). The backup plan was to go Mexican! We splurged on table-side guacamole, making the night feel like a celebration!

Journey To Parenthood

2011-08-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

At 26 weeks: my Daddieo gifted my Madre this jade necklace as a birth present when I was born! I made sure I got a photograph with it while I was out in California.

As I mentioned back in our baby announcement post, we have been dreaming and planning for this baby for a long time. Technically speaking, it took us eleven months of trying to conceive our little Love, but the road to parenthood was discussed long before we even got married. Having dated for six years before we tied the knot, the subject of children had been discussed on multiple occasions. There was a time in college that I shared with Ryan that I may not want to have kids. That was quickly met by the reality that kids were a non-negotiable for Ryan. Well, eventually I changed my perspective, and decided that kids, especially with Ryan would be an amazing blessing.

Also important to note, is the fact that we knew conceiving may not follow the standard process for us. Naturally, I only ovulate1-2 times a year. This fact is amazing...when pregnancy isn't a desired factor. I had been told my doctors that most likely, having kids would be totally doable, but actual tests would not be recommended until I did want to have kids. We still discussed our family options, and before we were married, Ryan and I both stated that adoption would always be an open option.

Fast forward to August 2007, Ryan and I get married, but are super paranoid about getting pregnant...we're talking double birth control for the first year. We are after all only 21 and 22 at the time, and both finishing up our last year of our undergraduate degrees. We had been advised by many to truly savor the first years of marriage as a married couple...just the two of us. After the first year of marriage, I told Ryan that I wanted babies! My sister had two little ones under the age of three, and I LOVED soaking in their deliciousness. Ryan put the hold on my desires, stating that he wasn't quite ready emotionally, and completely not ready financially.

A year later, we find ourselves out living in Virginia. We spend weekends making long drives up to visit Chelsie(my sister with the scrumptious babies) and my amazing in-laws. Both drives take about three and a half hours, and when I am not sleeping(my favorite roadtrip past time), the topic of children would often come up for discussion.

For Ryan's 25th birthday we all met up in Sterling to celebrate as a family. Barbara(Ryan's mom) brought family videos with her for us all to watch and coo and laugh over how adorable baby Ryan was. Ryan and I decide that we are both ready to have children...especially since we assumed it would take quite awhile.

I was so thrilled, I honestly had the biggest smile on my face the entire following week! Whenever I had a frustrating moment at work, I just focused on the fact that it really didn't matter...I could be pregnant right now! The next month in May I had my annual pap scheduled. As rare as it was, I randomly had my period on the day of my exam. I called to see if they wanted me to reschedule, but they told me to come in anyways.

At the appointment we discussed my irregularity, and once again I was told to "not worry about it until we start trying to have a family." I was so tickled that I could finally tell my doctor that we were actually currently trying. She quickly did some mental math and told me that if we got the ball rolling, she could start me on Clomid within the next several days. WHAT!?!? I thought they would have made us "try for a year" before the doctor would even entertain the idea of drugs. I was so excited! I had to come back the next day for blood work and an ultrasound.

The ultrasound was quite uncomfortable. They had to make sure there was nothing structurally wrong with my uterus or ovaries. The hunt for the ovaries was extremely painful! The fact that they gave me a clean bill of health completely made up for the several minutes of discomfort. The doctor gave me my first prescription of Clomid and explained that the dosage would be gradually increased until I ovulated. It was successful the first month, but then we went through about a six month dry spell of negative ovulation tests. It wasn't until December that it worked again. January was also positive, and we found out in February we were pregnant! Ryan was thrilled, especially because he was scheduled to get tested the next month...an experience he was not looking forward to!

All in all, as far as assisted conception goes, Ryan and I had it pretty easy. There were moments in which we felt discouraged and sad that we weren't pregnant yet, but we continued to realize and focus on the fact that we knew God had a specific plan for our family, that He knew our future, and it would eventually happen in His time. We continue to look forward to meeting our baby...our baby that God had planned for us from the beginning.

Lacrosse Tournament

2011-08-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of August Ryan and I trekked it up to Northern Virginia in order to make a long overdue Ikea pit-stop on the way up to Chelsie and Jims'. The weekend coordinated with Cade's Lacrosse tournament, so on Saturday we wound up in the charming town of Middleburg. Ever heard of it? Us neither. It is the cutest place though. It would make the most adorable bed and breakfast weekend filled with lazy breakfasts and antique shopping. It is allegedly known as a former vacation local of the Kennedy Family. The games were being held at the private school that brought up comparisons to Hogwarts. Come to find out, it was previously a boarding school as well.

Barbara had packed snacks for all of us.

