Hello Baby Bubba!

I had my first OB appointment today. I am 9 weeks and 3 days along, due Feb. 23., but will have a C-section a week or two early. Bubba looked VERY healthy! The heart rate was 154 bpm which is very strong. John's rate was 146 and Matt's was 142, so this is much faster. (Maybe it's a girl?) James said it's still a boy – he was just working out and pumping iron. Humph!

Here are the first pics of sweet baby Bubba! (I promise when we know the gender this baby will have a real name.)

The Ultimate Poop Debacle of 2009

It started out as a normal day. Happy kids... sick, pregnant Mom... you get the picture. On today's short agenda, an early morning trip to the vet for Scooby's rabies shot and to get him micro-chipped. It sounded simple enough.

As soon as we got into the car, angry, wild demons possessed my dog and he began jumping and flailing about wildly, thrashing as if his very life depended on it. This continued the entire outing. At the vet's office, Scooby was violated in every possible way. I have to say, it is a bit unnerving to watch the doctor collect a stool sample. Let's just say I'm glad that same procedure isn't status quo for humans. Poor Scooby's eyes popped out of his head and I swear, in that split second I saw a detemination and grit on a level never before experienced in the canine world. His expression said it all. At that moment, my dog vowed for revenge. Oh yes. It was coming.

In addition to the above-mentioned violation, Scooby was given a shot, forced to eat disgusting heart worm pills, and stabbed with a very thick needle while the vet inserted a micro-chip into his writhing body. It's safe to say Scooby has had better days.

Later that afternoon, the effects of his dramatic morning began to take shape and the earliest bit of forshadowing began to rear it's ugly head in the form of a putrifying aroma that began to permeate the house, wither plants, kill insects and small rodents, and singe the nose hairs of any human unlucky enough to be within striking range. If only I had been keen to the signs. If only I had known...

I could tell things were definitely headed south when Scooby turned his nose up at dinner. This is not a dog who refuses food. Or trash. Or anything that remotely resembles food or trash. Another sign that things were woefully awry.

James and I settled into bed that night around 10:30 and quickly fell asleep, as the house was quiet and peaceful. Having not felt well for weeks, I was sleeping rather soundly when suddenly, at 2:30 am, I was jolted awake by a strange sound... "THWPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!"

I grabbed for James as we heard the noise again. "THWPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!" This time, there was no mistaking what we had heard, as the proof of such wafted up toward our nostrils with such suffocating power, it took all my inner strength not to give in to my pregnancy-induced urge to purge.

With great fear and trepidation, James and I leaped out of bed and I cautiously made for the light switch across the room. In hind sight, The lamp next to my bedside would have made much more sense, but my goal was in sight and I intended to reach it. I surveyed the floor before each step and finally discovered the "danger zone", far from my path. With a bit more confidence, I quickened my pace toward the switch and just as I reached for it, my foot landed in a hidden pile with such force and gusto, it was as if I had stepped into a mud puddle and gushed the mud between my toes.

As I stood there, stunned and oozing, I glanced at James who was inching his way toward me. I screamed for him to watch his step, just as his foot landed in the pile I had already spotted. There we were, frozen in stench and several feet from the refuge of the bathtub. It was at that moment that Scooby sprang from the floor and began to trot around in his accomplishment, leaving a paw print trail wherever he roamed.

After several seconds of mental deliberation, James and I opted for personal cleanliness over our floor and we made a beeline for the tub. Once our feet were sanitized and re-sanitized, James ushered Scooby outside while we spent the next half hour – in the middle of the night – scrubbing, mopping and sanitizing floors. Unfortunately, no amount of Fabreeze would cleanse the air.

As we finally retrieved our dog from the yard, closing in on 3 am, I swear I could distinguish the hint of a smile on his muzzle, as if to say, "I told you so, Mom. I told you so."

Surprise Surprise and 4th of July

We recently got back from surprising my mother-in-law for her 65th b-day and my Daddy for his 60th. Their birthdays are June 26 and 28, respectively. So James and I loaded up the kids and puppy (who is not really a small dog anymore) and drove to DFW for two separate surprise parties. We intruded on my sister in law and her family and crammed our family and dog into their home for two nights because my Daddy couldn't know we were in town. We had a blast screaming surprise at my mother in law who did not disappoint in her reaction of jumping up and down, screaming and clapping her hands. I swear she looked like John or Matt when they get excited! It was very cute.

