Baby it's COLD outside!

BABY it's COLD outside!

We got a cold front here in the Pacific Northwest - it started last week and has lasted another week or so. It's 20 degrees outside right now and everything is covered with snow! The news is referring to this as "Arctic blast", the worst snow we've had here since 2004.

We bundled Alex up the other day and got out of the house for a little while...OK, so maye he's TOO bundled up. Doesn't he remind of you of that kid, Ralphie's brother, in the movie "Christmas Story"? Alex is now 3 months old, and he loves to play and smile.

Here's a few more photos of him playing - and playing with daddy, too!

Almost 3 months old!

Alex will be 3 months old on Dec. 17th -- it's hard to believe! He is starting to drool now (yuck! but cute at the same time) and wants to put things in his mouth. And he "talks" to us now - or at least we think he's trying to. He mostly just 'oohs and aahs' to us. He looks more and more like his daddy every day.
This is a post-bath time photo of Alex in his Pooh bear suit...TOO CUTE!

This is daddy and Alex watching TV together. (the smut on the TV is actually a commercial...)

Baby's First Thanksgiving

It was Alexander's first Thanksgiving...we had a great holiday celebration with our friends in Hood River. Art made fabulous tasting stuffed mushroom appetizers. Go daddy chef!

This photo says it all.

Future Texas A&M Aggie

GIG 'EM AGGIES!!!

Some good friends of ours, Kenneth and Carol out in Edna, Texas, bought some Texas A&M college gear for Alex...I couldn't resist putting him in the bib and booties. They even got him a little football jersey and onesie he'll have to grow into them though. ;-)

Almost a smile...

Alex is a happy baby and a smiling machine, we get a bunch of smiles out of him each day - but of course he's shy when he is being videotaped!

Slinging around

I just love toting Alex around the house in this Ezee sling that Tita (Aunt) Amylisa bought for us - it's the best! Alex will suck on his little binkie pacifier while he's in it and fall asleep. I can't help but wonder - is this what kangaroos feel like?

Family portrait

Alex is 7 weeks in this photo...

Baby's first Halloween

Yes, we had to post the gratuitous photos of Alex posed next to pumpkins for his first Halloween! Auntie (Tita) Amylisa bough Alex a onesie that said "MyFirst Halloween" on it - too cute! And Grandma Irving bought him a cute little pumkin hat and Auntie Elizabeth bought him socks that said "Halloween" on them. He'll look back on these photos some day I am sure ask us what we were thinking...I am thinking he is just too cute!

Six weeks on the Planet...

Yep! Alex is now six weeks old - and we LOVE to see him smile! He is starting to "talk" (well, it's actually just coo-ing and aahhing) And he's still only sleeping every 3 hours between feedings in the night. ;-) Here's a few photos...

WhaZZUP?

First doctor visit & bath

Alexander had his first visit to the pediatrician today - he now weighs 7 lbs. 13 ounces. He is 20 3/4" inches long. He did great, despite the poking and proding. Alex is really strong, too - the doctor held him up and he lifted his head and body up at the same time. She said most babies can't do that yet at his age I guess...? He likes to kick his feet now. I think he just discovered his legs are attached to his body. :-)

Also, yesterday was his first "real bath" since the umbilical cord came off - he really seemed to like it. Lola (that's a tagalog word for "Grandma") Delia and I bathed him, and he was so good, he didn't fuss at all. Except for the initial dip in the water that had turned cold while we had undressed him...but we warmed it up right away.

BABY ARRIVAL

We meant to post this on September 17th...

After 12 hours of labor at home, 9 hours of labor at the hospital and a precautionary c-section; Keri and I are excited to announce the arrival of................

Alexander Roger Estrada

We were blessed with the birth of our healthy baby boy at 1:40 AM on 9/17.
Alexander(Alex) and Keri also share the same birthday!
He is 19 1/2" long and weighs 7 lbs 5 oz.
Both he and Mom are doing well and enjoying some well deserved sleep.

Waiting...and waiting...

For Baby Estrada...we are trying to be patient but it's hard. But it's a full moon Monday night. We'll see what happens.
I went to the doctor Friday, Sept. 12th and she put me on modified bed rest because of my blood pressure (been having problems with it for a few weeks). Plus my feet and hands swell up like hot dogs every day. I haven't been diagnosed yet with pre-eclampsia but they are just being cautious. So I officially can't go to work anymore, and no more long shopping trips at the mall(darn!). So I am now relegated to surfing the net, catching up on football and maybe taking up knitting.

I have been having some contractions though, which is good - just not strong enough yet. So we'll keep you all posted!!

Countdown to Baby Estrada

13 days and counting...! The baby-to-be is doing well, his/her heart rate is good, I measured 38 inches today (at 38 weeks). And I only gained a 1/2 lb. since my last appointment (the dr. said that's good since it;s all baby weight now). The baby kicks and movements are fun to watch and uncomfortable at the same time. And I am getting Braxton Hicks contractions every once in a while each day. Youchers!

We had a doctor appointment today with Dr. Fox - she's the coolest M.D., Art laughed today because she actually said that newborn binkies were "the bomb", and that she had tons of them at home for her own newborn. I hope she can deliver the baby - I really like her a lot. And I had my run of doctor's while she was out on her maternity leave.

We are so ready for this baby! Not only am I physically ready (I can't lie, I am tired of being pregnant...) but we have so much baby stuff now it's not even funny. We just need this bambino to come!

Gratuitous Belly Shots

Here's some photos of the belly action...35 weeks and only 5 weeks to go! Holy big belly batman!

