On the 12th day of Christmas...

3 puppies snuggling, 2 parents napping and a baby kicking me constantly :) That's been our Christmas day so far! Today we've enjoyed pancakes and sausage and lounging around on the couch - we haven't even opened gifts yet :)  We both know that next year will be a totally different story.  

We went to Christmas Eve service last night and enjoyed some great Christmas carols and seeing (and hearing) at least a hundred kids hyped up on pre-Christmas adrenaline and sugar :)  Eric and I had to laugh, our lives are about to change dramatically!

I have to say one of my favorite things is to sit on my couch on a Saturday morning, with a good book, a cup of coffee (decaf for the last several months) and my puppies curled around me. I know that these days will be few and far between after Owen comes, so I'm soaking up every last one I can.

Since this blog is called "3 dogs and a Baby" I thought it fitting to spend a few minutes talking about the 3 pups that have been our "children" thus far. We have two chihuahuas - Sophie and Sebastian - that I brought to the marriage with me.  Eric was skeptical of them at first, but Sophie is now firmly "daddy's dog" and he often admits how much he'll miss her when she's gone. For Valentine's Day in 2008 we got a "big dog" for Eric.  Shady is part german shepherd, part golden retriever and too sweet.  She's still pretty energetic and gets into trouble on a regular basis, but we love her.  I have very fond memories of our german shepherd Heidi and I can't wait for her and Owen to be great friends when he gets older.

So here are a few pics of the pups.  Merry Christmas from the Oslunds!

 

 

Holiday Plans

One of the best things about working for Texas A&M is the holiday break.  I'll be off from Dec. 23rd until January 4th and not have to take any vacation days!  Usually Eric and I spend this time either with my family in Amarillo or his in California, but this year we're going to hang around College Station and relish one of the last times we'll be alone (at least for the next 18 years or so).

We will miss our family, but we're excited about starting our own Christmas traditions and taking a "babymoon" down to Houston the week before New Years.  We've booked a room at the Hotel Icon in downtown Houston and already have tickets to a theater production the first night we arrive.  We're planning on spending an afternoon in Galveston, checking out the local museums and doing some shopping for Owen while we're there.

Luckily we'll be able to see our families in January when they come down for the baby shower, but we're both excited about this first (and last) holiday "on our own."  If you have any holiday traditions you love or ideas on what to do in Houston, we'd love to hear about them. Merry Christmas from the Oslunds!

28 weeks

If I remember correctly this is the name of a zombie/horror flick.  Thankfully I'm not in that bad of shape yet...although a man at work stopped me in the hall and told me about how ugly his wife got when she was she was pregnant - I hope he wasn't making a comparison.

So far my biggest complaints are my ankles swelling.  I've had a little back pain, but nothing bad yet. Most people can't even tell I'm pregnant when I'm sitting down.  When I stand up it's very obvious and I've been getting lots of comments at work.  Most are nice, although some, like the man above, are a little bizarre.

Here is a picture from the past week for those of you who want to see how the baby bump is progressing :)

The Furniture has Arrived

Eric and I picked out our crib, dresser and glider last week while we were in Abilene.  We got a great deal at a cute store called Kid Village.  They were selling the floor models and gave us 20% off the sale price.  That combined with a discount on the glider (very cute, dark brown upholstered) and a free boppy made for a very happy mommy-to-be and a daddy who was very proud of the deal he negotiated.

We couldn't fit the furniture in our car, but luckily my uncle was able to bring it to us this weekend on his way to Houston.  I'm so excited to start getting everything set up and can't wait to start making the bedding.  We'll post more pictures once the nursery is complete, but here's a shot of the crib we picked out.

Getting ready for Labor ?!?!

Tonight Eric and I went to our 5th Bradley Method class.  For those of you who don't know, we are going to attempt to have this baby naturally (no I'm not crazy and yes I know that it's going to hurt).  The Bradley Method is also referred to as "husband coached childbirth," so Eric comes with me to classes every Sunday afternoon. In yesterday's class we had a first-stage labor rehearsal. The mommies laid on their sides in our relaxation pose and tried to relax through a series of 60-second contractions.  The contractions were mimicked by submerging our hand in a bowl of freezing ice water - much more painful than it sounds. 

