More stuff from Iraq…Yes, I know it was a long time ago
It’s been about 18 months since I got back from Iraq. I spent a little time going through some of my images for the first time since I filled them way back then. There are many reasons I haven’t looked at them…and I may talk about them later. For now, here are a few more photos that have never seen the light of day.
Nesting is getting crazy
My coworker and friend Jessica helped us get Baby B’s room ready by painting this Curious George mural for us while we were on vacation. The room was already yellow…but now it has flare! Work and getting the backyard finished has been keeping us busy. We hope to have all the landscaping finished in the next week or so and then we can just work on the flower beds and the vegetable garden. I can’t wait to get the large pile of dirt out of the yard so it looks like a yard gain. 🙂
Photos from the Holy Land…and a few others
I finished editing my still photos yesterday so I thought I would add them here. Ingrid is working on her images and will add a gallery of her selects down the road. I’m still working a on the video and it may take a little while. Jet lag has been kicking our butts since we have been home, so sleep comes at odd hours…making any progress on the video slow.
Made it home…
We are in the process of editing the photos from the trip but I finished a batch this morning so I thought I would put them up. I’m also working on a full blog post detailing our adventures a bit, but that may take a week or so since we head back to work on Monday. Until then, enjoy!
Is-real … in Israel
After many hours crammed into a small aircraft, we made it to Israel and are getting ready to enjoy our first full day in Tel Aviv and the port city of Jaffa.
Below are some more photos from the journey.
We’ll post more later.
IB
UPDATE: We spent the day shopping and drinking coffee in Tel Aviv with Ed and Yael. We also made plans to head north in the morning for a few days (Towards the Sea of Galilee) and then south for a few days to Petra. I’ve added a few more photos from Jaffa and we’ll be in touch as we begin to move outside of the Tel Aviv area.
Baby stuff and meatballs!
My sister, Laura, called yesterday and asked if Ingrid and I wanted to join her for a quick trip to Ikea and maybe some meatballs, too. We ate first, since we were all fresh off of work, then we looked at a few things and bought a reading lamp. It feels like most of our time was spent checking out baby stuff. We didn’t buy anything on this trip but there might be something in our future.
The further we get into the pregnancy the harder it is not to buy some stuff. Our strategy has been not to buy anything until after the shower, especially the cute little stuff. But it isn’t easy.
Not knowing the baby’s gender is helping us stay away from random stuff a little. On this trip, for instance, we found all sorts of stuff, most of it was kitchen or tool related. (Not sure what to do with that. If we have a girl, I’d like her to know more than I do about mechanical stuff and should we have a boy, I hope he knows how to handle himself around a stove.) So we sit here, night after night, looking up stuff on craigslist or clicking through websites inspecting all the cute stuff and wondering when we get to buy something.
The truth of the matter is that I’m a little afraid that once we start buying stuff there will be no end to it. And frankly, our house isn’t that big! I’ve heard from friends that I am not prepared for the metric-ton of kid crap that we will pick up. And honestly, I’m a little nervous. I’m sure there are some social norms that keep average families form becoming hoarders as they work there way through this process, but I’ve never really thought either of us was normal. So, we need to be careful.
Remembering dad on Vashon Island
My father died a year ago today. We decided to remember him by heading out to Vashon, a place rich with Barrentine history. (Even if we can’t find too much of it.) We visited the lighthouse at Point Robinson, got coffee and drove around a bit stopping at the the tree that ate a bike, found stones dad and Michelle bought in our names at the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Museum and caught up with Mike and Mary for dinner at the Vashon Hardware Store. (Which used to be owned by the Barrentines.)
We shared some stories and talked about dad throughout the day. But mostly, we were just together. I don’t think that anything we did today was that important, but doing it was. It was Ingrid’s good idea to go out to the island and it turned out to be a good way to spend this day.
Date nights have changed :)
I’m guessing there won’t be many more date nights for just the two of us. The changes have already started. Tonight we had soup at home and then headed to Starbucks for a treat and some coffee. Then we headed to Babies R Us to dip our toes in to the world of baby stuff. We checked out strollers, rockers, cribs, changing tables, cabinet locks and more little clothes than I can shake a stick at. I can’t speak for Ingrid, but I was a little overwhelmed. We may have to buy a bigger house!
Baby B’s room… a work in progress
Ingrid and I spent some time yesterday cleaning out closets and getting Baby B’s room ready for the influx of “stuff” I have been told to expect. I’m new to this business, but I have heard that there may be more involved than a crib and a car seat. I’ll let you know how that goes as we move through this process. This weekend’s goal was getting the room and closet (and therefore our closets) cleared out.
Ingrid lead the way on this and I helped as much as I could (an admittedly poor level of assistance) but we did get most of it finished. I’m not sure what we have shared with you all yet, but we’ve decided that the room will have a Curious George theme. My mom fired the firs salvo in the “stuff” war with this stuffed animal. I like it so much we may have to get another for Baby B! I’ll try and update the room photo as we get it together.
JB
Thoughts on being pregnant
At 12 weeks along to the casual observer, I don’t look very pregnant. But as Joe can testify, I’ve spent the past month and a half acting pregnant.
This first trimester hasn’t been as horrible as what I’d heard from others, but it has brought with it many feelings and experiences completely new to me. Mainly, I feel like I’ve been blindsided by the tired bus. Typically, the fatigue hits without warning and at the least convenient moments. E.g. at work, before lunch, while driving, on Saturday mornings after a good 10 hours of sleep, etc. There seems to be no quenching the exhaustion once it arrives, so I just cave and take a long nap. I’ve also noticed an increase in the amount of water I drink. I can’t seem to beat the thirst … and so I drink more and more water. Like more than 10 glasses a day. Then, of course, there’s the increased bathroom visits (probably due to the aforementioned water consumption).
So far, there haven’t been pickles and ice cream moments. But there have been quite a few “I need to have french fries” ones. For whatever reason, potatoes (in any form) taste real good … no, check that, they taste amazing. That being said, I think I have more food aversions than cravings. Foods I once loved now disgust me… case in point, guacamole. Maybe it’s the garlic? Two days ago, I had my first real bout of middle of the night heartburn after eating a burrito for dinner. Evidently, pregnant ladies should cut back on spicy foods. Back to the good ol’ baked potato. Pass the sour cream, please!
Joe has been an amazing support throughout this first trimester. (Yes, he’s changing the cat litter!) Frankly, I don’t know how women manage pregnancy without someone to help them through the days when they can’t bring themselves to get out of bed in the morning. Fortunately for me, Joe’s adopted the kitchen cleaning, errand running, french fry fetching and more.
As we look to the future, we’re delighted to see what this new life book has in store. To be honest, I’m looking forward to the second trimester energy boost!
IB
Baby's first bib ... from Aunt Laura
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