Bigger Every Day

A funny thing happened midway through our ten days in Columbus last week. Without warning, Mats’ pajamas, the kind with footies, didn’t fit anymore. Never mind that he wore them the week before and I packed them just days ago. Suddenly, our pjs count went from four to two and having just two of anything is a dangerous game, in the case of a twelve-week old who has a tendency to drop the occasional blowout diaper.

The other clue I discovered that my baby was growing before my eyes came in the Presidents Cup golf shop. I picked up a warm onesie made of sweatshirt material labeled 6 months that looked HUGE on the hanger and even when I put it next to Mats. But sure enough, when Mats came to visit me in the media center with my mom wearing the onesie, it was barely too big, not even stretching past his toes. (As and aside, he was super cute and most of us were jealous he got to rock a sweatshirt onesie in our workplace.)

I forget how big Mats is getting until I look back at our weekly photos and compare them side by side. Here’s a look back at the little guy at four, eight and twelve weeks and how he’s grown.

Morning Rituals

In the hotel each morning, Nona reads the paper. Mommy reads on her phone. And now Mats “reads” his book!

Mathias x365

Mathias 365, a set on Flickr.

We’re celebrating Mats’ 30th day with the debut of his 365 photo gallery. It’s hard to believe that its already been 30 days since we welcomed Mighty Mathias, and I’m so glad that we have been taking photos of him each day to track all his changes. Already he’s so much different than when he was born, from packing on the pounds (he may be pushing 11 pounds now!) and stretching out to rounding out into a chunky little guy. I swear, this morning Garrett handed him me and he looked completely different to me — even though I had been up with him twice since midnight already!

The goal is to post a photo daily into this Flickr gallery set, though it may be more likely that we’ll post a few days worth of photos every few days instead. Out of the gallery I’ll be regularly posting photos here to the blog to remind you to check out the latest from **Mighty Mathias** (can you hear the theme song tune as you say Might-Y Math-I-as?). The photos are meant to show how he’s growing but also where he goes, who he meets and other milestones across the next 335 days. If you want to bookmark the 365 gallery simply use this link >> http://flic.kr/s/aHsjHaG4ZC <<or add me as a contact on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ltbeyer). As a bonus, you can see all of his newborn photos on my Flickr page too. (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjG5KsZe)

I hope you enjoy watching Mat’s first year of life, one photo at a time!

Tiny Teague’s Newborn Photo Preview

Sorry for the delay in sharing news and photos about our newest love in our family, Tiny Teague aka Mathias Robert. We’ve been wrapped up in figuring out parenthood, following the rule of rest when he naps (easier said than done!) and enjoying having both of my parents here for a long weekend to help with the baby.

I have every intention of starting a 365 photo of the day countdown that I’ll post here once I figure out the best way to share photos in an album. (Trust me, we have plenty of pictures!) But in the meantime, I wanted to share a preview of Matty’s newborn photo shoot. His expressions that crack us up daily shined through, even when he was sound asleep. Our photographer, Meredith Black of Jacksonville Beach, is fantastic and she got all of the poses and props we had wanted. I’m so excited to see the final photos, but you can see the preview on her blog.

More to come, soon!!

Whomp, There It Is

At 17 weeks, I can no longer hide the “lady lump”. Tiny Teague is growing and so is his/her home for the next 22-ish weeks. It’s about the length of an iPhone 5 and weighs about 5 ounces, according to most of the pregnancy reading I’ve done.

The Good: I’ve given into the comfort of maternity pants, specifically jeans and leggings. I didn’t even bother packing normal jeans on my trip to Palm Springs a couple weeks ago, and threw in extra dresses for the weekend in Cabo that followed. Belly bands help with dress pants, but I’m starting to opt for more dresses at work and the most comfy clothes I can find outside of working hours. Also, I discovered a dress in my closet works well for a fancy occasion (like a good friends’ wedding!) and hides the bump for a bit longer. Definitely will get a bit more use out of that one in the upcoming months.

