It's a...GIRL

Introducing: Ella Jae Refvik
Weight: 11 ounces
Heart rate: 132 BPM
Size: 19 weeks 5 days (currently 19 weeks 2 days)

Now I know you are all having a good laugh out there because we were pretty vocal about wanting a boy. I have always wanted a girl too, I was just hoping the boy would come first. We are so excited! Buzz was wondering what he can do with a girl...can he wrestle or play catch with her? Abso-freakin-lutely. We had our level II ultrasound and everything looks great. Now the real fun begins: registering. I am dying to get over to the baby store.
I have not felt any movement yet but we were able to see her kicking around in there so it should be coming soon. Did I mention that my sister is so jealous because she tried 3 times and got only boys? I think my nephews were a tad disappointed because they already have a girl cousin. My sister's husband, Michael, told me to start saving for her wedding right away. That is one scary thought.

My parents were especially thrilled because they've been dying for a granddaughter. My parents and brother put me on speakerphone and I told them all at once. They were all excited and 30 seconds later I hear my dad say, "Tell her that she's got mail here from Bank of America." Typical dad, back to business as usual.

We chose Jae as the middle name because both of our mothers' names start with J. The nice thing is that this little girl will have a built in group of girlfriends. She's bound to get along with some of them, right?

P.S. Kenzie, I want my money back. Your predictions are a bit rusty!

19 Weeks: Is it a boy or a girl?

Will we be having a bird baby or a smirking one?

So on Tuesday at 4:45 we have our level II ultrasound appointment. This will take about an hour or so. Fingers crossed that we can find out if the nursery will be dogs or birds. So let's hear those last minute predictions...

Christmas is over :(

The party is over. It's time to go into that funk that they call January.

Here is how we spent our Christmas:

We went to my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Vince's house for Christmas Eve. We started late this year (6:30) due to all the people that have to work. The night was action packed with food, grab bag, white elephant and an unwrapping game. We got home around 12:45 am and proceeded to exchange presents with my immediate family. My parents got me a new and improved Sonicare to replace the one that Otis ate.

Buzz is practicing with baby Colton. But his real love is pocket pooches. Here are a few of my cousins (Jen & Steph). Normally we take big group shots but by the time we thought to do this, it was too late and nobody wanted to.

We woke Christmas morning and went to Jeanie's house for a 9:30 am breakfast. After this, we opened presents. This is where Buzz and I exchanged. He got me an external hard drive to house my thousands of photos.

Of course, the dogs were around for our holiday adventures. They slept at my parent's house and Jeanie watched them while we went to the city.

We had to be at my Grandma's house at 2:00 for dinner. Mind you, this is in the city. I don't mind the running around because I like to see all of my relatives. My dad and Joey thought they were pretty clever wearing their Kane jerseys to the Kane house. They were surprised to see they weren't the only Kanes who thought of this.

My aunts and uncles and Grandma

My cousins

I decided to rock out with my cousins. Apparently I was a bit too loud. We had to be back at Buzz's mom's house by 4:30 for dinner. Yes, another dinner. I ate all meals and loved it. We spend the rest of the night with Buzz's family playing games and hanging out.

The day after Christmas we went to Buzz's dad's house to celebrate with him. I look pretty pregnant in this picture.

We used my new Joby Gorillapod to take this group shot. It's a tripod that is flexible and can be wrapped around banisters and trees and things. The legs look like strands of anal beads. Thanks for the great present, Kirsten. We had lunch at Big Bowl and spent the rest of the evening at Dan's house. He told some Vietnam stories and we discussed baby names.

I am sad that this is all over. The Christmas music has disappeared from the radio. Kirsten and Brent are flying back tomorrow early. I was able to see my good friend Kristy only once. She was in from Montana. I did have Austin to look forward to but that is not looking so good anymore. Oh well, at least I find out the sex on Tuesday. I'm guessing boy!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Dinner at Eric and Judie's House

Saturday afternoon we went to Judie and Eric's house for dinner. Judie is a great cook and always makes unusual, healthy and tasty dishes. I can't even remember what they are called. She is also very accommodating to the two vegetarians in the family. Kirsten and Brent flew in Friday night from North Carolina.

We haven't seen them since the summer. We figured we take a few belly shots. I made Gingerbread cookies and they turned out pretty cute. It was the first time I've done it. Buzz decorated a few -- can you tell which ones?

Holiday Party

Last Friday, Buzz and I had friends over for a holiday party. There were 18 people (including kids) and 2 big dogs in our little townhouse. Yikes. Buzz was on dog duty. Greta was growling at Luke and Megan as they ran around the house. Otis is a known food thief (more on that later).
The men and their babies. It's hard to believe all these jerks I went to high school with are fathers. Just kidding, kind of.

Nick and Addison

Mike and Peyton

Keith and Isabelle

Here are the moms working on crafts with their kids. Jess and Elliott

Kristin and Megan

Teresa and Luke

This is minutes before Otis is let down to get a drink of water. There is a cheese ball right in front of this trio and Otis snatches the entire thing and takes it in one gulp! I suspect Nick pointed it out to him.

After one too many beers, the two party animals settle down to watch Dumbo.

I am officially a profitable artist

Has anyone ever heard of Zazzle? This is a website where you can create your own merchandise and sell it. Over two years ago I was messing around and made an Otis coffee mug. Well, today I get an e-mail that it sold. I made $1.70 in profit. The thing actually sold for $12.95. Can you believe it? Click here and you can check it out...
http://www.zazzle.com/otis_mug_with_nose-168606351200720008

An Evening at the Dog Park

I have to say that I am one dedicated dog owner. I try to make it to the dog park at least 3 times per week. These shots are after last week's snow. I absolutely love this place. With the full moon and the snow you can stay pretty late. There are some gnarly trees to admire. These two shots are of the same tree taken from opposite angles.

Look at poor grey-beard Odie Claus. That is not snow on his chin. At the dog park, Otis likes to hang out with me and he growls and snaps at dogs that get in his business. He's like a crabby old man. Oh and he pees on EVERYTHING.

It was hard to get Greta to sit still for this shot. She plays with every dog at the park. She has no fear and is kind of a bully. She like to get dogs on their backs and bite their necks. She isn't vicious but it looks bad...

Buzz took them to the park on Friday for the first time by himself because I was going to be home late and we were having people over. He reported that he will not be going back. Apparently Greta's antics are too stressful for him. I was happy that he tried.

Uh oh. What did you do?

Even though his mom braved the blizzard on Tuesday to take him to the dog park (I was the only one there!) Otis Van Nostrand decided it would be a good idea to use her Sonicare toothbrush as a chew toy Wednesday afternoon. He left it in his spot - right in the middle of the upstairs hallway. What a jerk dog. A pregnant chick needs a Sonicare more now than ever. I know what I want for Christmas...