My favorite were the watermelon lollipops.

We took full advantage of the awnings set up.

Cambria took over Barbara camera.

There are few people Jackson gets a bigger kick out of than Cade.

Baby Samuel is always willing to give up a smile!

The floppy hat eventually found its way to Faffy via Cambria!

Ryan guarded our cooler and made sure we all stayed hydrated. At the end of the day, we never did see Cade play, but we had a blast hanging out with the family and watching the strangers for the other teams hack it out in a match. Lacrosse is quite the violent sport!

27

2011-08-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Last week of the second trimester has been lovely! I love feeling our Baby move and squirm around. This week was the first week that the baby kicked so hard that I literally jumped. It wasn't painful, it just startled both me and Ryan(since his hand was on my belly at the time). It may be odd, but since my pregnancy has been so relatively easy and free of typical pregnancy pains, I am slightly wary of the third trimester. It is possible to have tree amazing trimesters? We will see...

Zumba is still the highlight of my workout routine these days! As far as eating goes, Walmart has had the most amazing 88 cent mangos in stock lately. I have been sure to indulge! The love for Mexican food is still as strong as ever, which has made it the perfect outing for our four year wedding anniversary this last weekend.
Cleaning for Baby Warlick's baby shower has gone into full swing this week. I am so excited to have the celebration in our home! Several out-of-town family members are even coming which makes us both SUPER EXCITED!

California: The Family

2011-08-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

While I was in town, I wasn't able to see all the family that I wanted, but I treasured the family time that I did have...yes...that means even this "mandatory outside tripod family" photo shoot.

Patty is growing up so fast!

Happy 25th birthday Suz!

Aww...Long Beach...you hold a special place in my heart!

Cutest grandparents ever! I love and miss you all mucho!

California: The Wedding

2011-08-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

The rehearsal was at the adorable church up in Santa Barbara. It was the first wedding out of my three high school best friends where we were all together. We had so much fun!

The rehearsal dinner was lovely. They even had table side s'mores.

Susan and I rode together to the wedding and ended up being super early. This occasion called for a spontaneous photo shoot in the prep room. I am so happy Baby W fit in my non-maternity bridesmaid dress.

Brittany, the bride, and my oldest friend, is so stunningly beautiful!

I am a fan of the candid moments.

Pretty cake with candy bar in the background.

Susan and her boyfriend Ronny, who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time! They are absolutely wonderful together...I fully approve! He was also the talented DJ for the reception.

Such a happy bride!

We had our high school teacher take our photo.

The view from the reception hall.

Leaving under a canopy of rose petals.

Congrats Brittany and Michael! I am so happy for you two, tying the knot after your memorable seven year courtship. I wish you only the best and feel so privileged that I was able to be a part of your wonderful day! I love you guys!

26

2011-08-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

Baby is growing and jumping around like a champ. This week was the first week that our little one opened their eyes in utero...so young and developing so fast! Every week the baby is preparing itself to enter the outside world, but according to my reading, survival skills of our little one are pretty high if he/she decided to arrive early.

I have been working on some of the baby shower decorations lately, hence the wall decor in the background. I am very excited for our yellow and grey luncheon coming up next week! Also in this photo is my amazing piece of custom jewelry by Jonathan Holden Designs. Anyone interested in unique and quality jewlery should definitely check out his store. My piece is a metal and resin pendant with a blue coffee cup. I love it! Coffee is one of the things I have been severely limiting during my pregnancy, so it will be a fun item to look on with fond memories.

Getting back to Virginia, I have been happy to get back into my gym routine. Right now I am focusing on Zumba, the elliptical, free weights(usually only 1-2 times a week because I find them extremely boring in a non-class setting), and running(once a week for 1-2 miles of actual running and 2 miles of warm up and cool down). Heartburn is still a beast, but as long as I don't sit still after eating, I have found that the burn is manageable.

On my flight back to Virginia the TSA officer asked if I was pregnant! They were going to send me through the newer high powered body scan, but changed my path to the regular one once I answered yes to his inquiry. The poor guy sounded super nervous to ask, but I'm glad he did!

California: The Food

2011-08-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

The first stop from the airport was Hole Mole! It was a frequent indulgence of both Ryan and myself over our years in Long Beach. Every finals week, I would literally eat there every night. It felt good to dine in without the though of a pending test or project.

My roommates and I ate breakfast together at least once a week while in college. Potholder was a staple, that we were glad to meet up at once again .

I totally stole some of Patrick's milkshake!

On the way back down to Long Beach, I stopped by my friend's work...oh yeah...she works at Paramount Studios. She is super cool in many ways, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I made sure to get a cheesy tourist picture that I can later show of to Baby Warlick.

