Muskrat

Snapped this photo from our living room window today. Haven't seen this guy before. We think it's a muskrat? It's cool to see new animals at our lake. We've got swans, geese, ducks, turtles, and all kinds of fish, birds and bugs. Once, Pat even saw a hawk swoop down and grab a poor pigeon for lunch. Other/older condo photos here.

Overbooked

The best word to describe the last couple weeks would be "overbooked". Work is getting busier as the Olympics near. Believe it or not, football season is on people's minds and projects are starting up. Spent about a total of ten hours over several days with the house designer to pick out and check over all our selections. Setting up appointments to tour the inside of the house while construction progresses. Taking advantage of our gym at work and meeting with a trainer three times a week. And of course the baby is keeping me busy with general planning, appointments, tests, shopping, and getting ready for prenatal class. The third trimester starts in two weeks! There are no more trimesters after that!!! No, I'm not panicking but time really is going by amazingly fast.

Champions!

Congrats to the Boston Celtics! A great comeback year and a well-deserved championship trophy. What made it a million times extra special was that the biggest Celtics fan I know, my brother Nimit, was at Game 6 last night. Awesome! That experience hopefully makes up for the sad fact that Nimit had season tickets LAST year and sat through so many of those horrible games while they were in last place. Yay Celtics!

House, Pool And Belly

The condo is being built pretty quickly. Pat tells me outside construction goes fast but inside stuff takes longer. His dad built houses for decades and Pat would cause trouble and get in the way "help" onsite when he was a kid. So he knows these things. Anyway it's nice to see things coming together. We met with the designer to pick out our stuff. Pretty much blew the budget we had set but hopefully the place will look nice in the end. We also got the key to the recreation areas just in time for a quick dip during the heat wave. Baby enjoyed its first "swim" in the kiddie pool as much as I did.

Adrian Peterson

I was finally able to get these (fuzzy) pictures I took off of Pat's cellphone. 2007 Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson was here a few weeks ago to shoot a commercial. Some interesting prop photos and a "real" Viking seen here. Manny Ramirez was here also, but I must have missed seeing him by a minute or two. His entourage was packing up by the time I made it down to the second floor to casually investigate.

Month Six

This week begins month six of the pregnancy... at least according to my math. The weeks/months calculation thing is kind of confusing. Anyway, last month flew by faster than I can believe. Feeling good and things are moving along. Pat felt the baby kick from the "outside" for the first time. Now it kicks several times an hour and more often in the early morning at like 4am. No complaints from me though, I really enjoy it. I have finally put on some weight: five pounds total and all in the last month and a half. Good thing it's sandal season because I'm having some trouble putting on socks and shoes.

There are so many things to do but I think we're on top of it. We are signed up to start childbirth classes in July. Although I haven't bought anything except cute clothes and booties, I have a list of other things to buy and which brand I want and where to buy it from. We have some semblance of a plan of how Pat, me, baby and my mom will live/squeeze together for a month in our tiny condo while the new house is being completed -- I've figured out which things need to be packed and put away to make room for baby things. Hopefully my plan will work. I'm not sure if "mentally packing" counts for anything but I think we're on track as long as we do one or two little things each day and don't slack off!

Spelling Bee

Aside from days one and two of the NCAA Tournament, the Spelling Bee is our biggest in-office event. There's an office-wide pool going to pick the winner. I can't bring myself to root against any of these kids! It's tough to watch sometimes. To make matters worse, ABC/ESPN keeps showing "The Fainter" in its tv promos.

The Last Vacation

We just returned from Disney World and had a great time as always. This was probably our last big vacation before the baby arrives. We had been averaging at least one Disney trip per year for the past five years so we're definitely going to miss it! Pat says the earliest we can go back with the baby is at age 3. But I'll do my best to convince "dad" to let us go around age 1.5.

