Also, an update on our "Costly Weekend Trip to Ft. Worth": the hotel has decided to reimburse us for our repair costs and rental car (hooray!). So it looks like the trip will not be as expensive as we originally thought.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
New Additions to the Condo
Ted has been a busy bee, working to finish up some of our incomplete projects before Little Ted makes his big debut. He finished our downstairs bathroom (a long-time work in progress), and it looks great! Also, he installed some planters on the back fence, and we planted some lovely flowers (impatients, I think) in them that brighten up the space even more.
Also, an update on our "Costly Weekend Trip to Ft. Worth": the hotel has decided to reimburse us for our repair costs and rental car (hooray!). So it looks like the trip will not be as expensive as we originally thought.
Also, an update on our "Costly Weekend Trip to Ft. Worth": the hotel has decided to reimburse us for our repair costs and rental car (hooray!). So it looks like the trip will not be as expensive as we originally thought.
Day 48: Baby Shower II
This past Sunday afternoon, I enjoyed the company of the ladies from church during a lovely baby shower hosted by French Baker (seen with me in the slideshow). Little Ted got lots of wonderful gifts (thank you, ladies), and the pictures are courtesy of Amanda Martinez (thanks to you for documenting the afternoon). Ted and I can't wait for little Ted to arrive so we can start using all of the baby's cool new stuff.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Day 55: Childbirth Class #5
I just have two words to say about this class: LAST ONE! HOORAY! (OK, that was 3 words. Sorry). We were very happy to "wrap things up" this Monday evening - not that we didn't learn a lot from the classes; we just had more than enough childbirth classes for one lifetime.
Tonight consisted of practice. We practiced breathing exercises, counter pressure, labor positions, and massage techniques. To me, these are probably the most important skills we discussed, and we could have spent more time practicing them. In any event, we can practice them on our own time, in between finishing up the nursery and getting our home "baby ready."
After practice, the instructor took questions and then dismissed those of us who had already taken the newborn care class, since the last portion of the class was devoted to the same topics covered in that course. That part made our day - we got to leave the hospital before the sun set, grab some dinner, and relax at home.
We've got one more class scheduled, infant CPR, and are considering signing up for one more (believe it or not) on infant car seats, assuming they actually check to make sure your car seat is properly installed. I'll have to call to find out what that one's all about.
Tonight consisted of practice. We practiced breathing exercises, counter pressure, labor positions, and massage techniques. To me, these are probably the most important skills we discussed, and we could have spent more time practicing them. In any event, we can practice them on our own time, in between finishing up the nursery and getting our home "baby ready."
After practice, the instructor took questions and then dismissed those of us who had already taken the newborn care class, since the last portion of the class was devoted to the same topics covered in that course. That part made our day - we got to leave the hospital before the sun set, grab some dinner, and relax at home.
We've got one more class scheduled, infant CPR, and are considering signing up for one more (believe it or not) on infant car seats, assuming they actually check to make sure your car seat is properly installed. I'll have to call to find out what that one's all about.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Downtown Fort Worth at Night
This video was taken from our hotel room. If you've never spent time in downtown Fort Worth, I highly recommend you visit some time soon.
The Costly Weekend Trip to Ft. Worth
We attended Bryan's law school graduation this past Friday. For those of you who don't know, Bryan is a good friend of Ted's and was the best man at our wedding.
The graduation was very nice. It was a relatively small ceremony at the Ft. Worth Convention Center, which was a short walk from our hotel. Below is a slide show of photos from the ceremony, along with pictures from our hotel room. In the photos, you may notice that Bryan was "hooded" by a gentleman who looks a bit like him - his father is the CFO of the university the law school is affiliated with and had the honor of giving him the hood.
After the ceremony, we headed over to Bryan's graduation party, hosted by his parents. We were lucky to make it - we had quite the adventure prior to getting there.
