No, I'm not carrying twins.

This seems to be the answer I have been giving a lot lately. I am also getting the “sympathy eyes” and “oh my God” after they find out how much longer I have. I’m only 30 weeks (about 7 ½ months) so that leaves 10 weeks if I carry to full-term. Yes, I do look 9 months pregnant on my body and maybe that is why I get the comments. I realize that I have a small frame, that I am fortunately only gaining weight in the baby bump area, so it does look ginormous. However, my body size is just getting a bit of a tiresome topic for me. Look me in the eyes people.

On Monday, my doctor told me some delightful news…Statistically 1) Boys weigh more than girls, and 2) Second babies weigh more than first babies. I’m hoping this means by a few ounces and not pounds. Gabe was almost 9 ½ lbs. Help.

Needless to say, I am ready for this little guy to be here. We are still settling on a name. Kevin likes Noah, I like Cole. We’ll probably name him Noah Coleman (my grandfather’s name) so he can choose either name at some point. I like them both actually and want to meet him to decide. Or maybe I’m relying on being so exhausted after childbirth I won’t give a hoot.

Here’s to time passing quickly. Cheers.
Now I want a beer.

It's been a while

It's time to to catch up on all that we have been experiencing since September - my last entry. Halloween, Gabe's birthday, Thanksgiving, my birthday, Kevin's parents' visit and now it is nearly Christmas. Oh, and the best news of all...I'm pregnant! Almost 4 months now. That has been a major contributor to my lack of writing. I have felt anti-computer for over a month and sleeping nearly 12 hours a day, when I can. Here is the update.

On Halloween, we had about 6 couples and their kids over for a small party and trick-or-treating. We had a great time. Here is a quick picture...

Gabe's birthday was a lot of fun. We had a it in our backyard with a jumpy, dinosaur cake and Gabe's favorite, dinosaur pinata. You gotta to love Southern California. It was November 9th and scorching hot. Gabe and the kids had a fun day - as you can see.

For Thanksgiving, we went over to a friends house the night before for a potluck. All of our mommy preschool parent friendds and kids were there. On Turkey day, we drove up to visit our friend Shan and her family. We had a nice quiet day with great company.

My birthday almost passed without notice (by me). I actually woke up and forgot it was my birthday until Kevin told me. I must be getting senile with my old age. I went to yoga and Kevin had made me breakfast when I got home. Then he watched Gabe all day and took me out for a nice, Gabe-free dinner at the Prado. Great day.

Kevin's parents came out for a visit two days later and stayed about a week. We really enjoyed their visit and Gabe had fun playing with Poppie and going shopping and to museums with Mimi. He picked out so many Christmas toys it is going to take us two days to open them all. I was sad to see them go and, as usual, it makes me feel alone out here and wondering why we are here - so far from family. Don't get me wrong, we have wonderful friends, wonderful, but they can't be family like your family is family - follow? You can't drop your kids off guilt free with them or take off for a kid-free weekend. Plus, while your friends may love your kid(s), they don't love them like the grandparents. We love San Diego and couldn't leave if we wanted to, but the "what ifs" tend to come out when family visits and helps us out so much.

We still love our house so much. Christmas time is always the best because the decorations make the house feel so warm and cozy. I cannot wait for Christmas morning to see Gabe's little face as he opens all of his gifts. I'll try to update then. Until then, merry, merry Christmas. 2008 has been a beautiful year. Yes we can!

Great weekend

On Friday night we hosted a party to watch the debates. It was super casual and about five families attended. What was so nice was the 13 year old girls across the street baby sat a group of five kids and two babies (her mom was home too), so they were out of our hands for a good 1 1/2 hours. The kids came back over after the debates and it was chaos for the next hour. We had a lot of fun with our grown up friends talking politics and drinking wine.

On Saturday, I went to yoga and then we went to Gabe's friend Ry's 3rd birthday party. For the next month and a half we have at least one birthday a weekend. Its amazing how all of Gabe's friends are within a month of his birthday.

On Sunday, we went to the pool and Gabe began swimming underwater for the first time. He was so proud of himself. Kevin is great about showing him things and then Gabe will mimic. I have to say that Gabe is a super cautious kid, you can't push him to do anything, and that is why classes have not worked. Leading by example seems to be the best approach with swimming, and probably everything else that has to do with raising kids. On Sunday afternoon, after Gabe's nap, his friend Rulian came over for a playground visit, mini-soccer game, and some dinner. It was good to catch up with Rulian's dad, Rafter too!

