2 Month Mark!

Our daughter is due 2 months from today!

The time is flying by and I know she will be here before we know it.  All is well on in the Gould household this beautiful Saturday morning.  Meg is getting ready and I am hanging out with our pup, just enjoying the stillness that the morning brings.

Doctor's visit on Thursday went great, Meg is growing at spot on marks and both her and our daughter have very strong heart beats.  We are down to just a few "necessities" left on our must buy list- They include a car seat, a Snap-N-Go stroller and a diaper disposal system of some kind.  My cousin Anna left some great advice about the Diaper Genie Elite or Diaper Champ (Not to be confused with the Original Diaper Genie or Diaper Genie II!!) Thanks Cuz!  The multi-billion dollar baby industry is an overwhelming adventure that Meg and I have navigated well to this point, but boy are their choices about everything!

The morning is starting to pick up with activity and we will be out and about shortly- I hope this post finds everyone enjoying some peaceful rest and relaxation. We miss our families daily, but know that we will see you all soon (Some sooner than others!). 

Here's strider soaking in the rays:

Love, 

The Goulds

North Carolina is far away!

Chris is traveling for work for the next few days in North Carolina and I can't believe how much I miss him already!  I am so glad that his job doesn't require much traveling.  So Strider and I are doing fine I just wish he was as good at helping me off the couch as Chris is!

Little Baby Gould is doing well and is growing and growing and incidently sucking away all of her Mama's energy and back strength.  I get home from work and by the time we are all set to have an evening together, I can barely keep my eyes open.  Other than that the 3rd trimester is treating us pretty well.  My aches and pains are managable and I am so looking forward to the end of school so I can get some real rest and take care of myself and my family a little better. 

Just a few pictures from the last couple years of my dear husband that I am missing so much over here in California.  May the next few days zoom by!

 

guest post....

"Shhh... I got them fooled... I sleep in their bed all day and then when they get home I sneak out and pretend that I've been sleeping on the rug all day.  Pretty sneaky I know - but don't tell, I've got a good thing going here." - Strider

Sneak Peak!

We had a doctor's appointment earlier this week and got to see our little girl swimming around.  It always takes my breath away that we can see so much and that the heartbeat sounds so clear.  We also got the treat of getting some 4D pictures of her.  We could see facial expressions and fingers and her little bony knee moving up to her chest - just unbelievable.  I know we're the parents and of course we would say this, but she is so beautiful and her little face is so expressive and cute even now!  AND, she gets to have 3 more months of beauty rest so she is only going to get prettier!  You can see that she has big eyes like both Chris and me and she seems to have a little pouty lip which you know only will allow her to get anything from her Daddy.

I can't stop looking at these pictures and thinking "well there you are..."  I just can't believe that this little being with her little furrowed brow is inside of me and I carry her around wherever I go.  This little person with her own little thoughts and feelings is growing with me. 

Chris of course says that  she looks like me,

but really....

Daddy's girl for sure...

There's really no denying it.

Babies R Us is a dangerous place...

Babies R Us has always held an unknown value in my mind...Of course, growing up a toy crazed boy, Toys R Us made complete sense.  Who wouldn't want unlimited toys and all the newest gadgets located in the same place? But Babies R Us seemed an oddity- How many baby products could you possibly fit into a single store before over saturation would occur? Well let me tell you my friend, I have seen the light, and the light feels so good....

I find myself gravitating towards all things pink- I want to meet the marketing designers of Babies R Us and hug them for their overwhelmingly amazing layout and then slap them for making me want every product so badly. Every product has 4 components required to make it "perfect",  every component comes in 4 different colors.  Once the selection has been made, you realize that this is a product good for 2 months of your child's life...Then you have to move up from newborn size to 0-3 month old size (And yes, there are weight and length differences between newborn and 0-3 month old).  But when you step back and look at how damn cute this stuff is, it doesn't matter the cost or the color or the need to upgrade soon, all you know is that your daughter will ROCK this look...

We went on a mini buying spree today- Started the day at Torrance bakery, our favorite new local cafe to get a quick bite to eat and then we were off!  Target first "Just for ideas", which as we all know is a complete lie.  Every trip to Target results in multiple purchases, 90% of which were not the initial reason for the trip, but were just too damn cute/cheap/absolutely necessary to pass up.  We stocked up on newborn diapers and some really cute sleepers.  Anyone who knows of my mathematical numbers obsession will appreciate that I have reverted to calculating cost per diaper (very Rainman-esk) to purchase in bulk.  Scored big today:

168 diapers...Should last us at least a week...We shall see!

Target also had our daughter's new tub, which fits perfectly in our kitchen sink and is as pink as can be:

From there it was on to Babies R Us and the amazement that can be found within.  We initially started the day with the intention of comparing car seats and the realm of possibilities that exist when attempting to purchase a car seat/stroller combo, but those efforts were quickly abandoned for the more immediate payoff of sleepers such as this:

A pink hamper was purchased for those times when the diaper doesn't quite catch everything- We were told a hamper with a lid was a necessity-

The next major decision: Diaper Genie vs. other brand versions of "Diaper Genie" vs. well sealing garbage cans.
We have heard great pros and cons on both sides of this debate- please feel free to put your 2 cents in! 

No matter what we dress her in or let her play with, I am comforted by the fact that she's got these genes in her makeup:

Love to all- Less than 3 months and counting!

-Chris