Since the hotel we stayed at was located in downtown Ft. Worth, we had to use valet parking to keep our car in the hotel garage. No big deal - we've often left our vehicles with valets without incident. Several hours later, after the graduation ceremony, we returned to the hotel to retrieve the car and drive over to Bryan's apartment. We waited some time for the car, only to be told that it wouldn't start. We were escorted into the garage to see what we could do. With the help of a valet, Ted tried to jump start the car. Nothing. The valet who was helping us had noticed, however, that the key was removed from the ignition while the car was in the "accessory" mode (and he was quick to point out that he had not been responsible for parking our car). That's odd - you shouldn't be able to remove the key unless the car is off . . .
We ended up calling a tow truck and had the car towed to the nearest dealer. While waiting for the truck, we arranged for a rental car but couldn't pick it up until the next day. Oh well - at least we could leave Ft. Worth on Saturday as planned and drive back up to pick up the car later if necessary. The tow truck arrived about an hour later. Ted and the valets had the fun job of pushing the car out of the garage since the tow truck would not fit on the third level, where the car was parked. Luckily, they knew a few tricks, so it wasn't as difficult of a task as it sounds.
Soon after, Bryan's roommate showed up and drove us to the graduation party. We were able to destress while enjoying a good meal and good company.
The saga continued the next morning. I called the dealer to see if the service department had my car. They hadn't processed it yet, but when I told them I was stranded, they were very helpful and got my car in right away. A couple of hours later, we got the final assessment: we needed a new car battery. On top of that, whoever was the last person to remove the key (the valet) did so forcibly and did a good bit of damage. Total estimated cost of the repair - just under $1000. Ouch. And we thought this was going to be a relatively inexpensive weekend trip.
Having little choice but to go ahead with the repair, we licked our wounds, checked out of the hotel, and loaded up our rental car. The original plan (before we knew we would have car problems) was to go to Babies R Us on Saturday to purchase some baby gear. We decided to go ahead with the plan since we had a couple of hours to kill before the car would be ready. Besides, why should car troubles cause us to miss out on our baby shopping excursion?
We had fun wandering around Babies R Us and got a good deal on a car seat and play yard (thank you Babies R Us coupons). From there, we went to retrieve the car. The final repair bill was roughly $150 less than we expected (a bit of good news!). Then it was back to the rental car agency to return the borrowed vehicle. Afterward, we made a quick stop at the hotel to leave copies of our bills with the manager, who will *hopefully* make sure we get some sort of compensation for our troubles.
Having thoroughly exhausted ourselves, we went back home, tired but happy to have *survived* a weekend trip that we hoped would be a little less eventful.
The graduation was very nice. It was a relatively small ceremony at the Ft. Worth Convention Center, which was a short walk from our hotel. Below is a slide show of photos from the ceremony, along with pictures from our hotel room. In the photos, you may notice that Bryan was "hooded" by a gentleman who looks a bit like him - his father is the CFO of the university the law school is affiliated with and had the honor of giving him the hood.
After the ceremony, we headed over to Bryan's graduation party, hosted by his parents. We were lucky to make it - we had quite the adventure prior to getting there.
Since the hotel we stayed at was located in downtown Ft. Worth, we had to use valet parking to keep our car in the hotel garage. No big deal - we've often left our vehicles with valets without incident. Several hours later, after the graduation ceremony, we returned to the hotel to retrieve the car and drive over to Bryan's apartment. We waited some time for the car, only to be told that it wouldn't start. We were escorted into the garage to see what we could do. With the help of a valet, Ted tried to jump start the car. Nothing. The valet who was helping us had noticed, however, that the key was removed from the ignition while the car was in the "accessory" mode (and he was quick to point out that he had not been responsible for parking our car). That's odd - you shouldn't be able to remove the key unless the car is off . . .
We ended up calling a tow truck and had the car towed to the nearest dealer. While waiting for the truck, we arranged for a rental car but couldn't pick it up until the next day. Oh well - at least we could leave Ft. Worth on Saturday as planned and drive back up to pick up the car later if necessary. The tow truck arrived about an hour later. Ted and the valets had the fun job of pushing the car out of the garage since the tow truck would not fit on the third level, where the car was parked. Luckily, they knew a few tricks, so it wasn't as difficult of a task as it sounds.
Soon after, Bryan's roommate showed up and drove us to the graduation party. We were able to destress while enjoying a good meal and good company.
