Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.

I thought I would focus on the “other babies” of the house for once. These photos paint the perfect picture of life with Bones & Tilly!

For those of you who know Bones, you know that you can go hours without seeing him. It’s been a running joke in my family that if he had a doggy door and automatic food/water dispenser, he would live a perfectly happy life. Not that he doesn’t enjoy his family time or a good game of ball; he just prefers to keep to himself. On the other hand, Tilly is ALWAYS within arm’s length of me. Whether I am cleaning, sleeping, reading, whatever, she is my shadow!

I have to preface this picture by saying that Bones rarely goes in our room and even more rarely gets on our bed. Well, we hadn’t seen Bones in probably 2 hours (which is not strange) until we hear Tilly in our bedroom “play” barking at something under the covers. Ryan and I fully believe that she tattle tales on him (on a regular basis). It’s hilarious that she knows he will get scolded for being in our bed and her tail wags faster when Ryan enters the room to do just that.

Talk about preparing for kids, I’m pretty sure we have two spoiled rotten, tattle-tailing kids at home already!

This picture is exactly how we found him. He has an amazing knack for getting the covers just right!


He was so glad when I let him stay - although it was just for a photo op!

Brody Jon has arrived!

I took the pic straight from their website since the ones from last night weren't nearly as precious!

Congratulations to my sister and Kylan on the arrival of Brody Jon Stuck!

It was a long and exhausting day, but at 9:00 pm (central time) the big boy made his entrance.

Brody, we can’t wait to meet you and hold you! It will be soon! And Hayden, take good care of your little brother.

We love you guys!

Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst.

Four months!

Somehow, someway, this baby has been baking for four months. My how the time flies! It seems like a week ago I was sitting there holding the pregnancy test in complete excitement and disbelief! Enough nostalgia, let's focus on the future

My four month update goes something like this:

How am I feeling?

Great! My energy is back. I can stay awake past 9pm! My weight gain is still sitting around 3 – 4pounds. I really feel fabulous.

What am I eating?

Nothing new. All things I loved pre-pregnancy! (Except coffee, loved it! Now, not so much; which works out well) Fruit (especially pineapple) orange juice, Golden Grahams, almonds, cheese …. And now I am hungry! And nothing weird! It’s like people don’t believe me when I tell them that pickle really doesn’t look appetizing.

What am I not liking?
Same things I didn’t like pre-pregnancy! Oh, and I have to make Ryan wash any old metal pans cause it is the only smell that makes me wanna ... well, you know!

Some other interesting facts you may (or may not) be interested in about the Babl Bean:

· It is about the size of an avocado

· He/she is growing toenails and no longer has eyes on the side of it’s head!

· Can grasp with their hands, kick and even do a somersault! He/she can also squint, frown and open its mouth!

We won’t have “official” statistics until our next appointment on March 12, and as my previous post complained about, this means going over a month with a doctor visit. But it’s a big one! Not only will we have a heartbeat count, we’ll have PHOTOS! And hopefully a gender to announce.

Sales Ad at a Store: 'You are my one and only' valentine cards, now on sale: 4 for $5.

My tulips from Ryan. There are six total waiting to bloom!

To: the Babl Bean
From: Hayden
So sweet!

Who else on earth would I want for my Valentine other than my two favorite boys!

Granted, I really don't buy into the concept of Valentine’s Day; the whole: show someone you love them this day because the commercial card and flower industry said so. Now, I know that Valentine’s has a much deeper, more romantic meaning dating back to the third century when Saint Valentine secretly performed marriages for soldiers even when they had been outlawed, but is that really what we celebrate today? I think not!

Saturday was just a regular day of working out and running errands and Ryan and I decided to “celebrate” with filet mignons, mashed potatoes and asparagus (not to mention the evil balsamic butter sauce!) After some deception (he told me he wanted to get a “longer lift in” at the gym) Ryan made a secret run to the store to pick up some tulips and sparkling grape juice. So sneaky! He knows I am not a fan of flowers that will die in 3 days. He also knows I am a sucker for any plant that I can later add to my garden!

Saturday afternoon we received a package from Hayden (that was really for the Babl Bean) with a homemade Valentine that melted even uncle KiKi’s heart!
What nice boys and what a nice way to spend Valentine’s Day, even if it is just another day!

You only turn 29 once!

In honor of Ryan's 29th birthday, I thought I would share with everyone 29 reasons why my husband is amazing! I love you Ry! Happy Birthday!

