Not Too Much Longer

90% of your pregnancy has passed, there is 10% left to go

This was the subject of an email I got from one of those pregnancy websites.

Two things I will not miss hearing people say to me:

"You are for sure having a boy, you are carrying so low!" or "I can tell it is a girl, just by looking at you!" Seriously, you sound ridiculous.

and

"Oh dear, you are going to have your hands full with a 2 year old AND a newborn!" No kidding.......The reality is, I have my hands full with just a 2 year old.

I am so ready to have this baby. This third trimester has flown by but nights are a bit difficult with pretty intense Braxton Hicks contractions, ridiculously painful heartburn and insomnia. I would rather be up at night with the baby than by myself, at least I would have company. And as soon as I put my head down on my pillow to go to sleep, I can't breathe. I become instantly congested. And I think I am up to 4 trips a night to the bathroom.

The part I love about being pregnant is watching and feeling the baby move. It is such an indescribable feeling. At this point in the pregnancy you can actually see what looks like either a foot or a hand jabbing me at times.

We see the doctor weekly now and tomorrow she will be checking my fluid levels and blood pressure to make sure I am not heading towards an early induction like I had to have with Samantha. I am really hoping I do not have to be induced. I have visions of another 36 hour labor that scare me.

In more positive news, we successfully cleaned out our garage and got out all the baby stuff that we saved. We ordered a new infant car seat and bought a box of newborn diapers, which by the way, are so tiny compared to the Size 4 diapers that Samantha was last in, they fit in the palm of my hand! The bassinet is all set up, newborn clothes washed (if it is a boy, he is going to look awfully cute in pink), bottles, sling, baby carrier, breast pump, pacifiers, swaddle blankets....it's all ready to go!

We would not have been able to get any of this done if it weren't for Todd's parents so graciously taking Samantha overnight for us this past weekend. Samantha came home with new toys, new clothes, new shoes, a new book and a new manicure. Spoiled?!

Here are some pics:

Matching Outfits :)

And I thought I would throw these cute pictures in of Samantha. We had such a great day Monday going out to lunch and then to the beach. She has really been into posing lately and showing me her dance moves and singing. I think we are just about ready to sign her up for dance lessons or gymnastics. She is quite the little performer. I wonder where she gets it from? :)

So now we just wait....... Any predictions on the sex of the baby and birthday (actual due date is 2/28)?

Here is my guess: 2/17 and a Girl

Todd's guess: 2/18 and a Girl

Weekend with Connor and Zuki

This weekend we watched Connor and Zuki while his parents were getting a well deserved break at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. While they were relaxing by the heated pool and getting spa treatments, we were up to our ears in toddler tantrums. JOKING! They actually were really good. We realized after day 1 that naps and bedtime were going to be a bit difficult but other than that, they were great.

I decided the first day to let them nap in the same room because when I tried to separate them they were both hysterical. They were like kids at a slumber party chatting away for over an hour. I listened to them on the monitor saying things like:

"Do you like orange? I like the color orange"

"Mantha, shhhhhh, be quiet, I'm resting"

"Connor, you there?"

"I'm a dinosaur, roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

"You tired? I not tired. No nap"

And then when I would go in the room they both would pretend to be asleep.

Poor little Zuki had just had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on his face. We are so happy he is going to be okay. Lollipop took it easy on Zuki this weekend and didn't play too rough and Samantha helped nurse Zuki back to health by hand feeding him because his cone made it difficult for him to eat.

All bundled up and ready to go out for pizza and pasta.

Cheese!!!!!!!


They both insisted on taking flashlights to the restaurant.

We told them they couldn't play video games until they finished dinner


Connor finally started to shovel it in once he realized that we were serious.

At what age do they realize they aren't really playing and start asking for quarters?

Who wants icecream?!

Getting ready for bed or at least we thought they were ready for bed :)

Book Club

I belong to a Book Club with a group of wonderful ladies. About every 6 weeks we meet to discuss the chosen book, eat yummy food, drink good wine and mainly socialize. I would say that 5% of the meeting is talking about the book while the other 95% of the time is spent catching up, sharing stories and laughing about the silly things our children do.

It was my turn to host the meeting and the book we read was "Sarah's Key". The majority of the group gave it two thumbs up. I really enjoyed it, but I warn you, it is not a very uplifting book, not many stories about the holocaust are.

With some menu planning help from my ultra-talented friend Holley (who should write a book on entertaining), I made a variety of tapa's which included: 3 Cheese Mini-Mac Bites, Roasted Shrimp Cocktail, Caesar Salad Spears, Spinach-Artichoke Dip and Miniature Stuffed Potatoes. Later in the evening we devoured 3 desserts that other's brought to share: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Cake and Brownies. And I would say that not much wine was drank this time around because there were 6 ladies who are expecting their 2nd child.

Here are some pics from the evening:

Don't let this picture fool you. While it may seem like Kristin is expressing her point of view on the book, she is really just telling us the birth story of her newest addition, Baby Maritt. We were all listening intently, especially those of us who are expecting, hoping to hear that the 2nd time around is much easier than the 1st :)

Random Samantha Post

Samantha is 35 inches tall.

I have been meaning to measure her since she turned 2 because we weren't able to get her measured at her 2 year check-up.