The grandparents were sweet enough to take me out to dinner in addition to loaning me their car all week long! Getting to choose, I went for the Fish Company! They are an amazing place that we always turn to for our Christmas Eve clam chowder tradition. The sourdough was warm and tangy...so good.

After the week of delicious treats, I determined that I would have gained way more than the eight pregnancy pounds that I have currently added on! So every time I get sad that all my favorite food spots are across the country, I focus on that comforting fact. Until next time California!

Four Years

2011-08-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Four years of marriage Sexy Beast. You are my Sunshine!

Twenty Five

2011-08-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Most of week twenty five was spent in California! My beautiful friend go married, and I was honored to be a part of their lovely union. I was bummed to leave Ryan behind in Virginia for a week, but I made sure to pack my week full of family, friends, and mucho Mexican food! So in lieu of our traditional Ryan-shot weekly photo shoot, I am playing catch up with this twenty five week update of my self portrait at my parents house...on the way to the rehearsal!

It's crazy to be able to say that I am six months pregnant! The day before I left for vacation I had my first stranger ask how far along I was! Woo hoo! It was a parent of one of my patients. So needless to say, I was surprised my first brave commenter was observant enough to make out my baby under my very forgiving scrubs. I was so thrilled that it was my praise at bible study that evening.

The baby is continuing to get plumper by the day! Plane travel has always been fun for me, and this trip was no exception. I did make sure that I packed snacks so I would not die of hunger or give into the call of the ten dollar sandwich on board. I also was intentional about getting up every two hours and moving around the plane...aka stand in line for the bathroom. I always reserve an isle seat, so climbing over people was a non-issue.

I was super fun to show off Baby W to lots of my West coast family and friends. I still feel super comfortable and continue to love being pregnant...as long as the tums aren't too far away!

Cupcakes

2011-07-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a week long trip to California, so I have lot of updates, but before that, Ryan went off to DC for a weekend and returned with the best treats ever. Georgetown cupcakes from the show DC Cupcakes showed up at my door along with my wonderful husband. How cute is the poof-ball that is my coconut requested cupcake! I haven't had any "cravings" since my two week long onion phase at the very beginning, so I am very happy that DC is a three hour drive...otherwise I might surpass the 25lbs recommended weight gain.

Twenty four

2011-07-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Baby Warlick is growing plumper by the day! I have read that the baby is working on building up the facial fat deposits! I can't wait to smooch and nibble those chubby cheeks. The baby is over a pound and over a foot by now...roughly the size of an ear of corn.

I had my monthly OB appointment this week. I had to schedule it with the other doctor in the practice...I was a bit wary since my doctor is THE BEST, but Ry made a good point that I should at least meet the other doctor in case she is the one to deliver our bundle of love. The only negative thing about her was that when we met, she gave me the limpest of handshakes. Lamo handshakes are one of my pet peeves...it just seems like you're not really glad to meet me if you give a 20% effort shake. Other than that, she went over the signs of pre-term labor that I'm supposed to take seriously if they occur....aka come in immediately to get checked out. I've read that many babies born at the 24 week mark are able to survive due to the miracles done by the NICU these days. I have no intention to test these stats, but I love hearing our baby has a fighting change from this point on!

I have gained another pound and a half over the last month, bringing my total weight gain up to eight pounds even. The doctor seemed to be happy with both my weight gain and baby growth! The baby's beautiful heartbeat is staying in the 150 range for the second month in a row.

Some new milestones this week include the ability to see the baby's kicks/punches from under my skin/shirt! Also I have had the lovely pleasure of experiencing heartburn for the first time in my life. It is honestly fairly mild at this point so I have been trying to treat it with smaller portion sizes. Still no strangers have made any pregnancy related comments, but I can honestly understand after seeing Ryan's weekly pictures. I just envision myself a lot bigger than I am in reality...maybe because for me, this is the biggest Ive ever seen myself.


24 Weeks, 5 days

Nursery Hunt

2011-07-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

Babies R Us: I love the modern look of this crib. I look forward to scooping up Baby Warlick from its clean lines.

This Saturday was lovely in its simplicity. Ryan and I went to the gym, made each other meals, and spent the day catching up on Pawn Stars(so interesting by the way on the History Channel) while Ryan fit in some studying for class and I spent a couple hours perusing the internet for nursery inspiration. Here is what I have gathered so far...

Cutting Edge Stencil: Since we are sharing our room with the little one, I thought it would be wonderful to designate a baby zone. This allover stencil would be perfect for a statement wall that both the baby and I can love.

Our walls are currently painted Valpar's Voyage. For the stencil, I will either go up of down a shade so the contrast is relatively subtle.

