Alligators

A work post! I can't resist - I was just CC'ed on an email from a broker to his client.

"Since we have attempted to reach you without success, we assume alligators have eaten you. We hate pestering you, but do hope to work with you. If you're still alive, one of the following is likely to have happened.

Please be as open and honest as possible. Please mark the best response and return to me, instructing us what our next step should be:

___ I've been eaten by alligators. Please send flowers.

___ I'm just plain swamped. Please call back after __/__/__

___ No. I haven't been eaten by alligators, but you may wish I had been because I have decided I have no interest in your service. Sorry, you're sunk.

___ Yes. I have some interest.

___ Other: _____________________________.

Your Everglades Friend,
Mr. Broker"

I really love this. I feel like some parts of my job are just babysitting (my boss calls it "quarterbacking") to ensure all the pieces come together. So when I'm ignored repeatedly, I may use this so that my project gets the attention it needs!

26 weeks

In a matter of minutes, I will be 26 weeks along. This pregnancy is still a lot like Grant's. I'm bigger tho and craving more sweets. I'm sure those 2 things are unrelated.

Derek got a shot of my profile while me and Grant took a dip in the pool. Please ignore the skinny-dipping boy. (Sidenote - He managed to poop in the 20 minutes or so that he had on a diaper between skinny-dipping and bath time. I was so happy he didn't poop in the water!)

My shoulder is hurting quite a bit, the same way it did when I was pregnant with Grant. I have seen the orthopedic surgeon and a diagnostic doc. I go back to see the surgeon this week, so hopefully I will have some info on minimizing pain. They really don't like to do anything with us pregnant chicks though, so I'm not expecting much. I spent a good portion of today laying in bed, which helps my shoulder. I also swam a few laps in the pool, which I remember the surgeon recommending last time around.

I've gained at least 15 pounds. Maybe I'll weigh myself and update this.

I'm starting to look at our "to do" list before baby arrives, and I'm not sure we can get it done in 3 months. In a perfect world, I'd also finish my Christmas shopping before Baby Girl Hicks arrives. We'll see how that goes!

Games people play

Derek and I have a game that we play. The new Texas license plates are being issued in alphabetical order - AA-AZ then BA-BZ, etc. So we are always on the lookout to find the newest plate. Derek is ahead with CY9 right now.

I love this game. It usually consists of iPhone photos back and forth to each other with only a subject line ("FACE" or "DOMINATING" are the most common). I also love that any time I'm on the road, I'm thinking of my love and wanting to demolish him in our game wanting to show him how much I love him and think of him throughout the day.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today was my first annual 29th birthday party! We had friends over for some fun pool time and fajitas. I did a horrible job of taking photos. This is what I've got:

That's Rach playing with Grant and our new misting system in action.

Our "new" backyard is GREAT! Derek worked hard on Saturday to install a misting system. Plus he got a new canopy. With the umbrella, canopy, and misters, we managed to only hit a high of 88 degrees in the backyard (actual temp was 104).

We learned a lot from Grant's birthday party. See above re: shade and temp. We also learned to cook the fajitas ahead of time. Derek cooked them when Grant went down for a nap around 11am, while I prepped the other food inside and chopped fajitas as they came in. We were able to enjoy the party more and avoid too much heat (cooking at 11am vs. 1pm in Texas is a big deal). We left the chicken in the warming tray, popped some onions on the stove, beans in the crock pot and then had a merry 'ol time!

Josh, Cat, Lane, Lolly, Jill, Rach, Meadow and Kyle partied with us. One thing we did wrong - we cooked WAY too much meat! That just means we've got leftovers for the week though!

After the party, Grant napped again, ate dinner, then we played in the bathtub!

Grant LOVES the bathtub bubbles! I tried to take a few photos - a real risk nowadays since he splashes like a maniac in the bathtub these days. I love the shot of his little tush (splashing on his belly), his big 'ol belly and leaning over to talk to yell at me.

We're trying to get Grant to say more words. If I turn off the bubbles, he starts whining. I won't turn them back on til he says "bubble". Same thing with food - he whines when it's all gone, so we won't give him more until he says "more". As you can tell from these photos, he's onto our game.

Ice, Ice Baby

At the Gaylord Texan, there is a holiday exhibit called "ICE". This year the theme was Charlie Brown. Because we live so close, Derek has been bugging me to go. He says every time we pass it "I've never been to Ice. You won't take me." So on Friday, I took him. Our manny watched Grant and Derek and I endured the 9 degrees and enjoyed the exhibit. Derek tried to pout like Charlie Brown and Linus. I thought it was a bar and tried to order a drink.

I must say that going in the morning was the best. There was almost no line, and we got to take lots of pictures! And we went down the slide twice. I beat Derek both times.

All the kids were posing in front of the Snoopy dog house. We had to get on our knees and teach a 70 year old man how to use an iPhone, but we got our pic in the dog house too! Here we are at the end of the exhibit. ICE was very pretty, but we won't be going back until Grant is old enough to enjoy it with us!

Happy Birthday to me!!

Last weekend, I celebrated my birthday by having and recovering from shoulder surgery. Derek was kind enough to take my picture once we got home on Friday.
I was only in the sling for 1 day. My bandage was removed Monday & I started physical therapy on Tuesday. I took a few shots of my shoulder last night:
The bruise on the front of my arm is the "ugliest" part. That doesn't hurt at all and will heal very quickly. Other than that, there are 5 small incisions. My physical therapy is going well, but I'm still limited to lifting 2-5 pounds with my left arm. This means Derek is on full-time Grant duty. I must say he's doing an AMAZING job!

On Saturday (my birthday), my awesome SIL brought me cupcakes!!! They were so yummy, and it's always great to have candles and cake on your birthday.
We also took Gaumy to Olivia's 1st birthday party. We had a great time visiting with everyone. I was still hopped up on pain meds and sporting my sling. As you can see, the dads were on pool duty.

I must brag on Derek. He is taking and picking Grant up from daycare, since I can't handle the car seat right now. He has still managed to keep everything else going, too. He took his car to be inspected (and fed Grant a bottle while he was waiting). Every day when I get home, the bottles that he used that day are washed. On Wednesday when I got home from work, he'd already gone to the grocery store and made dinner. On Thursday, he stopped by my office and brought me a DELICIOUS iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts. To top it off, he's changing all the diapers. Even when I feed Grant, Derek brings him to me, then takes him from me to burp him... and all the while, he makes sure I'm taking my meds and icing my shoulder.

Speaking of Grant, here's a shot of tummy time last night. I love his expression... and Lola playing in the background!!