Samantha is very close to being fully potty trained!

She has been out of diapers for almost a month now. We ditched the little potty and she prefers the new potty seat we got her that she can put on the big potty. She can take herself to the bathroom and do the whole routine. She is great about telling us or whomever is watching her that she has to go and has adjusted really well to using any bathroom. We are just waiting for her to wake up in the morning and from her naps consistently dry and then we will ditch the pull-ups altogether.

Samantha is about to be a big sister!

Has anyone else noticed the pregnancy countdown on the right side of this blog? Todd and I have a date with the garage next weekend to get out the bassinet, bottles, baby clothes, baby toys..........

Gwendolyn Strong Foundation Wins!

Thank you to all my friends and family who voted for the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation in the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook. GSF came in at #6 which awards them $100,000!

Please check out Gwendolyn's website in the link below to read all the details:

Gwendolynstrong.com

We Need Your Help

Dear Friends, Family, Followers, ANYONE WHO READS THIS BLOG,

One of my daughters best friends, Gwendolyn Strong, is the same age as Samantha, and has a terminal illness called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Children with SMA lack a gene in their DNA that keeps the motor neurons thriving: Gwendolyn's body is completely paralyzed, she breathes from a machine, and eats from a tube. Her mind, however, is completely normal. She loves to play with stickers, watch Sesame Street and dress up like a princess. Samantha and Gwendolyn have playdates and we are so hopeful that one day, Gwendolyn will be able to run around with Samantha. Researchers at UC Irvine are REALLY close to a cure for SMA, but they need funding to push it towards FDA approval. It is so exciting (yet frustrating) to know how close it is!

JP Morgan Chase Bank has committed to donating $5 million dollars to non-profit organizations, $1 million of which was already distributed in December. Through a Facebook voting system, the top 100 non-profits were awarded $25,000 in cash. The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation was one of these winners (yippeee!), and 100% of the funds were sent directly to UC Irvine's SMA research team. Next up is the final round of voting for the BIG prize: $1,000,000. One million!! This voting is all done through Facebook, and started yesterday and ends on 1/22/2010.

Please take a few minutes to watch this video to learn more about Gwendolyn and the Chase Contest: Gwendolyn Strong Video

Imagine this: $1,000,000 towards SMA research could actually end this disease. Not "get the ball rolling" on research, not "hope for a cure," but actually end it. And, most importantly in my eyes, it could save Gwendolyn's life. The research that is sooooo close to FDA approval is one that could affect babies who already have SMA (like Gwendolyn), and could completely remove them from symptoms. Can you imagine Gwendolyn running into our playgroup and giving the kids high-fives and hugs without a breathing machine? I CAN!!!!!!!

Here are some facts:

Dr. Kierstad (UC Irvine) has dedicated his life to spinal cord injuries. He has already successfully performed a lab experiment on mice that allowed the previously-paralyzed animals to literally get up and walk. He is now focusing on SMA research, which is closely related to spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy's, ALS/Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. It is his belief that a groundbreaking surgery (so close to FDA approval!) could allow the body to re-build the proteins that are missing in children with SMA. That means Gwendolyn has the potential to be symptom free! Forever!

Money is holding back a cure. Other diseases, such as breast cancer and AIDS, have massive amounts of funding and research behind them, but "cures" are still unknown. The "cure" for SMA is just around the corner, but nothing can be done until the funds are there to continue the research.

SMA is the #1 genetic killer of children under two years of age, and 1 in 40 adults (unknowingly) carry the gene to pass it on.

How can you help?

It is ridiculously simple:

If you're already a member of Facebook:
1) Click Here (you might need to log in if you've not already)
2) Click on "Vote for Charity"
That's it! It'll give you the option of posting on your status that you voted (do it!! with a message to your friends!!). How easy is that?!

If you're not a member of Facebook yet:
1) Click Here and sign up for a (free) account.
2) Click on "Vote for Charity"
A box will appear that allows you to show your friends that you have voted. Even if you don't have any friends (yet), follow the instructions so your future friends will know!

And to help even further, please forward this post on to your friends or if you have a blog, do a posting on Gwendolyn. I really dislike forwards and spam emails, but this is personal to me and I am going to do whatever I can to get the word out. This is an effort sheerly driven by people voting: the GSF needs every single vote it can get.

Samantha loves to play with Gwendolyn. She loves to hold her hand and show her toys. I'm looking forward to explaining to Samantha why Gwendolyn doesn't have to wear a breathing machine anymore ("she's cured!") instead of giving her the opposite devastating news. And I want to see Gwendolyn's parents, Bill and Victoria Strong, get a well deserved break from the constant monitoring they have been doing for over 2 years straight now! So, please, please, please, PLEASE vote and spread the word to every person you know.

Please don't ignore this and think your vote won't count. As of right now, GSF is #5 out of 100. We have a little less than a week to make it to the top!

Thank you so much and please email if you have any questions on how to vote!






-The Fallon Family

An Afternoon Concert

Isabella, Connor and Samantha gave me an afternoon concert. Some highlights to look for: Connor trying out some heavy metal style vocals and Bella doing a solo dance to "Wheels on the Bus" with Samantha on lead vocals.