Rocking and Rolling (and Kicking and Jabbing)

Hey ya'll! Boy, time flies when you're having fun - and when you're running after a very active 2 1/2 year old. Here we go again with a couple of weeks passing between blog posts - I've decided not to hand out the same tired excuses but to just jump right into things.

We had a wonderful Christmas - actually, it was more like 3 Christmas celebrations with different parts of our extended family. Alexandra thinks Christmas is an ongoing event - she asked me this past Sunday who was coming to visit her next and would they be bringing presents? Oh, and the little princess is still singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and talking about Mrs. Claus, too (because we are equal opportunists around here!). Seriously, she had a fantastic Christmas and received LOTS of wonderful presents - our families are entirely too generous (and Santa was generous to all of us, I might add!).

We're really moving along with Alexandra's big girl room, I can't wait to share pictures of the finished product! We move her into the big girl bed this weekend, and I must admit I'm nervous about it. While adventurous during waking hours, Alexandra has always been happily confined to her crib, never once trying to jump out during the wee morning hours. I'm a little worried that the big girl bed might be too much for her - namely, too big and unconfined. Moms of toddlers before me, do you have any words of wisdom to help us in making this transition as smooth as possible?

Wondering what the title to this blog post is referring to? Well, that would be the little man in my stomach, who happens to be 32 weeks along tomorrow. I can hardly believe we are 7 weeks away - this pregnancy has flown by, probably because I'm so busy with work and chasing after Alexandra. I hope the next several weeks go by fast as well, because I'm tired of not being able to bend over and put on my shoes. :) Seriously, I require assistance with donning/doffing all footwear and pants right now. Thankfully, my husband is always willing to help me in getting ready in the mornings! The little guy still doesn't have a name - we've narrowed it down to 6 (!!!) with Ryan and I both having favorites. We will probably just wait till we see his sweet face to make a decision as to which name suits him best (much to the chagrin of the inquiring minds of our family and friends who have been on baby name watch for months!). He moves alot, but unlike Alexandra - who was more of a kicker and jabber - baby boy likes to do full body rolls. This is something I didn't expect at this point in gestation as I figured he was getting a little too big for that. We were watching Inception on Saturday night when I felt this immense pressure under my right rib cage. I looked down and laughed because he had obviously rolled and was wedged up on my right side, as the right side of my abdomen stuck out twice as much as the left side! I love the kicks, jabs, pokes, prods and rolls - such a neat experience, one I know I will surely miss as this will be our last pregnancy.

Finally, thoughts on the new year - 2010 was an adventure, and I'm fairly certain 2011 will be a complete roller coaster ride what with the addition to our family. I'm not one to make new year resolutions, but there are a few things I'd like to aspire to this coming year:

(1) Slow down and savor all the little moments that I would miss if I'm stuck to my iPhone, or laptop, or Kindle, or any other form of electronic gadgetry for that matter.

(2) Really learn all the ins and outs of my DSLR and take pictures more regularly. I've really slacked off with my picture taking the past few months, and I believe that is because I'm frustrated with the quality of my photographs. Maybe trying to find time to attend a photography class could be a goal?

(3) Speaking of photography, I'd love to take and post at least one picture a week. While Project 365 sounds fantastic, I just don't think it is realistic for moi to take at least one picture daily, but one a week should be realistic.

(4) Not be so hard on myself, realizing I am not Wonder Woman and THAT IS OKAY. It is impossible to be the perfect wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, attorney, blogger, etc. - I cannot be everything to everyone and also lose myself in the process. I will try my darnedest to be everything I can to those I love, but also I will try to realize that no one expects perfection and it is an unattainable goal anyway.

(5) The last one is to get in better shape after little guy is born. I'm not going to set some goal for myself as to a certain number of pounds because I think that is a recipe for disaster, but I think a general plan to improve my physical health and well being is a good and realistic approach (and if I just so happen to lose a few lbs along the way, added bonus!).

Will try to post again very soon and include pictures - no one likes to read pictureless posts!