People ask me why we always choose Disney as a vacation destination. I have three reasons. One: it's different each time. There's just too much to see and do and by the time you see most of it, they change it all. And if you go during the winter versus the summer, it's all done up differently for the seasons. Each hotel's theme makes it a new experience with every visit. Dining choices are endless. I don't know how they do it and I'm beyond impressed each time at the effort that must go into creating the Disney experience.

The second reason it's our favorite: it's the same each time. The parts that stay the same are the parts that are so convenient. We know we just have to pick a hotel and go. No other planning needed. When staying at a Disney resort, transportation to and from the airport, and between the parks is a piece of cake. The service level is top notch and that never changes. The park policies and rules and little things you have to figure out at new vacation destinations is eliminated when visiting the same place. You just show up at the parks and they keep you busy all day.

And the last reason, of course, is discounts. Disney Cast Member discounts are fantastic and anyone who works for the company and doesn't use these to the full potential is missing out!

Don't forget us Mickey, we'll be back soon.

Captioning on NBC.com

Pat started bouncing around on the couch the other day and when I inquired about what was going on, he showed me his discovery of a "closed captioning" button on some of NBC.com's full-length online tv shows! Here's an example with 30 Rock. This is the first example I've seen of a major network making a sincere effort to caption their online programming. I've been trying for years to get this on the priority list for ESPN.com's video content but no dice so far. Go NBC!

Under Contract!

We are under contract for a new condo in West Hartford! It's a four level townhouse and it's really quite beautiful. Amenities include a big pool, kiddie pool, jungle gym area, and a fancy community room that can be reserved for parties and events. The complex is next door to a public park. We're really excited about it! The only downside is that our unit doesn't actually exist yet and will be ready pretty much exactly when the baby is due. Yup, we're nuts. We have 15 days to chicken out of the contract but hopefully we'll stay brave and forge ahead.

RH Baby & Child

One of my favorite home stores, Restoration Hardware, is launching a Baby & Child line this summer. New and not-so-new mommies: start saving your pennies!

"This is a severely under-served category in the top shopping centers," said Gary Friedman, president and CEO. Noting that the top 100 centers "have only one offering – Pottery Barn Kids," he said. Restoration Hardware Baby & Child will be positioned slightly higher in pricing strategy.

Say What?

Looks like we'll be walking home from the hospital because this makes no sense.

"...Plug the latch plate into the buckle, then, using your weight, tighten the belt. Make sure all the slack is taken out of both the lap and the shoulder. Typically, using a locking clip will give you a more secure installation. A locking clip is an H-shaped piece of metal that comes with all new car seats or can be ordered from the manufacturer. To use one, plug the seatbelt in, make it as tight as possible, then unplug it again while holding the belt very tightly. Wind the locking clip around the belt as close as possible to the latch plate, then plug it back in. You may have to bounce down on the seat a few times to get it closed..." from Edmunds.com, Installing a Car Seat

Emmy Comes To Visit

As an associate producer, I had a teeny tiny miniscule microscopic part in the Ray Of Hope E-ticket project. This feature recently won an Emmy. I got to bring Ms. Emmy home to hang out for a night. Here are some pictures. Check out Ray Of Hope, it's a very moving piece.

Wimp

Well that's pretty wimpy. Even for a Yankee.

Alex Rodriguez passed out during the birth of his first daughter. "The one nurse had a cold cloth on his head. The other nurse had the blood pressure on his arm. And my mother was like rubbing his back. And he is passed out on a couch. And I am there, in the middle of labor," Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of the New York Yankees star, said.

First Baby Picture

There couldn’t be a more appropriate first blog post than this ultrasound picture from yesterday. Isn’t that the cutest baby you’ve ever seen? This ultrasound was a detailed anatomy scan where the technician and doctor checked and measured all kinds of baby features. Many of them she pointed out, such as the bladder, just looked like little blobs to Pat and me. But seeing the head, face, arms, legs, spine and heart was beyond amazing.

Today begins week 19 which is pretty much the halfway mark!