Here are myself, Mother-in-law Helen, sister-in-law Christy, and niece Hannah enjoying Helen's birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

More pics of the gang...


I guess James got hungry and decided to nibble on his Dad's ear...

On Sunday the 28th, we loaded up and headed to the Fort Worth Stockyards to Riskey's BBQ (our hands-down fave) to surprise my Daddy. He thought he was going there to meet my sister and her family for a B-day lunch. Little did he know that we had gotten together as a family and pitched in to fly my brother and his fiance in from Florida for the week as my Dad's gift. This was doubly cool since NONE of us had ever met Jared's fiance, Erin. Let me just say that our family hit the jackpot. Erin is the coolest, sweetest, most sincere person and we all LOVED her! We instantly clicked and I absolutely cannot wait to have her as part of this family. (Actually, we're kinda lucky she didn't back out after meeting all of us. If you've ever been so... privileged?... as to share the Wilson dinner table, then you know we are not your ordinary pastoral family. No... we are a little off-color and a little blunt. By little, of course, I mean a lot.)

Here is my Daddy's face at the precise moment of walking in and discovering all of us waiting for him. Priceless.


Since he was turning 60, it was only fitting to bestow him with unflattering, annoying over-the-hill gifts. He graciously donned this ugly purple cap that reads "60. At my age, happy hour is a nap," while my 3-year-old rattled off "OH-NO! The big 6-0!" in a sing-songy voice.

We also gave him this lovely black cone that was labled an "Acouster Booster" for the hard of hearing. Funny thing was, it really worked!!!!

And of course, no party is complete without a cake and the wait staff singing to you in a lovely off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday". Riskey's supplied the b-day cake, but unfortunately, the box of frozen cakes had been dropped upon delivery and the icing had slid off one side on all of them. Our poor waitress did her best to slather the icing back on, but our sad little cake looked a little worse for wear.

Here is a picture of the whole gang...

Here are a few shots of the party and hanging out in the Stockyards afterward. This one is of my sister, me and Erin. (Erin is wearing a gift bow because she and Jared were "the gift". Get it?)

Here is Erin enjoying her first-ever Texas rib! She was waaaaaay too dainty about the whole thing. She'll learn.

My handsome bro and me. WHAT on earth made me smile that big???

My sweet boy, Matthew, and me. Thank goodness my smile is back to normal.

The happy couple and me photo-crashing.

There are no words. I have no idea....

Uncle Jared, Matt and Mom.

After Riskey's, we went to the Ballpark at Arlington for the Ranger's game. I'm not sure if that was fun or a calamity. We were SOOOOOOO hot. It was about 600˚ outside. No lie. And no breeze to speak of. I am quite certain that if I had put on any pregnancy pounds so far, they were sweated off that night. About the 8th inning, a few of us finally gave in and retreated to the a/c to watch the rest on a monitor. Brilliant.




The next day, we had a second b-day lunch for Daddy, only Grandma got to come this time. It was good day! Grandma only peed her pants once. I had to tell her three times I was pregnant and each time, she threw her hand up in delight and squealed, "Really? You are?!?" Grandma has Alzheimer's and we have to choose to see the humor in all that.

Grandma and me...

Here are a few more highlights...

This one is of my new niece, Allie, and her uncle James. Does he not look completely natural snuggling a baby GIRL????



The following week, everybody came out to our house in Sugar Land to celebrate the Fourth. We spent the evening in Galveston, eating at The Spot on Seawall Blvd. (our family fave), and letting the kids play in the water. In retrospect, letting the kids play in the gulf, while fun and exciting, is a VERY. MESSY. ACTIVITY. Oh my. Here is a photo of my little urchins after an hour in the water and another in the sand.

Here are more pictures of our fun on the beach.






We had a great time visiting with family and getting to know our newest member. I will post pics of their visit as soon as I feel up to it.

Baby Update:
I am 7 1/2 weeks along and Baby Bubba is the size of a blueberry this week. His/her eyes, nose and mouth have started to form and the fingers and toes are developing. By the end of the week, Bubba will have webbed hands and feet. How cute! The heart is beating 160 times per minute. Amazing. I am not feeling so well these days. I had been feeling fantastic up til I hit seven weeks. Now, not so much. It's a chore to get out of bed. I won't complain, since the pregnancy appears to be healthy. My first appointment got rescheduled for the 24th. Bummer. But hopefully I will have some pictures of Bubba for you two weeks from today! (Keep thinking PINK!!!)