The 1st contraction we had to relax by ourselves - very difficult . For the 2nd contraction the coach was allowed to tell us how much time we had left, on the 3rd he was allowed to touch and massage us and for the 4th he could add words of encouragement and instructions on relaxing. It was amazing how much easier it was to relax when your husband was able to really help you.

On a side note - Eric got reprimanded by the teacher for making me laugh.  When he was able to speak, he told me to imagine swimming in icy cold water which caused me and the mom and coach next to us to burst out laughing.  Eric thought he was pretty clever, but the teacher was not impressed with our relaxation for that contraction.

Then we got to switch positions :)  Eric couldn't keep his hand in the water the first few contractions, but he could also agree that my "help" really made relaxing easier. I think the whole process made an impression on him.  He commented to me last night about how nervous he was about labor.  He just assumed that it would be similar to what you see in the movies, but realizing that he's going to have to watch me go through pain for hours at a time is going to be really hard for a man who wants to "fix" everything.

My third trimester began today.  We have 13 weeks or so until the "big" day arrives.  And although we're both nervous about what will happen on Owen's birthday, I'm very thankful we have these classes to prepare both Eric and myself and that he's going to be by my side helping me through whatever happens.

Surfs Up!

This weekend two wonderful ladies I work with spent quite a few hours helping me scout out decor and bedding for Owen's room.  I had zero luck finding cute, pre-made "surfer" bedding online and was a little anxious about finding something that would be "just right."

Earlier in the week Eric had stumbled across a poster at Hobby Lobby he really liked and this became our inspiration.  After looking at several stores we ran across some great options at Target.  The only hitch - it was "adult" bedding, not kid-sized. Luckily one of the ladies I was with is a fantastic artist and really enjoys sewing and craft projects.  She assured me that we could make a baby quilt and crib bumper out of the adult quilt without much problem.  Success!

With the all important bedding question solved it was on to accent colors and the accessories for the room.  Thus far most of it is living in our heads, but I'm so excited about the cute and colorful room we're designing for Owen.  We're sticking with blues and turquoise as the main colors - with punches of apple green and bright orange accents. We're going to be making quite a few things ourselves - beside the bedding we have plans for a pillow, curtains, possibly a lamp shade and some really neat wall decor ideas.

I'll have to leave you in suspense as to the details - it would be hard to put down in words.  But hopefully between now and Christmas we'll make some progress and I'll be able to post our results on the blog. 

Below is the poster that was our inspiration, and few swatches of fabrics we're planning on using in the room.  The rest will all be revealed in time :)

Now on to the Nursery!

For those of you who don't know we've chosen a beach, "surfer" theme for Owen's room.  Even though the boy is stuck in Texas, doesn't mean he can't experience some of his SoCal roots :)

Apparently surfer themes aren't very common and I'm having a hard time finding things for the room.  Luckily I have some great friends who are willing to help me scout out some possibilities.  If you run across anything surferesque send me a link!

Owen Lars

We're having a boy!  Owen Lars (named after his grandfather, great grandfather and daddy) is due March 8th.  He's a busy boy, moving and kicking constantly - reminding his mommy that he's here.  He's also big for his age.  At 24 weeks the ultrasound tech put his weight at 2 pounds and he was measuring about 10 days ahead of schedule.  We are so excited about our son and are getting ready to start planning the nursery.

Here's a shot of Owen at 12 weeks and another at 24 weeks.

Update

As I'm rapidly nearing the end of my 25th week, I thought I'd take a moment and chronicle the few pictures we have up to this point.

I'll be the first to admit that Eric and I are horrible at taking photos (I think we took maybe 7 during our entire honeymoon). This experience has been no different. Here are my "weekly" baby bump shots - or at least the three we've managed to take so far.

The first is at 17 weeks - I had just got back from my 30th Birthday weekend girls trip and I was just starting to show (I also felt Owen for the first time that morning). The next is at 20 weeks, I was carrying really low and just felt like I looked fat.  The last one is 24 weeks - I definitely look pregnant now and have started getting comments at work.