San Francisco!

Cable car ride

Exploratorium
I love this picture!

Gabe the rock star.

Last weekend, the Mathis family headed up to San Francisco for business and pleasure. On Friday, I had a work meeting so Kevin and Gabe played at a nearby public market (lots of food and kids rides and a ball room) and the hotel pool. The rest of the trip we toured San Francisco. Leslie met us for the day and showed us all the sites: a cable car ride, North Beach for lunch, a hike up Coit Tower, tons of bus rides (for Gabe), the occasional playground, and finally the Marina District where we walked around the Exploratorium and went to the beach. Above are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. The last one is really weird. A group of about 10 Asians wanted their picture taken with a blond haired mom and her daughter, and then they saw Gabe and wanted a picture with him. Must bring luck? Leslie and I ran up after the picture and said, "We want our picture taken too!" I guess you had to be there.

Quality time

It has been a great week so far. On Monday, Gabe went to preschool. Let's just say he wasn't as happy to be there as he was on Friday. Kevin dropped him off and said it was painful. His teacher Katrin said that he was fine the rest of the day, just cried when his dad left. She reassured us that it would get better each time that he came. I hope it is a quick transition because I have to drop him off on Friday and when that kid cries for me, it's like someone is ripping my heart out through my stomach. These are not normal cries either. They are packed with tearing words like, "Mommy, can you hear me? Mommy, please answer me. Please don't leave me here mommy." It takes every ounce of will power that I have not to rush in there, pick him up and say, "we're done." I have been assured that every kid in his class has done the same thing at first and that in a month, he will be crying when he has to go home. A whole month? Kevin and I love the school and feel like it is a good combination of organized play with learning. The teachers are so loving and I've heard that they will even come to your house and babysit so that Gabe can get used to them a little faster. While Gabe was in school, I got to work a full five hours and it felt great. Kevin and I agreed that I spend close to 160 hours a week with Gabe - so 10 hours a way from me isn't going to scar him for life. Can you tell I'm still trying to convince myself of this? The cool thing is, I get SO much done while he is at school that when we are together, it is full on Gabe and mom quality time. I don't have to sneak away to the computer because I have some work...its all about Gabe. So Tuesday and Wednesday have been chocked full of fun times together.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning at the zoo with friends. Here is Gabe on the skyride. Which we had to ride twice. He is really into the monkeys (as usual), the lizards, and the Galápagos tortoises (on your mark, get set, go!).


Today, we went to playschool and the theme was textures. We did rubs of fish and dinosaurs with different stickers and materials. He loved this craft. We are off to buy some stensils tomorrow. The lady who hosted was so creative. She made triangle shaped crayons using ice cube trays and melted old crayon nubs. They were colorful and the perfect shape for the kids. Here is a picture of the kids' artwork. Gabe's is the bottom left (says the proud mama bear). Afterwards, we stayed at the playground for a long, long time. Gabe was worn out when we got home and took a three hour nap (ok, we took a three hour nap). And later tonight I will pay for it during a date with my little friend, insomnia.

Finally, here are a few pictures taken from the last two weekends. A week ago, we went to a friends birthday party at the train museum park. The theme was "Thomas" - duh. We went on mutiple train rides. Then last weekend we went to a friends birthday brunch. Gabe was busy as usual, transporting goods from one end of the house to the other (sorry Elaine)...in Mickey Mouse ears.

A family that swims together...

Kevin, Gabe and I went to the pool today. Gabe is doing great on the kick board - check out his balance. He is also swimming to daddy short distances (a mixture of on top of and under the water) and loves jumping off the side. After the pool, we went out for sushi and then napped. Tonight we'll do dinner and a movie. It was a fun, hot day.

Gabe's 1st day of preschool

Oh my gosh. How flippin cute is Gabe with his lunch box - all ready for school?? Can you believe that this kid is not even three? He looks so grown up.

Today is Gabe's first big day at preschool. I was so worried that he would have problems with me leaving but he didn't. I stayed for about 30 minutes while he played, told him that I was going, he gave me a kiss and I said bye. He looked at me as I was walking out the door and then continued playing with the newly discovered trains. I know it won't always be this easy (especially once he realizes that I'm not coming right back) but he'll be fine. The teachers were very attentive and even though they were speaking German, he seemed to understand how to put his lunch in his cubby and going to the potty. We're off to a good start. Now I don't know what to do with myself!

I guess Sam and I are off for a private date and then I'll get some work done. Wow, three consecuative hours to concentrate on my work - unheard of.