"What's in a name?"

Ah, Shakespeare. You said it.

Mark and I are a little bit concerned that we don't have a set name for this baby yet (boy OR girl). We have a long list for both but nothing is standing out to us as "the" name. We didn't have this kind of trouble with Jacob and I'm not sure what's different this time. Is it because we don't know the gender? Or is it because we have grown incredibly indecisive in the recent years? I personally think it's the latter -- and if you witnessed us trying to pick out paint colors for our house this last week, you would completely concur. I can't tell you how many times we changed our minds (even after they had started painting!!)

I'll be posting before and after pics of the house soon. The entire interior of the house is painted now and even though it was a stressful week, it was worth it because the colors are fantastic!

A couple of weekends ago, I forgot to mention that our close friends, Julie and Tom and their baby Kate came to visit for the weekend. We had a great time just catching up and taking it easy. I love that we are now only a 3 hour drive away, and I hope to be spending even more time with them!! Here are some pics from their visit:











Jacob trying to give Kate a big HUG:

Extreme Blog Makeover

You may be seeing some serious blog template experimentation in the next few weeks if you are checking it often. I realized that this blog has been dedicated to "Baby Jake Broxterman" since I started it and I feel as though I'm leaving Bebe Dos in the dark if I don't grow and expand the blog along with the family. Sooooo, my goal in the next few weeks (before this baby graces us with his/her presence) is to find the perfect template that represents the Broxterman Family as best possible.

Speaking of Bebe Dos, we had our 35 week appointment yesterday and we finally got to have another ultrasound. Our last one was at 19 weeks so it's been a LONG time since we've seen our babe in there! Doc did the ultrasound to try and determine this baby's size so that we can start to make birth plans armed with this information. After doing some measurements, the very-unscientific-method-of-determining-fetal-weight estimated that this baby currently weighs 6 lb. 4 oz. Right. Now. If you have no idea what that means, let me put it into perspective for you. Babies gain about 1/2 pound each week in the last couple of months. So, if this baby were to be born on its due date (40 weeks), baby would weigh about 8 lb. 12 oz. Additionally, if this baby went as long as Jacob did (41 1/2 weeks), baby would weigh about 9 lb. 8 oz -- right on target with Jacob's birth weight. How many of you out there still think this baby is a girl?!?!

Given this information, Doc is still set on inducing me around the 39th week so as not to let this baby overcook and get too large and end in another marathon labor. My thoughts are certainly mixed. I'm worried that 39 weeks will be too early, therefore it will end in a marathon labor anyway because my body isn't ready. And if we wait too long, baby will be too big and therefore end in another shoulder dystocia case. I guess all we can do is trust the Doc and hope that a) this baby is a normal size and b) my body is ready for an induction.

Happy 35 weeks and 2 days!

Random Fun

I know it's been a while since I've written and decided that tonight would be my "random" post. I have all of these photos and videos that were taken of Jacob sporadically in the last few weeks but never really could develop them into a story. We've been so busy lately as well so I have neglected my blogging responsibilities once again.

I only have energy for captions tonight :)

My Friday playgroup meets at different fun play places each week. Here are some photos from Antz in your Pantz, Jump for Fun, and Chuck E Cheese:














Out to dinner with the family when Grandma and Grandpa were visiting:







Jacob finished his last class at the Little Gym and unfortunately, after this session, the Little Gym near our house closed down. I'm currently looking into an alternative extracurricular activity...





And finally, Jacob has transitioned from dancing on his toy chest to singing on his toy chest. Yes, in his underwear. He loves to sing nowadays -- and of course we love to let him.

More Chicago...

I forgot that I had taken additional pictures with my little point and shoot camera in Chicago. Unfortunately, this silly camera doesn't take the best photos, but it does take great video clips which is why I purchased it. Why can't they make a small camera that does it all? (if you have one, please advise?)

Jacob passed out in Uncle Eric's spare bedroom. I just think it's cute that he's in a real bed:



When we arrived on Thursday, we decided to go to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. This place is AMAZING. Jacob loved checking out all the sea life (especially the dolphins) but he didn't particularly like seeing a spider crab up close. Mark was holding him and brought him over to the aquarium with the spider crab and Jacob screamed bloody murder at the top of his lungs. It nearly scared the pants off of everyone in the room. I was taking a break on a nearby bench and couldn't stop laughing at the sound of my poor son's shrill scream. In his defense, I went to take a look at the spider crab myself and admittedly, it could scare the skin off a snake. It was SUPER creepy looking. Of course, in Jacob's mind, the best part of the aquarium was the kids play area where they could dress up as penguins. We couldn't get him out of there!







By the way, today marks 33 weeks! In 2 weeks, we'll have another ultrasound and finally get to see the baby again. From then on, our Doc is going to try and guess at the baby's size to see if an earlier induction is necessary. There is a huge part of me that would really love to see this baby come on his/her own so please pray for a spontaneous labor this time!!