Pottery Barn Kids: This vintage floor lamp it so beautiful! It also has a multiple light settings option so for late night feedings, I can avoid waking up Ry while catering to the little one. It is also on sale right now for for a cost equivalent to ikea!

Restoration Hardware: This mobile is super cute! It doesn't look super cheesy and cheap, which I feel like many of the mobiles fall under. The airplanes are metal which make it unique for me. I feel like this could be for either a girl or boy, and as bonus, Ry loves anything airplane as well!

Walmart: Baby W needs circulation to avoid SIDS. This one will do the trick with also looking adorable.

Etsy: I love the sweet message that would set a lovely tone for our baby.

Fabric.com: I haven't yet found a crib sheet that I am in love with, so I have resorted to looking for fabric in order to make my own. The tutorial I found online seems quite doable.

Ikea: Instead of a changing table, we plan on using the top of this ikea dresser for a changing pad...that is if I don't run across one that I swoon over at a thrift store first.

Fabric.com: Curtain fabric for our room. Since our windows are so high, I have come to the realization that I need to make the curtains myself. Ry and I both love this large scale chevron that will flank the windows nearest the changing dresser...good for Baby's visual contrast development!I ordered the fabric sample in the mail for us to analyze in person.

Anthro: Adding sparkle to the white

Anthro: Bling for the dresser

Twenty Three

2011-07-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

Our Baby Love is almost a pound and up to twelve inches long! According to my two baby websites, the little one is either equivalent to a papaya or a butternut squash...so we bought both to celebrate with. I wore my maternity jeans for the first time this week. They are wonderful! I got them from H&M for only $20...not bad considering I'll only wear them for a short amount of time. Speaking of short, Ryan reminded me that the baby will be born in less than four months. Crazy right?!?! This pregnancy is still zooming by.

I still love feeling the random kicks throughout the day, especially at work. It instantly gives me the "I have a secret" smile, because there is nothing sweeter. I came home from work today and cuddled up with Ry on the couch and fell asleep with his hand on le bump. He was quite excited to give me the very active status report when I woke up.

As I wrote about in the last post, we attempted to conquer the task that is registering. There is so much stuff out there that seems like such a waste! The trick is navigating the mine field that is Babies R Us. I feel like we did a pretty good job, but I'm sure we'll also have to "live and learn" post baby arrival.

I still attempt to work out every day to keep the baby healthy and my blood flowing. Have I mentioned that varicose veins are a constant looming threat for me? I have noticed a difference in my endurance level though. I"m on a lower setting on all the machines and my running routine is comical. I walk for a mile, run for a mile(by run we are talking 5.0 pace) and then I cool down for a mile. We are a long ways from running six mile 3 days a week. I am still intentionally running once a week though so that when I fully get back into it, it won't be a complete jolt to my body. I have started to look forward to Zumba in my weekly lineup. My Tuesday night instructor is even pregnant, which is fun. I assumed that she was about a month ahead of me, but I just found out this week that she is a month behind me. This also happens to be her third child, but she is totally toned, her belly is just more "popped."

As for eating, I try to get in my veggies every day, and one of my favorites lately has been avocado. I like it on my salads, sandwiches, for guaco, anything. I am totally taking advantage of them being only 99cents at the store right now. It is hard for this California girl to pay anything for them, since I was used to receiving bags of them for free from friends/family trees, but since one usually covers two meal toppings, it's worth it!

4th of July

2011-07-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

Papaya juice was a treat to celebrate the current size of Baby Warlick!

We spent our three day weekend up in Maryland with the in-laws. It was amazing! We ate every meal outside on the deck with their newly added covered awning. I made sure to wear horizontal stripes all weekend in order to maximize the bump.

Is there a sexier sight than Ryan excitedly researching baby products for our registry? I think not!

Sparkler time! I know it's still light out, but there was a big storm coming so we had to move it up an hour in order to fit them in.

Waiting for the fireworks to start...it only rained for an hour so the show was still a success.

Pop in Fun

2011-07-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday night, I received a phone call from one of the coolest people I know. Beth was my roommate in college, my fellow bartender at Outback, and a bridesmaid in my wedding. Also she is married to Ryan's college roommate who decided that together they would conquer medical school. So far, everything is going according to plan...they rocked their last major test and are now third year medical students! On their way up to their rotation site in Connecticut, they graced us with their presence for two nights! We are so blessed to have two amazing friends to talk with, laugh, and debate lifes' twists and turns.

We love them, and look forward to taking advantage of this next year, where long weekends are a must.