The Surprising: I can’t deny the appearance of my baby bump anymore. Any thoughts I had about disguising it with loose clothes or layers went out the window while at DFW last week. I wheeled my suitcase to the luggage belt to recheck my bag to Jacksonville, and the airline attendant was not shy about commenting on my apparently noticeable bump. “Aw, what a cute baby bump” he remarked as he reached for my bag. WHA? The initial shock that someone I didn’t know knew I was pregnant quickly wore off and I immediately was glad (for that guy) that I indeed had a baby bump and not another kind of lady lump. (I know we all have stories about that!)

What’s to Eat? Pretty much over all food aversions at this point, though I’m still staying away from eggs and shrimp when I can. I always opt for acidic foods like pineapple, lemonade, citrus, strawberries and balsamic vinegar whenever possible. I like to say that this baby is growing because of the avocado I ate in massive amounts in Cabo (and again last night — superfood!). Somehow, I always find an extra gear for dessert when its offered, which my Mom and Garrett can both attest to. I’m up seven pounds in 17 weeks and continue to workout at my gym, Atlantic Beach Performance, without too many modifications yet.

Coming Up: The ultrasound to determine if Tiny Teague wears blue or pink is just over two weeks away, on February 14th! We’re already discussing how we want to share the news with family and friends, most likely in a video posted here not long after we find out. I’m totally ready to find out, since it will help me get my brain around the growing to-do list before this little one comes. Also, I’m looking forward to feeling the baby moving soon. I think I have felt it a couple times, but its only happened in a semi-conscious state where I think to myself “that must be what the baby feels like” moments before falling back asleep.

 

My Lady Lump

It’s official: I have a bump.

In the past few weeks, I’ve definitely been growing from the belly region, though I haven’t gained much weight yet (only four pounds so far). In Oregon, I was still able to wear leggings under my jeans, but by the time we left Texas the following weekend, I was rocking my new belly band. You know when that really comes in handy? Halfway through dinner when you need to unbutton your pants to finish your plate. (The baby was hungry!)

Fast forward one more week (wk 14+) and I literally didn’t wear a pair of pants this past week without that belly band support. Thank goodness for dresses, since a few will still fit for a while longer. Last night while packing for a week away, I literally tried on every single thing that went around my waist before adding it to the approved pile. Luckily my husband finds this humorous, as it gives him one more thing to make fun of me for. Finally I came to the conclusion that my favorite jeans were going to be too much to be bothered with, and swapped them for my maternity stretch jeans. Holy comfortable! (Yes, I’m wearing them now, in the midst of 10 hours of travel to Palm Springs.)

I get to see my parents on Friday, and I can’t wait to show them my emerging bump (or “lady lump” as Garrett calls it. Cue Fergie…). It’s already so much different than just two and a half weeks ago! More pics to come, but wanted to get these up so the comments can start!

Fear the Beard

G and I finally made it out to a Monday trivia night at The Grape. Mind you, this was a wine bar…yet you’ll see no wine glasses littered our table. Thanks to the magic of our mascot, team “Fear the Beard” made a respectable run for our first time all together. Our prize for 5th or 6th place (something like that) was a cd of the sweet sweet sounds of John Earle, who is always worth the price of admission.

Pictures Are Worth 1,000 Words (or so I hope)

Want to try a new project that I can share here on the blog and hopefully be more consistent in my postings. My friend E used to take a picture at 5:25 pm every day (or close to it) to share with her world during 2009. This year she’s been collaborating with a friend on a different daily-photo blog (of which I love to follow along!).

I want to try the photo every day approach, as a way to track what I’m doing and where. My hope is that in addition to sharing visual memories, I’ll also be more inclined to share a story or antcedote most days too. I’ll also be posting these to my Flickr account (link on the right) too those who prefer the gallery style.

To get started, here are a few different photos from the past days, weeks & months that can show what I’ve been up to!