C's Blog

Welcome Andrew Patrick Dannan!! : )

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 08:55:19 -0600

I'm so excited to announce that my little sister, Sara, and brother-in-law, Ryan, made me an aunt again! Our new nephew is perfectly beautiful.

We visited the new expanded family late last night.

Here are his credentials:
Born: 08-01-08 at 10:58pm
8 lbs, 8 oz and 20.5 inches long

Drew: I can't wait to get to know you and watch you grow up with our little Squirt! We love you very, very much!

Sar & Ry: congratulations! Welcome to the craziest and coolest ride of your life! : )

Another Generation of Arnold Brothers

Mon, 19 May 2008 12:03:53 -0600

This morning we had our 20 week ultrasound for Baby Arnold #2 and...

It's another BOY! : )

We are thrilled. It will be fun to have brothers!

The doctor said that everything looks perfect. The baby is healthy and the due date is on target. There's only one alarming thing: this baby is bigger than Isaac. He's measuring in the 90th percentile. The doctor didn't expect that to cause any concern. He'll just be a big healthy baby.

With the addition of my sister, Sara's, baby in late July (also a boy: Baby Drew) and ours, we've evened out the score on my side of the family: 3 girls, 3 boys. Isaac will no longer be outnumbered.

Click on the images below to enlarge:

Now, the pressure is on Bryan. He claims that since I selected Isaac's name, he gets to pick this one. We still loved the girl's name that we had agreed on during our first pregnancy, but it's back to the drawing board... The name will remain a secret, though, as it did for Isaac. And, as indecisive as we are, that's a good thing. : )

Oh, one more detail: the Cesarean Section is scheduled for September 29th. It's a Monday. Mark your calendars!

Guess What!?

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:41:52 -0600

Well, hello! : ) It's been a little while, hasn't it.

I'm breaking my blog silence with some big news... We're expecting baby #2!

I'm 9 weeks pregnant right now, which makes my due date October 7th, 2008 (Bryan's Birthday). However, this next delivery will be a scheduled C-Section, so if all goes as planned, I'll probably be scheduled a week or two prior to my due date.

At my first prenatal visit, I measured big, so the doc scheduled an ultrasound. On Friday, Leap Day, we were able to get a first peek at the newest addition to our family. Seen below are two images. One is actual size and the other is zoomed. The baby's head is near the bottom of the screen and you can see two little stubs for arms and two little stubs for legs.

Click to enlarge:

We are very excited. When I saw the first glimpse of the baby on the screen, happy tears rolled out of my eyes. There is nothing else like that experience in the world. It's simply amazing.

Isaac has no idea what he's in for. At the moment, if you try to tell him that there's a baby in Mommy's belly he says, "no. There's a baby in Isaac's belly." : )

I think Harley knows I'm pregnant. She's been hanging out by my side and has been very loving toward all of us recently.

Before I sign off, I'd like to mention Bryan's new website: www.bryanarnold.com. He's recently added a bunch of miscellaneous photos and videos that he had on his computer that aren't published on my blog. When you have a minute, click the link above and check it out.

So long for now, but not for too long. : )

Three Today

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:13:25 -0600

When I dropped Isaac off at school this morning, we were running late. It was almost 8:30 am. I was a little frazzled until I realized that today's tardiness allowed me to be with Isaac at the exact time of his birth, 8:28 am.

In many ways, these years have flown by faster than I could have imagined. In many other ways, it is very hard to remember what life was like before Isaac came along.

This morning, in my weepy, reflective state, I pulled up all of the desktop backgrounds that have filled my computer screens at work for the past three years.

Click to enlarge:

January 2005

February 2005

April 2005

June 2005

Fall 2005

Spring 2006

Summer 2006

Winter 2006

Fall 2007

These backgrounds have kept me sane at work. They make me realize what really matters when work stress overwhelms me. And this morning, they made me realize how fast he's grown.

Happy Birthday, Isaac. I love you very, very much.

Still Alive, Folks! : )

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:47:25 -0600

So, yeah... it's been a while. We're still here! : )

Things are busy. Good and busy. I will catch you all up very soon. For now, here's a family picture from Halloween of Bryan and I with our Stormtrooper.

And, look who's here!! Sofia, my niece, and her parents (Kristin & Carlos) are moving to STL from State College, PA!

More soon...

Welcome, Blake Thomas!

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:28:29 -0600

Congratulations to the Greeninger family!

Blake Thomas was born today at 7:55 AM, weighing 8 lbs, 3 oz and 20" long! Dave wrote an email and said that Mom & Baby are doing great. He also wrote, "He looks like his mom, we think, but the grandmas say he looks like Chase's Baby pics."

You can see Chase's baby pics here: http://www.bryanandcaron.com/chase_index.html

I think he looks like his Mommy, too. : )

Congratulations, Kel, Dave, & Chase! He's a keeper!

Our Family Doctor

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:27:05 -0600

This past weekend, my brother-in-law, Carlos, graduated with his Ph.D. in engineering from Penn State!

Congratulations, Carlos! We are all so proud of you!