Twenty One

2011-06-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

Shorts: Target maternity, Top and Belt: Anthropologie

Echo decided to join me this week in our family photo. Feel free to focus on her rather than the painful looking smile I'm giving off. I think I'll blame it on the braces...because I really was happy in this picture. The baby is the size of a banana this week...instead of measuring from head to rump, the baby is now measured from head to toe since the baby is now moving limbs all about...a feeling I absolutely love!

My car has been in the shop this week, so my workouts have taken a bit of a hit. Ryan has been either volunteering at the EMT rescue squad, or going to class at night, so I have had to cherish the two times we were able to squeeze in gym time this week. I have been making due with tae bo tapes and walking around town in search of affordable/close dinner options.

This week I had my first uncomfortable pregnancy symptom. Two days in a row I had an ache in my left side that had to be due to my stomach muscles stretching and making room for baby. One of the days was at work which was a bit awkward. I pretty much gave everyone the silent treatment and just kept reminding myself that the baby will be much more comfortable with all the leg room he/she was making.

My coworkers have had fun guessing the gender of our little Baby Warlick. So far the consensus has been more boy than girl...we'll see in a few short months!

Nursery Love

2011-06-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

lovely nursery

Over the last several months I have been spending time reading about all the ways our lives will change when our little bundle arrives. Follow the link above to my favorite nursery that I have yet to stumble upon. I love that it isn't "theme based," but yet totally cohesive. My favorite part? The whimsical wallpaper on the ceiling! Ryan and I will have the baby in our room, since we only have one bedroom. Luckily, it is quite large, and I am super excited to start making our baby's haven in the next several months.

Father's Day

2011-06-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day this year we met up with the in-laws in Richmond in order to road trip it down to the Carolinas. Having family that are genuinely excited to go on a eight hour drive with a pregnant woman(read extra bagno stops) officially makes them irreplaceable. I thought there was no better occasion to make the debut of the maternity shorts.

The first major stop was to drop off the head honcho Warlick(father-in-law) in North Carolina, where he was spending the weekend at his dad's. We had fun visiting and showing off the latest ultrasound pics.

I was so thrilled to learn that peaches were in season. A peach blueberry cobbler was a must! Needless to say, we also brought home an entire paper bag of peaches...I may have eaten three of them today!

On Saturday we were able to go to Anne Kelly's second birthday. Her dad is Ryan's cousin, and her mom is my girl crush. I could sit and talk with her forever.

I am still thinking about how delicious the birthday cake was...Whole Foods came through big...cute design and amazing taste.

Quite possibly my favorite photo from the weekend...a little girl determined to enjoy her birthday cake.

More cousins to enjoy!

Ry and I taking a breather inside while all the kids played in the backyard pool.

20 weeks vs. 28 weeks

My treat for Father's Day was to make cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning...it is officially a yearly tradition!

Gearing up for the hours in the car. The biggest moment of the day was when we woke up that morning and Ryan was able to feel the baby kick for the first time! I will always remember the giant smile that it brought to his face.

We returned to Nc. in order to spend lunch with Grandpa Warlick and collect Papa Warlick for the ride home. Backup Plan was our in-route entertainment...I love laughing with Ryan over some of the pregnancy related comedy...oh the joy!

Twenty

2011-06-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Baby W. is now the size of a cantaloupe...very apropos considering the baby and I have been downing fresh cut loupe' like it's going out of style...which I'm scared it will once the warm weather goes away again...but by then I'll have a snugly baby to nibble on! Honestly, a cantaloupe seems super big, considering baby was a mango last week. So on my weekly shopping trip I literally dug through the cantaloupe bin and took home the smallest one I could find...we're all about realism around here! I made up for the small fruit, by scouting an extra large watermelon this week. I have yet to pick a bad watermelon yet this season...here's hoping the streak continues.

At my Ob appointment this week I had my quad test blood draw, which will yield results in a couple of weeks. The Dr. once again cautioned that there are a lot more false positives, so I have been instructed not to "freak out" if any red flags come out. I have decided to look at it as an exciting opportunity to have another ultrasound if need be!

The questions that I had for the doctor involved varicose veins and travel. The Dr. is fine with me wearing compression stockings while I work, to help avoid varicose veins...add that to my list of hot mom traits! As for travel, I touched base with him about my travel plans in late July for the sure-to-be-stunning wedding of one of my dearest friends...he is totally fine with me flying around the 25/26 week mark...but he also is willing to write me a note for the airlines, just to be on the safe side. We have also been thinking/looking forward to taking a trip abroad in January, about ten weeks after baby, that we wanted his advice on. He told us that would be a discussion for our pediatrician, but he didn't veto the idea...which led to a conversation surrounding the topic of picking a Dr. for our baby!