The saga continued the next morning. I called the dealer to see if the service department had my car. They hadn't processed it yet, but when I told them I was stranded, they were very helpful and got my car in right away. A couple of hours later, we got the final assessment: we needed a new car battery. On top of that, whoever was the last person to remove the key (the valet) did so forcibly and did a good bit of damage. Total estimated cost of the repair - just under $1000. Ouch. And we thought this was going to be a relatively inexpensive weekend trip.
Having little choice but to go ahead with the repair, we licked our wounds, checked out of the hotel, and loaded up our rental car. The original plan (before we knew we would have car problems) was to go to Babies R Us on Saturday to purchase some baby gear. We decided to go ahead with the plan since we had a couple of hours to kill before the car would be ready. Besides, why should car troubles cause us to miss out on our baby shopping excursion?
We had fun wandering around Babies R Us and got a good deal on a car seat and play yard (thank you Babies R Us coupons). From there, we went to retrieve the car. The final repair bill was roughly $150 less than we expected (a bit of good news!). Then it was back to the rental car agency to return the borrowed vehicle. Afterward, we made a quick stop at the hotel to leave copies of our bills with the manager, who will *hopefully* make sure we get some sort of compensation for our troubles.
Having thoroughly exhausted ourselves, we went back home, tired but happy to have *survived* a weekend trip that we hoped would be a little less eventful.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
2nd Wedding Anniversary
On this day in 2007, a wedding was held at a little church in Corpus Christi.
Two years later, this couple is happily settled and eagerly anticipating the birth of their first child. Time certainly does fly when you're enjoying life with the one you love.
Two years later, this couple is happily settled and eagerly anticipating the birth of their first child. Time certainly does fly when you're enjoying life with the one you love.
Day 62: Childbirth Class #4
Monday was our 4th childbirth class. We are beginning to realize that we signed up for more "class" than we needed. A lot of the evening was repeat information from earlier classes and the breastfeeding class we took last week. *Yawn* Had we known, we would have signed up for the weekend course. But, as usual, hindsight is always 20/20.
In more interesting news, Little Ted seems to be a lot more active these days. I rarely go much more than an hour without feeling him move. He and dad spent some time interacting the other night. Ted (the elder) had his hand on my stomach, and Ted (the unborn) pushed back several times. Not sure if he thought it was a game or if he was trying to tell dad to give him some more elbow room, but we parents enjoyed the game nonetheless.
In more interesting news, Little Ted seems to be a lot more active these days. I rarely go much more than an hour without feeling him move. He and dad spent some time interacting the other night. Ted (the elder) had his hand on my stomach, and Ted (the unborn) pushed back several times. Not sure if he thought it was a game or if he was trying to tell dad to give him some more elbow room, but we parents enjoyed the game nonetheless.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Days 69 & 68: Classes
Day 69: Childbirth Class
This day marked the midpoint in our childbirth class. We learned all about pain medications that can be used during labor and delivery. Summed up, there's lots of different options - some to make you groggy and loopy and some to make you numb. From the videos we watched, we also learned that you can be groggy, loopy, and numb all at the same time! OK, maybe not all at once, but you can combine medicines if it becomes necessary or you feel like you need a little extra pain relief. Along the way, we discussed (and got to play with) some of the other tools and monitors that might be used during labor, including forceps, a vacuum, and a monitor that is attached just under the baby's scalp during labor (ouch!). There's something about plastic and metal that is just so impersonal and unpleasant, especially when you know where it's going and what it's going to be used for. But better to know what it looks like and what it's used for now than when you're in the middle of labor and the doctor or nurse is insisting that it is a must. To help lighten the mood, we ended the class with some relaxation techniques, which means that the dads in the room were put to work by doing some different massages that are helpful during labor. I think I speak for all the moms in the room when I say that this was the best part of the evening.
Day 68: Breastfeeding Class
This was, by far, the best class we have taken. The nurse who led the class has over 30 years of experience and clearly knows what she is talking about. Also, she's the only lactation consultant at the hospital right now, and she'll be the one we go to for help after Little Ted is born. In two hours, we got lots of good information, learned lots of things we had no idea about, and we now feel more prepared for the baby's arrival.
