Happy Birthday Bauer!

Our son turned 3 on Christmas Eve!

My "New" Snowplower

My snowplower is a 1978 model, but this morning was working just like new!

We are enjoying (at least I think we are) our first big snow of the year. Too bad Ty had to go to work today. Bauer and I are held up at the house...at least until we go pick Ty up this afternoon. Thank goodness for AWD SUVs!

Year in Review

As we get closer to celebrating Christmas it's always good to have a look back over the past year to see what all we've done and accomplished.

This year Ty and I both started out with new jobs. Ty started working at the Pentagon, yes THE Pentagon, as a project manager and intelligence analyst.

I started at ExxonMobil as a Global HR Advisor in the downstream headquarters in Fairfax, VA. It's been a great experience thus far and I'm looking forward to seeing more and more of the company. My current job has afforded me the opportunity to attend training in Texas, and I enjoy seeing my family as much as I can when I'm there.

Between jobs I took two weeks off of work and flew out to see my best friend Kirsten as a surprise birthday present in January. We had a great weekend and capitalized on being together- we went to the spa, beach, and caught up on lost time!

After visiting Kirsten in southern California I headed up north for the weekend to spend some time with my good friend Christina and her family. Although it was a short trip I always enjoy hanging out with the Jones'!

When I returned home from California I attended the Texas Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball with my friend Catherine. There was great food, awesome entertainment and even a guest appearance by Denzel Washington! Shortly after my mom and granny came out for a visit. It was granny's first time flying in a very long time...and she even rode the metro in DC!

The early part of the year was filled with volleyball tournaments for me and school for Ty, along with a trip to Philly to see Ty's best friend Dave, and our friend Jacob who was in town for the weekend. We finally got to meet his wife Rachel too!

The first of April brought mom and dad Wolfe out for a visit. We did some sightseeing and went to the National Cherry Blossom Festival and Parade. It was a great week and it's always a great time of year to be outside in the DC area....everything is in bloom!

Cinco de Mayo (May 5th for you non-Spanish speakers) was a day that I'll never forget. This is the day that Ty and I found out that we were expecting our first baby! We kept it quiet for all of 5 days before we called to tell our parents and grandparents on Mother's Day. At 20 weeks we found out that we're having a little girl and it's been an exciting journey thus far. We can't wait until we meet her on or around January 12th.

In May we also celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. June had us traveling to Texas for Jenn, my good friend I grew up with, and Matt's wedding. Bauer got to go along for the ride on this trip because it had been over a year since he'd set his paws in Texas.

We traveled to Chicago for the 4th of July weekend, and spend time with our good friends Chris and Kristin touring the city. They are expecting their first baby, Baby Boy Barnes, in January too!

Late summer was filled with house projects indoors and out. We landscaped our front yard and finished up odds and ends around the house. In early September my parents came for a visit and they assisted with several items around the house too. During that trip my mom and I went shopping for and bought the new crib, changing table and dresser.

We went kayaking on the Potomac for the first time ever this year, and although it was a fun trip it was a bit too long and we were exhausted by the time we got back to the dock. My friend Thomas from grad school moved to the area and he got to go along also. It's great to have old buddies in town!

In October Ty and I took our "Babymoon" trip up to the far Northeast. We flew into New Hampshire and spent two nights in Kennebunk, Maine and two nights in Rockport, Massachusetts. During the day we explored the local coastal towns, toured area lighthouses, and of course ate more than two people should ever eat! We had delicious seafood the entire trip including my first Maine lobster. Yum.

In November I had the chance to take one last business trip to Texas and went home for the weekend prior. My mom threw a big bash which included a family baby shower and an early birthday celebration and family Thanksgiving rolled into one big party.

Ty's good friend, James Highberger, came out for a visit and the two of them caught up on laughs and "boy" time. It's been almost two years since they've seen each other so they both enjoyed hanging out with each other.

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with our good friends Emily and Michael. Thanksgiving day was also my birthday- the big three "o". It came and went without too much to do as I promised myself that I'd do a big bash next year for my 2nd annual 30th birthday!

As we round out the end of the year we have finished all of our baby classes and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little baby girl Wolfe. She has become very active in the last few weeks and we are now counting down the weeks, and soon the days until she is here.

We'll be celebrating Christmas here in Virginia this year as I am restricted from traveling and Ty has taken one for the team and will be working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so that his co-workers can spend time with their families.

We are both so very thankful to have each other, and soon, a new member of our family. 2009 has been a year of good change for us... but stability too seeing that we've never spent an entire calendar year in one house until now. Our house has become our home.