As far as weight gain...I actually lost weight this month...only a pound and a half...but it did take me off guard...I eat 5-6 times a day...so I was expecting a four-six lbs. increase. The Dr. said he wasn't worried about my weight loss, since he noted the weather as a major factor in my appetite, and foods that I choose. So as of now, I am up six and a half pounds, and the Dr. is hopeful that I'll gain twenty five overall!

I fun fact this week is that I can now feel the baby any time of the day. I no longer have to sit super still to feel the flutters. I can be talking to a patient at work, and feel the little taps of Baby W. It make every day exciting, and I am constantly grateful, thanking God for our little miracle!

"Normal" Baby

2011-06-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

The ultrasound technician wrote Normal across our chart after our exciting ultrasound in order to indicate that all systems appear normal, and that we didn't want to know the gender. It is so wonderful to hear that our baby is healthy so far...all 11 ounces of cuteness!

After our appointment we took blurry pictures in the world's longest elevator

I love my bump!

We took a couple of minutes to sit and talk about our baby over fresh pineapple, before I had to make a beeline to work for the day.

During the ultrasound, baby W was opening and closing his/her lips...it was so precious. I love how detailed the ultrasounds are!

Boy vs. Girl

2011-06-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will be the long anticipated day of our little baby's ultrasound. Is it silly that I'm a smidgen nervous to "meet" our baby again? One of the most talked about topics regarding the 20 week ultrasound is the gender announcement. From the beginning, Ryan was adamant that he didn't want to find out until delivery day. If I had a choice, I would have found out, but I honestly didn't feel strongly enough about my stance to try to convince Ryan otherwise. Over the last several months, I have fully converted to Ryan's surprise mentality. I am so excited to find out in five months! Since there will be no gender announcement following our appointment tomorrow, we thought we would share our baby names.

For a boy we have fallen for:

Liam Hudson

If we are blessed with a girl:

Emery Lillian

The origins of the names? Flat out, we just love them and the way they sound together. Liam is the only name that has a bit of a back story in the sense that both Ryan's middle name and his dad's name is William. Liam is a derivative from that manly name.

Even though, we won't know the gender, hopefully we will be able to see how beautifully our baby's body and organs are developing!

Video Archives

2011-06-10T04:18:00.000-07:00

So this video may appeal to no one, but every time I hear the babies' voices it make my day!

Nineteen

2011-06-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

Top: Target Maternity Shorts: J.Crew

I am so in love with my little mango-sized baby! I fully understand why this time is referred to the honeymoon phase of pregnancy. Life is good. I'm able to stay up a bit later lately, I love my changing body, and work is still completely doable!

This week I have become a body pillow convert. Barbara gifted me with one for my birthday, and I was a bit intimidated at first. In my internet pregnancy research, I had read over and over how much the husbands hated the pillows being a huge obtrusion in the bed. Since Ry and I are not "cuddling while sleeping" type of people, I decided to risk it. After using it for about a week, I asked Ryan if he minded the pillow being in the bed with us. He actually said he loved it. Apparently, since I'm no longer sleeping on my stomach, squishing my face into my regular pillow, I'm no longer snoring...yay all around for the pillow!

I have successfully turned my eating around to be a lot more healthy! I have been craving crisp salads and fresh summer fruits lately with this hot hot weather we've been having lately. Here's hoping those cravings last! In terms of exercise, I have officially stopped cycling, and started working Zumba into my routine. It is fun, and there is enough slow segments, so that I never feel that I am overheating the little bambino.

I am looking forward to our ultrasound next week to make sure our little baby is developing wonderfully. Other things to look forward to is my beautiful friend's wedding next week. As of right now, I still fit into my bridesmaid dress!

Wild Weekend

2011-06-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

So maybe our weekend wasn't wild, but it sure was wonderful! Ryan accomplished some productive work stuff, I finished two of my custom paintings, and we still worked in plenty of time to lounge around, gym it up, and eat! (There may or may not have been a Frostie stop immediately following our gym outing on Saturday)

Sunday night we even had an official date night, where we redeemed a free appetizer coupon at Red Robin. Red Robin is never the same without my sister's babies in tow, but we made up for it by talking about our baby most of the night. We concluded that Ryan would be officially in charge of in-utero music production, since when the baby and I are alone in our car commute to work, all we listen to is talk radio.

Back from date night I got some snuggles in with Echo! Hopefully this will satisfy her long enough for her to cease using her head as a battering ram against our bedroom door at the crack of dawn.

The highlight of the night came after dinner at our church's young adult service. Our wonderful friends go engaged in the sweetest of ways!