Chicago Reunion

I have been meaning to post pictures from our recent trip to Chicago but it has been hard to find the time! Mark, Jacob and I left for Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 6th and Jacob and I returned on Monday, Aug. 10th (Mark had to fly straight to SF for an all week meeting so Jacob and I flew back solo). After the flight there, I was seriously contemplating renting a car and driving back to Dallas. It was THAT bad. I'd say half of the reason was Jacob's irritability and restlessness on the flight. The other half of the reason was the turbulence that had me panic stricken for 2 straight hours. When you're 7 months pregnant and prone to Braxton Hicks contractions under major stress, this is NOT the flight you want to be on. I thought if we survived, I was definitely going to have this baby in Chicago. Alas, we made it there safely and baby stayed cooking in my belly, but I was dreading the flight home alone the entire weekend. Sure enough, Jacob ended up being an angel on flight #2 and he and I made it home without any major incident. Cheers to that!

Chicago was a great time mostly because we all got to see and catch up with family and so many old friends. On Friday morning, my old mom's group hosted a playdate where we got to reunite with each other. I was almost in tears when I walked through Carrie's door -- it brought back so many great memories. It had been a year and a half since I'd seen everyone so of course the kids had changed so much. As we always used to do, we lined the kiddos up on the couch and took a million snapshots hoping that at least one was print-worthy!

From left: Jacob, Blythe, Kate, Lindsay, Mia and Luke (taken on 8/7/09):



And check this out nearly 2 years earlier. From left: Mia, Kate, Blythe, Kevin, Lindsay, Jacob and Lauren (taken on 8/31/07):



Nanny and Papa were also in town for a different wedding in Chicago so we got to spend lots of quality time with them and Uncle Eric. On Saturday morning, we drove to Wisconsin where my old friend Kevin was getting married. Jacob was napping during the ceremony, so I walked to the church by myself and got to enjoy the wedding without a single distraction. It was beautiful. I was so happy that we decided to make this trip because Kevin is a dear friend of mine and I really wanted to be there for his big day. We brought Jacob to the reception later in the evening and he really did great early on just sitting outside with us playing with his cars. He was super excited about the prospect of dancing and couldn't wait until it all started. Unfortunately, he didn't realize he'd have to sit through toasts, and cake cutting, and dinner, etc. before the action began so that was somewhat of a challenge. But all in all, he did well. There were other kids there that he chased around the dance floor while we all had cake, but then when the real dancing began, he didn't understand that running at warp speeds through the big circle of guests huddled together for the "We are Family" song was inappropriate (if not dangerous). We realized that shortly after that we might have to call it an early night. In the future, we might rethink taking a toddler to a wedding, but we are still young parents and have a lot to learn! I got to snap some adorable shots of our little man all dressed up though. In these pictures, I can foresee a grown man many, many years down the road and it really makes me want to stop time.

Daddy and Jacob walking into the reception. I don't know why I love taking pictures of them walking together -- maybe I just love to see the back of Mark and his mini-me.





Jacob, show me your "happy" face!



Jacob, show me your "half-smile"



Jacob, show me your "grumpy face"



Jacob, show me your "excited face"



Jacob's best part of the night was running full speed on the dance floor!



Especially with the other kids...



"Why can't I dance with the bride too?"



On Sunday, we got to catch up with Mark's old friends the Lapadulas, the Clarks and Jim McCaffrey. The Lappys just had their 2nd baby, Hadley, who didn't make a peep the entire time through a 2 hour lunch. Man, I might sell my soul to have baby #2 be like that!! It was so fun catching up with everyone and I just hope it's not another year and a half before I make it back to Chicago!!

Jacob's 2 1/2 year "birthday"

Last Thursday, Jacob officially turned 2 1/2 years old. To commemorate the occasion, I decided to have his pictures taken at the Picture People. We used to take him there every 3 months during his first year of life because they were fast, relatively inexpensive and just plain easy! Since we haven't had any professional pictures taken since last October, I thought we were way overdue.

Jacob was fantastic. He always amazes me when we go to have pictures taken. I'm usually a bit stressed about it (hoping that he'll cooperate and that we'll get at least one good picture) but every single time we have gone, he has been such a ham for the camera and likes to have fun with the photographer. This time was no different and we actually had a fabulous session!

Here are some of my favorites from this session on 7/30/09. Also, below, I wanted to include some of my favorites from previous sessions. I always love looking at how much he's changed in such a short amount of time!

Picture People session 7/30/09 (Jacob = 2 1/2 years old)

















Picture People Session 2/21/08 (Jacob = 1 year old):







Picture People Session 11/9/07 (Jacob = 9 months old):







Picture People Session 8/7/07 (Jacob = 6 months old):







Picture People Session 5/8/07 (3 months old):