From our growing family to yours, here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Week 34!

I got all the Christmas decorations up this weekend and got a combo picture of the tree and belly.

Bauer loves his sister...

Well, Bauer loves his sister, or maybe just her room. He's getting very comfortable with pink lately, and seems to think that all this new stuff is his!

Thanks to my fabulous husband for the new Flip Video camcorder he got me for my birthday. Now I get to capture all his antics in motion.

Belly and Baby Shower

Does anyone REALLY like to take a picture of themselves at their largest? Oh well, it's for a good cause! Here's me at 33 weeks.

I can't say that I'm a big fan of me in this picture- makeup-less, tired, and in sweat pants. BUT, it makes me laugh that it captures the last four to five months perfectly! Look there, on the counter. What's that you see? Ah yes, my nemesis, Lucky Charms. I think that our little girl may come out a marshmallow seeing that this cereal has been my steady companion since early on in the 2nd trimester.
Last Friday my awesome HR contingency at work threw me and Ginger, another HR co-worker due in late December, a baby shower! They ordered a beautiful cake and we were showered with presents!

Trip to Austin

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go home before a business trip to Houston. My mom threw me a family baby shower, birthday, early Thanksgiving party.
We had a baby cake AND a birthday cake...not to mention 6 pies!

Thanks to all my family and friends, our little girl is already spoiled!

A big thank you to everyone that came over and helped me celebrate! Thanks to my mom for throwing such a huge bash!

Happy Halloween!

Bauer says "Thanks GranJan for the t-shirt, it makes me look so scary!"

Northeast

Ty and I took a babymoon up to the Northeast for a long weekend. We stayed at the oldest house in Kennebunk, Maine.

The Waldo Emerson Inn
The inn keeper recommended a scenic trip up the coast to see several of the lighthouses.
We stopped at the Lobster Shack and I tried my first lobster roll. It was delicious!
After two nights in Kennebunk, ME we headed down the coast and spent two nights in Rockport, Massachusetts. Here we are in Marblehead, MA during a day trip.
We spent the evenings walking around Rockport. This is at one of the small local beaches.

Terrible Trio

Just a couple of pics of the terrible trio that have taken over our house. We're dog sitting my friend Thomas' two dogs, Carter and Morkie.
Bauer doesn't quite know how to function with a brother and sister but I guess that this is good training for January when he becomes a big brother...and has to act accordingly.

Kayaking on the Potomac

We went kayaking on the Potomac today and man, I need a nap....and tomorrow I'm going to need a new shoulder! Five and a half hours of paddling will wear you out.

We saw a ton of cool things- Memorial and Key bridges, Georgetown on the water, the Kennedy Center, Watergate Hotel, the start of the C&O canal, the original boating club in the area and Roosevelt Island where we stopped to have lunch.
My friend Thomas just moved to the area and I talked him in to going on the trip with us. A little pre-adventure photo op at the Columbia Island Marina.

The whole crew: Josh (co-worker), Thomas (co-worker and friend from grad school), Ty and me!

Baby Belly

I've fretted over this post for a while, but I'm just going to suck it up and post it. After many requests, and much to do....here is my 22 week belly!

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

After a long weekend of working, my parents and I went to Harpers Ferry, WV for a little sight seeing.

The local train station
The town is beautiful; full of old houses and buildings.
Harpers Ferry is where Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia state lines all meet on the Shanendoah River.
We had a little lunch at a local inn
Then did a little sight seeing and shopping, of course
A day wouldn't be complete without some ice cream

The 'rents visit!

My parents came for a visit over the Labor Day weekend and we had a home improvement and baby nursery furnishing weekend. Ty and my dad worked on the house while my mom and I scoured the metro area for baby cribs.

Thanks Granny for the dresser!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the crib, bedding, and curtains!

My mom and I sewed the crib skirt to match

A big thanks to my dad who wired and installed two outside lights, put up our staircase handrails, and painted our back door! ...and thanks to Ty who installed a custom closet for the baby's room!

It's a girl!

Laying in the "hammock"
She's sucking her thumb on this one!

A close up...

Baby Wolfe

It's official, Ty and I are going to be parents. I am so excited and scared at the same time! We are officially through my first trimester and had a great doctor appointment today. We got to hear the hearbeat for the first time! I know it's just a blob, but the blob moves and has a heart beat that you can see! Here's the "little" ones first picture. Isn't s/he cute?

I'm due on January 12th...my best friend Kirsten's birthday! Her daughter was born on Ty's birthday so we're hoping that we stick to the planned schedule. I'm sure that there will be many more posts to keep you all updated on the progress. Right now, we're just trying to get used to the idea, and so far it's really growing on us!

