Moving, or as I call it, dig'n a hole to China

So obviously as he's growing he's able to show us more and more that he can move all around. Lately it's been very prominent and more consistent.

Just yesterday I was able to catch him in the act of his dig'n to china as mom likes to call it.

I have thought I have seen him out of the corner of my eye a few times, meaning seeing movement on the external part of my belly but I haven't been able to "catch him."

Yesterday morning he was on the prowl and I caught him! After catching him it was a good 10-15 minutes before he stopped and it was awesome to watch. Again this stuff is all new to me and odd that here I have been watching youtube.com videos of such things for months and yet it's happening here in my own home.

So later last night, Sean was home with me and he's was again dig'n. I caught him, and then I told Sean to watch him for a few moments and just a few short minutes later, Seans jaw was at the floor. He was like, "what just happened??"

Sean has become increasingly in love with the belly. It's a beautiful connection. He's always rubbing it, and asking what he's up to. I can't wait for Jack to arrive. 4 more months.

Jack and Christmas

The little monster or rather monkey made out pretty well this Christmas.

Jack gifted Sean with an Ergo Carrier as daddy is really wanting to carry Jack while taking Abby for her nightly walk, a very soft monkey with blankets, lots of clothing including a sun hat that he will be getting A LOT of use out of. With our stock in sunscreen this child will be white as a sheet until he's 18 :)

Also on the list was, bibs, monkey slippers, and hand crafted letters J A C K from Grandpa Steichen that we were so touched from, (We had no clue they were coming. It was just a "thought."). What else, oh yeah puzzles.

All in all Christmas treated us well. As we were reflecting at the grandparents house, this would be our last year, well, just the two of us. Next year would start the beginning of a new time for the Plunketts, running after a little one :)

I didn't take many photos but here is what I've got.

6 Month Check Up

December 17th, 2009 was my regular monthly check up. Regular vitals all came out fine with the exception of my blood pressure. For about a year now my BP has been reading 110/70, but for this visit I was running very low. Low being 98/56. The doctor says that everything is fine and they would be only get concerned if it got TOO low or TOO high. I'm still within an ok range.

The babies heart beat was also within normal about 156 and I was measuring at 24 inches, just on target, literally.

Maternity Leave

Yes it's that time to start thinking about all of that. I contacted my HR department and obtained all the paperwork. It's quite a packet. After carefully reviewing everything and talking with several friends about what they did, I think we figured it out and boy did this take some time to think about.

I will attempt to take 4 weeks off prior to birth to get the house ready, relax, be bored, attend doctors appointments and so on.

After birth I will then take off 12 weeks (3 months).

I will not be using any of my sick or vacation time to add additional time to my leave time b/c I want to save it for any "Uh oh's" that might come up with child care.

As for Sean, he also finalized his schedule too. I'm so glad he got that all squared away. It's one last thing I have to think about and can focus on something else.

Sean will spend the first 2 weeks of my leave after birth with me at home to get my legs back and help out. After that he will return back to work until my leave time is up, and then he will come back out on leave for an additional two weeks to take care of Jack while I adjust to going back to work, and then Jack will officially enter day care come mid July.

Hopefully we chose correctly. Only time will tell b/c it's all set up ready for Jack to arrive now :)

Thank you Mercury

At my company Mercury Insurance, we have the opportunity to earn awards and in turn, cash those in on a website for prizes. I have been doing pretty well with getting the occasional award here and there and took a look at the website for what I could cash in for.

The items range from small stocking stuffer items worth only a few dollars, to patio sets, bbq's, tv's, ipods and so on.

I had a fair amount of point and was just looking to look since it was Christmas time to see if any of the gifts would fit my christmas shopping list.

I quickly came across a white toy chest. I got to thinking...well maybe our little Jack might need something like this.

So I thought about it for a few days as I had to find a home to place this item and found that the closet or under the window would be a good fit and I went ahead and ordered it.

Today it arrived and my goodness was it heavy. I was expecting it to be put together, but naw! That would be too simple. Sean drug the box inside and I put it together tonight. It's very nice considering it was non-name brand item. It see us having it for many years. Yes it's white, and yes it's not a home made creation, but it's free, it has a bench that you can sit on, and it holds lots of toys.

Photos to come later :)

A Little Bit of Seans Gram

Just a few shorts week ago, Grandma Gail presented us with a little gift that she found in her garage. It was a needlepoint that was made by Seans Gram who has since passed away, before the boys were born.

The needlepoint needed a little TLC such as a new matte and a frame.

After a few attempts to price compare at Michaels (thank goodness for a very nice man at Michaels...I was at first in sticker shock for a custom frame but then we figured out something as an alternative) we used the old brown matte, and had a nice blue matte made and used a pre made frame.

I do have to say it turned out VERY nice! And the extra added bonus is that it's done in all the same colors as the nursery.

The needlepoint reads:

Tucked beneath my covers tight
I place my fuzzy bear at night
But somehow when I'm fast asleep
My teddy always seems to creep

I always put my bear in place
So we are sleeping face to face
But my silly bear instead
Sleeps by my feed and not my head


This week I had a little plate made for the back, so when our kids grow up we are able to pass it down to Seans brothers.

What a nice little remembrance of Gram :)

Our "Black Friday" Addition

So as an early baby shower gift my lovely mother in law has gifted us and baby Jack a glider and ottoman for those cuddle times, and middle of the night breastfeeding sessions.

I was told by a friend that her last years black Friday find was at Babies R Us and it was a glider for 50% off. I kept this in the back of my head all year long. Long behold, yup, once again, they released a glider. Not only was it 1, but there were 3 styles to pick from.

So at the crack of dawn, 4:30am, Gail and I were waiting in line to make sure that we got one.

It arrived today and I put it together :) Doesn't it look so pretty!?! Don't mind the messy room behind it,...we're still trying to get rid of a GIANT TV, and find a new home for our computer.

I do have a funny story though. While putting the arms on, I looked at the rocker and it looked quite funny. I read all the directions and the arms were labeled left and right. Nope, they were totally backwards!!!! The ding dong company put the labels on backwards. So I had to take them off and 5 minutes later, vwola! It was done.

Thanks Grandma Gail!!

B squared

So in the midst of this pregnancy I seem to have totally lost my brain as you know. Traveling for no particular reason to odd locations and not even know it, placing weird things into the fridge and totally forgetting my train of thought, Sean has now given me a new nick name and I'm actually kinda fond of it.

"B Squared."

You know the big B with the little 2 on the upper right.

Jack has sucked up every last ounce of my memory. :) I'm glad it's going to him though.