The Lost Boy

Alan and I went to dinner at Pei Wei tonight. Afterwards we decided to waste some time by browsing Target in the shopping center. On the way out, I decided to drive behind the stores to get to the exit. As we passed the huge Toys R Us, Alan noticed a little boy alone standing at the very back corner of the store, almost behind it. Alan pointed him out to me and I immediately stopped the car and threw it in reverse. Sure enough there was a little 4yr old boy standing out there all alone, not a parent in site. I stopped and asked him if he was lost, he said he was. I got out of the car and introduced myself and walked him back inside Toys R Us. Alan switched into the driver's seat and met us inside. The child said his name was Xavier and he was 4yrs old. He told me he was shopping with his mother for his brother's birthday, his brother was two. I asked Xavier if he wanted the toys, thinking perhaps he left the store because he was jealous. He told me no, he didn't want the toys and he didn't like birthdays. So, perhaps he was! When we got into the store I expected to see a frighted mom at the toy counter looking for her son. He told me she had on a purple shirt and worked at Babies R Us. However, the only lady with a purple shirt on at the counter was a Hispanic woman, this child was white with blond hair. The clerk said no one had been looking for him. Just then a lady in a purple Babies R Us shirt turned the corner with a two year old yelling for Xavier. She saw him, called him over and proceeded to head out; I don't think she realized he was with me. I quickly stopped her and explained what had happened so she'd be able to talk to him. She thanked me then preceeded to have a calm talk with her son. Alan and I left. I am so thankful Alan saw him, no telling what could have happened. I guess when I go register at Babies R Us, I'll have to ask for Rebecca and get an update on Xavier.

What to Wear and My Wonderful Husband

I'm getting into that phase now where I really don't know what to wear. I only have a couple of pairs of pants and a few shirts that were pre-pregnancy I can fit into. However, the jeans I had been wearing are starting to slide down off my belly and are sagging in the crotch! Most of the maternity shorts I have I can get by with if I wear a long t-shirt, but they are still a little too big to fit comfortably. My pre-pregnancy sundress, which is a baby doll dress, is getting tight under my boobs, but it really makes me look pregnant now. I wore it to class the other day and everyone could tell I was pregnant. Candy is sharing her maternity clothes with me, I am so excited! I can't wait until they arrive, I bet there is some cute stuff in there! For now, I have started digging in Alan's drawers for an occasional lounging around t-shit and PJ bottoms. Luckly he doesn't mind sharing.

I think Alan is doing a great job of sharing this pregnancy with me. He's great at taking care of me, gets me things when I don't want to get up and rubs my belly almost everyday with lotion. Alan even has sympathy pains/symptoms and cravings. Anyway, Alan feels my stomach quite often, he is anxious to start feeling the baby kick...as am I.

My friend, Victoria, is going to give me an ultrasound on May 18th to see if we can determine the gender. That will be week 18. Mom will arrive in town the day or so before, so she'll be excited to go with us. It'll be nice to have her here so we can start shopping for the baby!

The Joys of the Expectant Mother

I am now entering 14 weeks of pregnancy and things are much better than the 1st trimester. I don't think I had a HARD 1st trimester, but it wasn't like nothing was going on either. I had terrible reflux, some morning sickness, smell and food aversions, cramps, fatigue and a cough I couldn't shake (not pregnancy related, but caused more up chucking than the morning sickness). I am now on more medications than I was before pregnancy. My cough has been attributed to a combination of reflux (which I may have even w/o being pregnant) and allergies. So I am now on Zan-tac twice a day, Zyrtec in the morning and Benadryl at night for allergies, plus my thyroid medication and pregnancy vitamin. I think I'm taking as many pills as Abby now! Anyway, other than definitely having pregnancy brain, I'm feeling good. No odd cravings. I do crave foods but nothing that has been long lasting. One week I wanted salads most of the time, then chicken salad sandwiches and potato salad, however I guess the one stable has been Taco Bell (save it Melissa!).

I am anxious to find out if it's a boy or a girl; I'm ready to start buying things. I don't want to splurge on getting all pink or all blue stuff; I'd like to stay somewhat gender neutral, but would like to sprinkle some pink or blue in the mix. We should be able to find out in about 6 more weeks.

Alan and I want to do the cloth diaper route. We aren't the best environmentalist, but I try to do my part. We recycle and take our own grocery bags to the store, drive a hybrid and we thought we'd try cloth diapers as well. It's also a lot friendlier on our pocketbook. After posting this on Facebook today, I can see there is some hesitancy out there from people. Now, don't hold me to this for the next couple of years, but we'd like to at least try. Our parents did it; they still make cloth diapers, so it must be somewhat doable!

School is keeping Alan busy and it should be keeping me busier. I think I've dropped my physiology grade down to a B; I like to blame this on my fatigue and pregnancy brain! Alan is doing great in his classes!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got asked by a stranger if I was pregnant this weekend. Alan and I went to a small chamber music concert hosted by a family in our neighborhood. Granted I was wearing a baby doll shirt (the one in the pictures below) and had asked the guy if the beverage in the pitcher was alcoholic, but later that night he asked if I was pregnant. It was kind of funny, Alan and I both giggled.

Well, that's about it for now. Sorry it's so long; guess I should blog more often. I'll try.

PS: Candy just told me they are going to throw me a baby shower in Ga in August, WHOOOOHOOO! Thanks guys!

Shopping for Baby

As soon as my mother found I she was going to be a grandmother, she was hitting the stores with in a couple of hours. She bought girl, boy and gender neutral clothes already. The next day she sent me links for crib bedding, cribs, strollers; you name it, she sent it. Then on Friday, she's calling me from Sears asking if she should buy some sleepers for the baby....they are on clearence! Well, I started feeling like I was neglecting my motherly duties because I have bought nothing for the baby (besides Taco Bell and oatmeal cream pies). Alan and I wanted to wait until the first trimester was over to tell people, so I didn't want to jinx it by buying things. So today, I thought I'd head out to Sears and shop the clearence rack like Mom did to see if they had anything. I was completely overwhelmed on where to even start. So many cute girl and boy clothes...very little gender neutral clothes. Since I'm on a budget, I couldn't buy girl or boy clothes just yet and only found one little green sleeper with a monkey on it for the baby. So I made my first baby purchase. I then went maternity shopping for myself and got a couple of cheap items from Ross. I talked to my mom on the phone for the whole 2 hours I was out. I wish she was hear to help me shop, plus it would be a joy to have her along for the journey. Guess we'll have to meet up after I find out the gender and really stimulate the economy.

Alan and Tracy's Journey

So most everyone has already seen this, thanks to my grandmother forwarding it to the whole family, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/353589/Tracy-Alan.wmv