Our major weekend project was to clean out our dressers...I know...the fun just keeps coming around here. One of the most memorable pieces that failed to make the cut this year were Ryan's "Hey Cutie" sweatpants. These were the pants he was wearing when I first laid eyes on the man that would become my baby daddy. He walked into youth group one day and a girl from across the room yelled out "hey cutie" at the top of her lungs. Ten years later, we've had a good run, but they have severed their purpose and have to go! R.I.P Cutie Pants!

Five Month Project

2011-06-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

About five months ago, Barbara claimed this unsold hutch at a friend's garage sale. She knows that I love livening up older furniture. This one was a major score...it was a Broyhill...so very well made!

After the men so graciously sanded it down for me, I stepped into my uber-flattering painting suit and went to town. We went with Valpars paint+primer from Lowes in Swiss Coffee.

After all the pieces were painted, I lined the back of the cupboards with some super cute fabric from Joann's. It was on sale, and I loved it, so I bought the entire bolt. I am thinking it would make an adorable crib skirt for our baby's crib, which will be incorporated in our room.

Thank goodness for the manly men that made all the technical aspects possible. In the picture above Ryan is laughing because I just told him that he is "exponentially sexier when he is doing household chores for me."

Of course Echo was the key underfoot for the project.

All assembled

It's maiden voyage was to hold our Memorial Day apple pie.

The beautiful hardware is from Restoration Hardware...swoon!

There are many things that my mom taught us to appreciate while we were growing up, among them was wavy glass.

The bottom doors remind me of church windows!

Eighteen

2011-06-02T04:17:00.000-07:00

Baby W is now the size of a sweet potato! These pictures were taken in the morning, so you can tell the bump is always present. Several weeks ago, the bump would make an appearance only in the evenings after having eating all day, and then disappear by the time I woke up again.

Notable lately, is how fast time has been flying. Every day has been zooming by lately. I'm scared I'm going to blink, and we'll be celebrating Baby W's first birthday.

Now that it has been nice and hot outside...think 80-100degrees...I have been majorly craving crispy salads. I am on the hunt for the perfect Ranch dressing to go along with them. My favorite so far is the dressing that they serve at the K&W Cafeteria. I haven't gotten up the nerve to ask if they sell it in a bottle, but I love how light and watery it is. Also notable in the salad department is the Ruby Tuesday salad bar. Have you been? I was totally anti salad bar on the grounds that it just seemed dirty, but after having the Ruby experience...I will willing go back there! There was some one constantly attending and restocking all the fresh options.

I'm still working out, but keeping it inside as to not overheat the bambino.

Old Town Portsmouth

2011-06-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

After church, we all ventured out to old town Portsmouth to introduce the family to the Commodore.

The movie was way better than the last one.

The beautiful setting made the movie even more exciting!

Such a beautiful theater

Ryan and Barbara celebrating in our baby being the size of an onion a la onion rings!

Weekend Fun

2011-05-31T17:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend Ry and I met the parents up at Busch Gardens. By met, I mean literally have a Chinese fire drill in the middle of the lanes that fed into the park. I lost a husband and gained a mother in law in the exchange. The boys continued into Busch Gardens, and the ladies continued off in our air-conditioned car to the Williamsburg Premium Outlets. This pregnant lady had little interest watching the family stand in line for roller coasters! Hailing from the land of major outlet shopping(Camarillo), I was pretty skeptical as to how the east coast version would compare. It was recommend very highly by one of my coworkers, whom later found out had never tried cantaloupe in her life... so I took in her worldly experience/opinion with a grain of salt.

By the time we arrived it was 10am, and we snuck into one of the last remaining visible spots. We lucked out with our trip corresponding with Memorial Day. Most stores were an additional 40% off the entire store, including the sale items! We had so much fun looking at all the stores...especially all the baby stores! I scored some super cute gender neutral outfits and even found a girl's coming home outfit! I figured I would buy one for each gender and use the befitting one to bring home our bundle of joy. Out of all the options, I think I like Carters overall the best. All their fabric is incredibly soft to the touch.

The major baby purchase of the day came in the form of our diaper bag!(picture me jumping up and down doing a happy dance here) While Barbara was hunting through a clothing store, I popped into Kate Spade to marvel at their colorful, yet sophisticated displays. When the cute salesgirl asked if I needed help I nonchalantly asked if they carried actual diaper bags. She energetically pointed out the ones they had, and let me be to explore. Super cute! But totally not in the "solid option" price range. After the clothing store, Barbara came over to check out the bags and agreed that they were completely swoonworthy. After leaving the store empty handed, we were walking along calculating the savings. The entire store was 40% off, and the bag in question was an adddional 20% off, plus Barbara had a coupon for an additional 10% at the Kate Spade store...ultimately resulting in a 70% discount on a bag that not every mother who shops at Babies R Us or Target already have. Still not wanting to make any rash decisions, we continue to walk around enjoying the day. Three hours later I am still mulling over how much I love the bag. We return to the store, only to fall in love with it even more( its lined with kelly green wipable material with gold polka-dots). This time we do not leave the store empty handed. Even better news, when I got home, Ryan actually likes it and wouldn't mind carting it around with baby in tow! Solid purchase confirmed!