This day marked the midpoint in our childbirth class. We learned all about pain medications that can be used during labor and delivery. Summed up, there's lots of different options - some to make you groggy and loopy and some to make you numb. From the videos we watched, we also learned that you can be groggy, loopy, and numb all at the same time! OK, maybe not all at once, but you can combine medicines if it becomes necessary or you feel like you need a little extra pain relief. Along the way, we discussed (and got to play with) some of the other tools and monitors that might be used during labor, including forceps, a vacuum, and a monitor that is attached just under the baby's scalp during labor (ouch!). There's something about plastic and metal that is just so impersonal and unpleasant, especially when you know where it's going and what it's going to be used for. But better to know what it looks like and what it's used for now than when you're in the middle of labor and the doctor or nurse is insisting that it is a must. To help lighten the mood, we ended the class with some relaxation techniques, which means that the dads in the room were put to work by doing some different massages that are helpful during labor. I think I speak for all the moms in the room when I say that this was the best part of the evening.
Day 68: Breastfeeding Class
This was, by far, the best class we have taken. The nurse who led the class has over 30 years of experience and clearly knows what she is talking about. Also, she's the only lactation consultant at the hospital right now, and she'll be the one we go to for help after Little Ted is born. In two hours, we got lots of good information, learned lots of things we had no idea about, and we now feel more prepared for the baby's arrival.
More Stroller Pictures
I reassembled the stroller this afternoon, outfitting it with its "seat." Here's what it looks like:
We also made a discovery today that we couldn't pass up. We wandered around Barnes and Noble for awhile this afternoon and came across the journal you see below. It's Paul Frank, it matches the stroller, and it just so happens that we need a journal to keep track of the baby's feedings after he's born. What can we say - we like things to match. :-)
We also made a discovery today that we couldn't pass up. We wandered around Barnes and Noble for awhile this afternoon and came across the journal you see below. It's Paul Frank, it matches the stroller, and it just so happens that we need a journal to keep track of the baby's feedings after he's born. What can we say - we like things to match. :-)
Deliveries, Part II
Here are the pictures of the baby gifts from Grandma & Grandpa Robles that I promised. Unfortunately, they did not make an appearance at the baby shower like they were supposed to. They were shipped with plenty of time to spare, but apparently the UPS delivery person who picked up the shipment looked at the box and decided there must be hazardous material in it. How he got that idea, we'll never know. So, after being repackaged, it arrived in Waco. You can see what we found below:
These are all the items that were in the box. Looking at them got me to thinking that baby gifts can parallel wedding traditions. For example, you might get something old:
These hangers used to hold my baby clothes.
And my mom used this blanket and these lap pads.
These baby clothes are new (and so cute).
And these are new as well, along with handmade and blue. The one item in the image that is not new is the baby booties. My mom believes they were given to her at her baby shower. The other new item is the beautiful baby blanket (or rather, "Baby Bubble Wrap," as it is called) that you can see in the first photo.
As far as borrowed items go, Grandma Gonzalez hung on to a lot of cousin Matthew's baby clothes. So Little Ted will be outfitted for a good long time in things that his big cousin quickly grew out of.
I wasn't careful to make sure I had "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue" at my wedding, but my son has certainly got all these categories covered with his baby shower gifts.
These are all the items that were in the box. Looking at them got me to thinking that baby gifts can parallel wedding traditions. For example, you might get something old:
These hangers used to hold my baby clothes.
And my mom used this blanket and these lap pads.
These baby clothes are new (and so cute).
And these are new as well, along with handmade and blue. The one item in the image that is not new is the baby booties. My mom believes they were given to her at her baby shower. The other new item is the beautiful baby blanket (or rather, "Baby Bubble Wrap," as it is called) that you can see in the first photo.
As far as borrowed items go, Grandma Gonzalez hung on to a lot of cousin Matthew's baby clothes. So Little Ted will be outfitted for a good long time in things that his big cousin quickly grew out of.
I wasn't careful to make sure I had "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue" at my wedding, but my son has certainly got all these categories covered with his baby shower gifts.
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