Travel to Texas for Jenn and Matt's Wedding

This past weekend we headed back to good 'ol Texas to attend Jenn Caballero's wedding to Matt Belcik. We made it there with Bauer in tow...he didn't necessarily like the plane ride, but had a grand old time once we got there.
Jenn had her rehearsal dinner at Pappasitos (yum!). Although we didn't get any pics from the dinner, at least we got a "before" shot.

More pictures will be coming once Jenn gets her official photos, but here is the beautiful bride at the reception, held at the one and only Pfluger Hall!

Global Race for the Cure

This Saturday we walked in the Susan G. Koman Global Race for the Cure against Breast Cancer. We were on ExxonMobil's team "Fuel for the Fight" and walked with two of my co-workers Robyn and Carolyn.

Catching up...

A couple of updates since I'm playing it quiet as Ty finishes up a paper that is due tonight. Over the last couple of weeks we have been pretty low key. Highlights include:

I got a "new" car. Well, it's new to me. I said goodbye to Black Beauty and got a Mercedes! It's a ML350 and I love it. Butt warmers, auto windshield wipers, back-up sensors and numerous other random things that you really didn't know you needed until you get playing with them.

Ty is finishing up his Master's degree- last paper due tonight for this class then one more class until graduation time! Wish him luck, it's been a long time coming and he's worked really hard working full time and going to school.

USAV volleyball season came and went without much to do. We're not going to nationals this year so it was kind of a season without closure. I am still playing in leagues and a few tourneys here and there but nothing too noteworthy. I did play with my Texas A&M alumni team for the first time this past season which was good for a change 'o pace.

I'm really looking forward to Jenn Caballero's wedding in Pflugerville in June! Ty and I are going for a long weekend and it'll be good to be home for a couple of days. I'm so excited for Matt and Jenn and wish them the best- they deserve it!

We moved into this era and bought a Wii. It's fun and I'm a great golfer (if only in my head). We can now safely box it out if we have a disagreement! :)

Bauer is becoming a real big boy nowadays. He's calming down, sleeping at night, less and less accidents. All around a good boy. Oh, except he's topped 10 lbs and at his yearly checkup the vet said that he needs to slim it down. Well, don't we all!


Ah yes, our anniversary! I can't believe that we'll be celebrating our 2nd anniversary on May 26th! No big plans, just using the long weekend to enjoy each other's company.

Work around the house has been a constant since we moved in, but the exciting news is that since spring has sprung was are moving some momentum outdoors. A fence is on it's way and we're looking to get some curb appeal. Well, just a new bush or two and some simple landscaping, but it will really help out our appearance.

Work is going really well for me and Ty. We both have our days, but overall we love what we're doing and it's keeping us busy and engaged. Jordan, my buddy from grad school, will be joining ExxonMobil in a couple of weeks. Along with Jordan there is Thomas, Jason and I there. It's always a good thing to have a few buddies at work! :)

One of the best things over the past month was Ty's parents coming out to visit. Ty took time off of work, and we made the most of their time here. We did museums, restaurants, plays, and touristy things, including our first Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. It was a bit cold, but sunny thank goodness. We even went to the Old Ebbitt Grill for dinner- the place where Ty and I ate the night we got engaged. It was great to spend time with them!









Also of note- we went up to Philly to see Jacob and finally got to meet his beautiful wife! We stayed at Dave's house which is always fun with 2 dogs, 2 kiddos, and 4 adults...but this time Dave's parents were in town too! Only a couple of weekends later Dave, Rachel and Jack and Sammy came down to VA to see us. It was fun to have them here, if only for a weekend.

Ty and I, along with a number of my co-workers, will be participating in the Global Race for the Cure. Thank you to all that have donated thus far, we appreciate your support! For those that haven't, there is still time! Go to the Global Race for the Cure website and click "Donate" at the top. You can search for me and Tyler by name. We are on team "Fuel for the Fight."

Fish! Yea, we finally got fish. Ty got a fish tank for his birthday in February and after cycling the tank we were able to get some fishies. They are just another part of our growing animal family! I even got a beta fish, Harold, but he had to be on his own because he's aggressive.

Well folks, that's about all the updating and catching up I have in my at this point. Until next time!

Jonah

Yeah, yeah, it's been for-ev-er since I blogged...don't remind me.

I went to Houston for work the last two weeks and got to spend the weekend in Austin at my parents house. Abby and her little boy Jonah came to visit me while I was at home!

Sadie even got hugs from Jonah!