1st Day of School 2007

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:28:10 -0600

Mommy: "Okay, time to go to school." Isaac: "No, I go to Papa and Grammy's house!" Daddy: "It's your first day of school." I: "Go to Nana and Papa's house?" M: "Let's go take your first day of school picture," as we walk outside to stand in the traditional 1st day of school pose, in front of the house. I: "No! Go inside!?" D: "Okay! Isaac, look at Mommy! Cheeeeeezeeee!" I: "No! Go INSIIIIIIDE!!!!!" He yells as he tries to open the front door. M: "Izee, look here! Look at mommy! HAPPY-EEEEEE! ... Okay, Arn, you take it..." I hand Bryan the camera and snatch Isaac up on my hip. I: "Mommy, hold you? Go inside. Please? Please?!" D: "SIIIILLLE! ... Oh, well." M: "Yeah, well... it is what it is." D: "You know, in ten years, this will be funny. It's an accurate representation of the day." M: "Yeah, that's true," as my heart starts breaking in a thousand pieces. Isaac cried and screamed for me as I left him in his teacher's lap at day care. He is safe and happy now, and his teachers told me in a follow up call that he stopped crying 2 minutes after I left. It's just especially hard when he resists because I feel the same and I have to ignore my instincts. What a difference from this year to last year. Last year, Isaac was fine. This year, was a different story. At school I said, "Look! There's all your friends. Didn't you miss them?" I: "No, I'm sad. I'm crying." I didn't respond, but I thought, "Me too, bud. Mommy is sad, too." (Oh, and as a side-note, they had a splash day today, so, yes, he's wearing his swimming trunks.)

Oma's Surprise 80th Birthday Party

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 22:26:26 -0600

We celebrated Bryan's Grandma's birthday a week early with a surprise party at Bryan's parents house.

She was shocked.
It was great fun!
Especially when one of her five kids, John,
who lives in Canada, appeared from the crowd.
And Isaac didn't mind helping his "Oma" blow out her birthday candles.

To see all of the pictures, click here.

Mommy is the Cookie Monster

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:03:19 -0600

Oreos are a staple in our house. We all love them. They make the perfect after-dinner treat.
We introduced Isaac to Oreos at an early age. We'd dunk them in milk and getting them really soggy, which makes for some great cookie moustaches! (Picture on right from January 2007 entitled, "The Conquistador.") This fast became our after-dinner family ritual.
I recently showed Isaac the technique of separating the two sides of the Oreo, liking the icing off of each side, and then eating each cookie. This is now the chosen technique to use when eating Oreos. However, it takes him about 10 times as long to finish his cookies.
The other night, I don't remember what I needed to go do, but in my attempt to speed up his dessert, I started pretending to try to steal his cookie. It was fun. I grabbed my camera and caught this video. Enjoy! : )

(If you can't see the video, you need the latest flash player. Click Here to get it.)

Fun with a Fan

Tue, 29 May 2007 10:40:35 -0600

Isaac enjoys the breeze from a fan at a recent graduation party. (Click to enlarge.)

Welcome, Lily! Welcome, Elijah!

Sun, 27 May 2007 21:53:59 -0600

Two more friends had two more babies yesterday, May 26th.
Lillian Grace was born to Michael & Jen at 2:24 AM and was 6 lbs, 3 oz!

Elijah Loy was born to Natalie & Dan at 10 lbs, 3 oz and 23 inches long!

I met both babies today and they are precious. : )
Congratulations! (You make beautiful babies.)

Fly - 24 Hours of Flickr

Mon, 21 May 2007 10:24:02 -0600

I posted my entry for the "24 Hours of Flickr" group this morning.
All Flickr members were invited to take photos on 05-05-2007. Then, the members have until today (at 2 PM PST) to upload their favorite shot to the group.
Photos will be selected from this group to appear in a book published by Flickr. (I really, really, really, really want to make it in the book.)
Lady Luck, help me! : )
Click on the links below to see more:

My entry: Fly
My set: 24 Hours of Flickr (I'll be adding more to this, so check back...)
Entire Pool for 24 Hours of Flickr

Welcome, Drew Anthony!

Sat, 19 May 2007 08:57:46 -0600

I just got a call from my best friend from High School, Becky: she had a baby boy last night around 11:30 PM. She was seven days overdue and delivered at home. I think it's safe to say that Becky takes the cake for being a strong and brave mother. And, he is no little baby, weighing in at 8 lbs, 14 oz and 22.25 inches long! Congratulations to the newly expanded Ramboer Family! Three sons makes a family of FIVE! Wow!

R2-D2 Mailbox in the Wild

Fri, 18 May 2007 09:05:42 -0600

According to uspsjedimaster.com, "There's a new force in overnight shipping!"
A couple months ago, I read via one of my very favorite blogs, boingboing.net, that the U.S. Postal Service was rolling out a series of R2-D2 mailboxes. I thought it was cool and forwarded the link to a few friends who, like me, are Star Wars nerds.
On our way back from Pennsylvania, we drove to Cleveland. We go to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, only to find out it's closing, so we decide to walk around and see lake Erie, etc before dinner. (BTW, what is up with Cleveland? Everything closed down at 5pm. It was ~~kind of~~ very creepy.) Anyway, before leaving the area for dinner we walked around the Science Museum and there he was! R2-D2 IN THE WILD! Of course, we had to stop and pose for pictures. : ) Enjoy our nerdiness: (Click to enlarge.)