Baby Bumpin'

Art and I bumpin' bellies (this photo was taken on July 20th). Art is such a stud.
Yeah, I know...my hair is not looking sexy in this photo. Well, I am now 34 weeks along. Only about six more weeks until "B" day. Art laughs at me because the first thing I do when I get home is change into a pair of his boxers. They're comfy.

The Baby Shower!

My friends/co-workers at OCP threw us a stellar baby bash...it was a co-partner baby shower, my friend Lora at work is also expecting so we had one heck of a get together. Both our hubbies were on hand for the festivities. It was so cute, they even made "Daddy Tool Belts" for them both to wear - complete with hand sanitizer and eye goggles! And they made us an awesome video of people giving us their "Parenting and Baby advice" - classic!

Rollin' with Strollers...

Our friends Jon and Lisa surprised us with this present yesterday. A new stroller that we had registered for! Art might be mad if I told people this, but it took him over an hour to figure out how to put this stroller together and how it works... :-)

The Baby Nursery

So we decided to paint and put up a border in the baby's room -

here's some pics of the final project!

Preggers product model

Check it...me modeling the finest in pregnancy schwag.

Makin' Baby...Furniture, that is.

Art (with my occasional help screwing in stuff) put together the baby crib and changer/dresser this weekend. The photos say it all.

The final product...done at last!

It's A Dog's Life...

We are dog sitting for our friends this weekend, so we have four dogs in the house right now.

This has nothing to do with the baby. I just thought it was funny.

That Depends...

That's actually a play on words. Because I am almost at the point that I need Depends right now. I can't sneeze without practically peeing my pants. What the hell?!? If someone told me I'd have the bladder of an 80-year old woman while I was pregnant I would've thought twice about signing up for this gig. Well...maybe.

Birthing Class

This is a photo of Art demonstrating his manhood while wearing a pregnancy "sympathy suit" as part of the birthing class we took this weekend. We have video too. Classic!

Fat Albert

Hey, hey, hey...! (those of you that don't get the reference think of the cartoon series circa 1970's) This is a recent photo of the growing baby bump at 24 weeks...don't I look happy?

Wonderboy and his beaver...

Art surprised me this morning for Mother's Day with this present...it's a baby carrier/pack thingee for the baby. He was so cute, he even modeled with a "stunt" baby (a.k.a. the beaver)
Hope you laugh at this picture as much as I did.

Second Ultrasound - boy or girl?

So we had our second ultrasound back on May 6th...and NO. We didn't find out if it's a Harry or Sally. But be the judge for youself. Art's mom swears there's something in between the legs in this ultrasound pic (click here for an enlarged photo).

Is it cramps...?

Well it sure as hell feels like it!

As of today I am 17 weeks and 1 day. Baby Estrada is growing inside me and it feels like my lower abdomen is about to explode. For all you guys out there that drink one too many beer bongs at a party - that's what it feels like. It adds to the super crank (a.k.a. super-uber cranky attitude)

We had a little birthday shindig thingee at work today and they had champagne there. I think I drooled on myself watching people drink it. I told Art I want to have mimosas waiting for me after I give birth. He thinks I'm kidding...I'm not.

We bought a new 2008 Honda Pilot this past weekend, we are slowly becoming the epitome of a yuppie family. But it's a cool car, and safe. I really like driving it. Plus it has third row seating, in case we decide we want to procreate our own soccer or baseball team or something.

Morning sickness saga continues...

Yes, it's pretty bad. I churp about every other day, especially in the mornings. What the hell?!?
Who signed me up for this anyways...? Art saw me hanging my head over the toilet today and gave me a big hug. Awwww.

Art was so thoughtful and bought me a gift certificate at a maternity boutique, and I went shopping there on Good Friday with a friend from work. HOLY COW! Those clothes were freakin' expensive! I spent $250 and only got a skirt and a pair of capris. But they are wicked cute. If I have to be fat, at least I can look cute.

Our 18-week appointment is coming up soon in April, we can find out if it's a boy or a girl but we're not going to. It's better if it's a surprise!

First Ultrasound of the Baby

We had our 13 week ultrasound today...it was amazing! "Daddy" went with me to the doctor and he kept pointing at the screen and making me laugh while the tech was trying to squish around that instrument thingee on my belly. We saw it moving around, and the heartbeat was fast (but normal). It's freaking unbelieveable.

We feel so blessed!

This is the baby's profile from the side.



This is the baby's "face". Eeek! ALIEN BABY!!
hee hee

You can see the baby's hands in this ultrasound photo ...

Cranky, Super Cranky

Yes...that's what Art would say about me right now. It's true - I get really cranky now sometimes, without any reason. Well, it could be that I am still dealing with that chest cold thing that's been going around and I just don't feel good all the time. I dunno. But he's a good man for putting up with me. :-)

Baby news today? Hmmm...not a whole lot to say but I am looking forward to my ultrasound tomorrow.

BTW - for those of you not pregnant, they don't do ultrasounds on the belly until you're actually showing (after 16 weeks or so?) So just imagine how else they get that ultrasound done? Yeah. Not pretty.

This is the site for the latest news and web postings for Baby Estrada - the new adventure in Art and Keri's lives. We know this is just the beginning of many new experiences for us and we're both thrilled!

As of March 8th, I am about 12 weeks pregnant. I'll begin my 13th week (2nd trimester) next week.

I've been reading WEWE (What to Expect When Expecting) and while some of the information in the book can be a little scary, it's mostly good to know info.

I should mention that at our first doctor appointment last month or so, the nurse practitioner found out Art was an Aggie. And she is a Univeristy of Texas Longhorn. So the jabs were flying during that appointment. It was quite funny. And when I went to the same doctor's office this week for a follow-up appointment, Rebecca (the nurse practitioner) made another jab at Art by writing "Hook Em Horns" on our paperwork. Too much.