Echo Apprentice

2011-05-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Echo hung out with me Friday night as I stayed up late and worked on an exciting project...results to follow soon!

Seventeen

2011-05-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

We are not seventeen weeks along, and Baby Warlick has graduated to the size of an onion...roughly five inches! I feel like I look pregnant now, rather than just "bloated with a pooch." I still haven't had any strangers come up to me and ask when I am due, so I think that will be the next fun milestone to accomplish. However, I did go baby/maternity/diaper bag shopping this weekend with Barbara, and all the sales people asked me if this was my first pregnancy. I took that as code for "wow, your bump is extremely small...and you are buying stuff already...you must be a novice."

I milestone that we have accomplished was feeling the baby move! I was so excited the first time especially, but I was really hesitant to share the news because I didn't to confuse the sensation with something else. Once it happened the second time, I was confident enough to lean over and tell Ryan. I feel it the most after I have eaten, and am sitting super still. Forget television...this is my new entertainment!

I am still wearing all normal clothes, except for the green top in the photos above. I literally took the top off after taking the picture since I had to go to work in scrubs, so I don't count that as "wearing" it yet. I have been wearing a lot of dresses lately since we have been having lovely summer weather here in Virginia. I no longer wear my normal jeans, but have yet to move on to my one pair of maternity jeans.

My running abilities are almost comical at this point. I have to walk a mile to warm up enough...which takes fifteen minutes...then I run/jog for as long as I want...which lately has been maxing out at two miles...then the mile cool down takes place. I only run 2-3 times a week though, so the elliptical has slowly become my new best friend.

Babysitting

2011-05-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

Right after the baby shower, Ryan and I headed about to Maryland to spend time with Cade while his parents were off living it up in Ohio. Well...maybe we stopped at Baja Fresh first...something I had been salivating over for quite a while. The only one I know of is in northern Virginia, so I had to take advantage! Honestly, being there reminded me of high school. It was always one of Ry and my favorite places to eat early on in our dating relationship.

Since last week our baby was reportedly the size of an avocado, we willingly celebrated with gusto! Ryan made some delicious guacamole that was so delicious, that it never made it off the counter to the table. Sunday was the first day that I wore an official maternity shirt....not so much because I needed to, but because I really wanted to! I'm thinking this top will be a go-to postpartum as well.

White Shower

2011-05-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend Chelsie hosted a white-themed baby shower for one of our best friends in Virginia. It was lovely and I am so glad we were able to attend! Now we are all looking forward to meeting little baby Morris...due on the forth of July.

Sixteen

2011-05-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

It wasn't until after we took this photo, that I realized that I was wearing the same outfit from last week. It was definitely not planned, so this is not the new official prego uniform or anything. I do like that my bright red toenails showed up in the picture though. I'm one of the few people that find pedicures painful, but I sure enjoy the pretty results!

This week the baby is the size of an avocado. Upon hearing that fun fact, it made me long to be back home in California, so that I could toast to my baby's growth with a freshly prepped bowl of guacamole. At my appointment this week, I weighed in with a three pound weight gain, which is totally on track for a healthy pregnancy! This brings the total up to eight pounds gained. I was super happy with that number until that evening when Ryan reported that he weighed himself at work and discovered that he has lost even more weight. Lovely. I have officially surpassed the weight of my husband at this point. He has only ever been 5-10 pounds heavier than me pre-pregnancy, but I thought this was a funny milestone to attain to.

I am feeling wonderful at this point in my pregnancy. I'm still tired, but that seems to be the only major side effect that I have had to face. I was looking forward to healthy skin in the second trimester, which I keep reading about, but alas, I am still sporting the skin that has confused me with a teenager. If I've had any food cravings this week, it would be summer fruits: watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple. Honestly, I think their delicious appeal has more to do with the fact that they are so wonderful this time of year, rather than any hormone-induced desire.

We have been going through a parenting lesson plan at church these last several weeks, which has been quite appealing for both Ryan and myself. Having a God centered marriage and home is a goal we are constantly striving for, so incorporating a child into the family will be a wonderful addition!