1) Even though I think commercials are his favorite part of the tv-watching experience, he mutes them because he knows how much I hate them!
2) If I don’t have to get up early, he’ll let the dogs out and shut the bedroom door so I can sleep a little longer.
3) He is unbelievably patient with me. I only wish I could say the same about myself.
4) He cleans up the kitchen almost every night.
5) I wrote this all in a matter of minutes which means, he’s a pretty easy guy to brag about!
6) He loves shopping, musicals and museums! How many women can say that about their husbands!
7) He is the smartest person I know.
8) He wants to make everyone else happy; sometimes even at his own expense.
9) He wakes up at 4:30 am every morning to keep his clients happy and to make sure I get the beach house once a season.
10) He raves about my cooking even when I know I over cooked the chicken.
11) He knows EVERY detail about every superhero – their real name, power, back story …. It’s amazing!
12) When he twirls his hair .….. I’m kidding, nothing drives me more crazy!
13) When he asks me how his butt looks in those jeans.
14) He frequently asks me what I want in life and wants my goals to be achieved.
15) He grills burgers for me cause that was what I was craving (darn pregnancy!) even in sub-zero temperatures.
16) He has put up with so many of my health issues and somehow he still loves me; trust me, he’s seen a lot.
17) He always noticed when I have cleaned up the house and always tells me it looks nice.
18) He thinks about me several times a day. I know this because he often calls me for no reason.
19) He tells me I am even “prettier” since I got pregnant.
20) He forgoes lunch with his friends to have lunch with me every day! Rain, wind or snow!
21) He knows more about me than anyone else ever will.
22) He knows exactly when to tell me I’m too whiny, too smartassy, too ____ (fill in the blank)
23) He turns over all his hard earned Christmas bonuses and gift certificates to me and says “you take them. I don’t really need anything.”
24) His patience with our dogs and other people’s children proves he is an excellent father in the making.
25) He is a champ at Duck Hunt. Really it’s kinda scary!
26) He is going to be the world’s greatest physical therapist.
27) He encourages my goals and dreams even when they are crazy – like when I went back to school for a second master’s or wanted to run a 5K??
28) He told me this weekend he has everything he ever wanted; a *great* wife, 2 dogs, a home, a career (the career is a work in progress).
29) He is mine and only mine forever and he’s just fine with that!

To my nephew Hayden, who turned two this weekend!

Hope you had a wonderful birthday! I wish we lived closer so I could watch you grow and learn. We miss you so much and know you will make an amazing big brother to Brody (any time now) and such a good cousin to the Babl Bean!

Love Uncle Keeks and Aunt Jacen!

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been an unseasonably cold winter, but the last few weeks have been about the warm sun, cool breezes and 65 – 75 degree temps. This weekend was no exception and we decided to take advantage of the perfect weather and celebrate Ryan’s birthday a little early (the BIG day is Tues. Feb 10).

Leaving a sad (and arthritic) Bones at home, Ryan, Tilly and I packed a lunch and headed to Oak Mountain State park, just a 15 minute drive from our house. People were out in swarms enjoying the weather, but we still found mile-long stretches where we had the woods to ourselves. Tilly found every opportunity to get in any water and really enjoyed her swim in the creek. She met lots of dogs along the way and was exceptionally polite (even letting one dog lick her in the face)! There were too many photos to choose just one, so I posted a couple on the slideshow below.

After a brief trip to Old Time Pottery, where I had to convince Ry “of course I need another pot” we picked up the Camaro that was recently fixed (should have been a whole other blog post!) and headed home for a quick rest. We thought about cooking at home, but who wants to do dishes on your night out? After some careful consideration, Ryan decided on McCormick & Schmicks for dinner and it was absolutely fabulous! They are known for their fresh seafood which we both took advantage of. I had my one serving of salmon a week and Ryan had redfish with some evil (low-fat!!) lobster butter sauce. It was a great evening and so nice to get out and celebrate Ry’s 29th!

Curiosity is not a sin.... But we should exercise caution with our curiosity... yes, indeed. ~J.K. Rowling

14 Week Update!

The Babl Baby and I left Ryan in class and headed over to our 14 week appointment. It took the nurse a good couple of (nerve-wracking minutes) to find the heartbeat because apparently the little one was hiding out down in my pelvis!

The statistics are as follows:

Baby’s Heartbeat: 134 bpm (Average is 110 – 160, so our baby is cruising in the middle!)

Jenny’s Weight Gain: 3 pounds total

Ryan's Weight Gain: No, I'm kidding! He's in better shape than ever this semester!

The BIG appointment! Because of the medication I take for Crohn’s, the docs do a targeted ultrasound. This isn’t significantly different from regular ultrasounds; except the machine is a little more powerful and the doctors will be taking a more detailed look at the baby’s anatomy. What that means for us is, the experience of seeing our baby in a more detailed and high-tech way! And, they usually do this exam at about 17 weeks ……….

Well, I had an appointment scheduled for March 2 at which I would be said 17 weeks and we would (assuming the little one cooperates) be able to determine gender at that time. However, after looking at our schedules, Ryan was not able to make it. For a brief moment, I thought about leaving him in class and not waiting another minute and just telling him later. (Geez! I said it was brief people!) But that appointment means the world to Ryan and if he can’t go, I am not going either! Unfortunately, the next available date that we could both make it was March 12 (Spring Break) at which point I will be almost 19 weeks. (Still earlier than many people find out!) So, mark those calendars cause we will know on March 12 if it’s a he-Babl or a she-Babl!!!

In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard.

What I do not enjoy about being pregnant:

1) The fact that I could not make it past the 3rd quarter of an exciting football game because the onset of fatigue overtook me (and Tilly).We were snoring on the couch by 9! Besides, football really isn't that fun when you are watching it by yourself. (Ryan was studying and only took a break to eat the pulled pork bbq and beans I made!)

2) Headaches! For one week I have suffered from almost constant headaches. It's hard to cure one when all you can take is regular strength Tylenol! I need some natural remedies here, people!

What I do enjoy about being pregnant:

1) When my sweet (over-anxious) husband tells me that my belt (you know the oversized fashionable kind that you wear upper-waist) may be squishing the baby! Do you think I ever question his fathering abilities?

2) The fact that everyone is kinder to you and has a constant and sudden interest in your wellbeing. I gotta admit, I kinda like all the attention! Now, when the belly rubbing start, my opinion may change!