Paci's Beware...

...If Owen gets his mouth around you, he will suck the life out of you. View the evidence:
Friday was Travis' birthday. We didn't do a whole lot...but we went to eat at his place of choice, and then we came home for cake.
We went to Target the other day...and Owen pretty much let us know when he had had enough.

This is what his shirt says in the last two pics:
We sort of caught one of his smiles the other day, and he just happens to be wearing a REALLY cute outfit.

And last but not least: Yesterday was Owen's first trip to church AND his first trip to the beach. All on Easter Sunday. He looked SUPER cute in his Easter sweater vest outfit. And cousin Rachael came over for Easter lunch and then went with us to the beach and took some pictures of the family.





My baby is TWO MONTHS OLD today!!!! Unbelievable.

hmm...

...where DOES the time go??

Seriously. Sometimes it seems like I get absolutely nothing done, but I have been busy all day. I guess that is what taking care of a child will do. But, sadly, my house is a disaster area 24/7 because I don't have time to clean it. I can honestly say that I have not cleaned it since Owen was born. (yes, I know, I am TERRIBLE). Travis' mom and my mom did pick up some when they were here...but for the most part it has just been spot cleaning and doing the dishes. Before Owen was born I would get SO annoyed if the house wasn't at least decent looking...now I have decided that I have to accept the fact that some days it won't come close to being decent looking. I still struggle there....because I really don't want it to be that way, but I am literally busy all day long and cleaning just doesn't make it's way into the agenda. Does anyone have any tips on this??

TODAY....I CLEANED!!!!!! I put Owen down for a nap in his crib and he slept for over 2 hours. I decided as soon as I put him down that I would hurry and do as much as I could before he woke up (I had no idea how long he would sleep). I did THREE loads of laundry (there are 3 washers and 3 dryers right across the hall from our apartment), I cleaned the kitchen/dining room, I cleaned the bathroom, I swept the kitchen/hall/bathroom, I mopped the kitchen/hall/bathroom, and I vacuumed the living room. It is amazing how all of that, that would have taken me forever to do 3 months ago, took me 2 short hours. And Owen woke up just as I was putting the vacuum away. Perfect timing! I feel better. MUCH better. I feel like I have been living in squalor (ok, so it probably wasn't near as bad as I make it out to sound...Travis always says I think our house is much worse than it actually is.)

I NEED MORE SUGGESTIONS ON A BLOG TITLE. COME ON PEOPLE. (there are some cute ideas...but keep 'em comin!!)

I need your help

Ok kids...I need your help to come up with a new title for my blog. We will be moving to Austin, Texas in May, so we will no longer be "The West Coast Tidmores." PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me come up with something good. Comment and make your suggestions. I cannot think of anything. Sadly, pregnancy brain sticks around after you've had the baby...so my brain does not work.

Ok, get to work. Think of a catchy, FUN title for my blog. Perhaps I will choose a couple (if I get enough suggestions) and then have you all vote on the best. I know there are many of you that read this, but too many of you don't comment. So, DO IT NOW!!! It is easy...and I really need the suggestions!

THANKS A MILLION!

Picture post

Owen is getting so big. I went to put a sleeper on him the other night and it didn't fit him anymore. :-( So sad. So, I got another one, and it didn't fit him either!!! None of his newborn sleepers fit him anymore, along with a few of his little outfits. We are on to bigger clothes. It was a sad day and a sad realization that kids DO grow up too fast. On the other hand, he is getting to be so fun. He is smiling and he coos alot. He likes to talk to us. As soon as we get a cord to transfer videos to our new computer (a MacBook....AWESOME) I will post a couple REALLY cute videos for your viewing pleasure.

Here are some pictures of my favorite, little bitty, teeny tiny, cute! (catch that reference mom?)

We were playing one second, and the next second he's asleep.

He isn't three months yet (as the age requirements for the Bumbo chair state), but we couldn't resist getting a pic of him sitting in it. :-) 

Here he is just relaxing in his crib, diaper only. So cute.

Hanging out with Mamacita.

Tired boy.

Home

I am home from the hospital. After my procedure yesterday they let me come home...finally! I am very glad to be here, but sad that I can't pick up Owen on my own. Travis or Cici have to pick him up and give him to me. :-( It is sad. I think he is bummed too, it just isn't the same. I am sore, but ok. 

In other news...Owen is excited to have 2 new cousins arriving this year! Daddy's brother and his wife will have a new baby in September, and Mommy's brother and his wife will have a new BOY cousin for Owen in August!! Hooray for baby Will!! Lots of babies this year. Cici and Pop and Bopba (that is Jeri's mom) will double their number of grandkids in 2008. Owen is excited to have playmates on both sides of the family. 

No pictures today. Will post some when i am feeling better.

update on the surgery

well, jeri here. I am still in the hospital. I have a lowered liver function because of a stone that got into my common bile duct. SOOOO, another procedure will be needed to take care of that and i might be able to go home Sunday.

I HATE staying in this hospital. HATE it. I miss my little boy.

Surgery!

This is Travis, reporting from the waiting room at the hospital. The surgery went fine and Jeri should be able to go home within the next hour or so.

Just keep Jeri in your prayers that she has a quick recover so she can get to enjoying Owen again soon.

Updates

Well folks...Owen gets cuter every day, in case you were wondering. :-) Yesterday we took him to a wedding at Dodger Stadium. It was fun and he looked SUPER cute in his sweater vest.

I am having surgery on Friday to have my gallbladder out. Apparently you don't REALLY need a gallbladder....mine was just there to cause me pain.

I don't have too much to say today, just wanted to post some pics. Also...I just walked past the laundry room and it made me think of smells I like. So, for some reason I am going to list them here, because why not?

~ the fresh laundry smell
~ pot roast
~ rain
~ books and magazines (yes, I actually flip through the pages and smell them, you should too!!)
~ also libraries and book stores
~ My son after his bath (this is my FAVORITE!!)

Ok kids, enough of my rambling. Here are some pictures of the monkey.

One Month!!!!

Can you believe it?? My tiny baby boy is one month old already (tomorrow!!)! We went to his one month check up on Thursday and he weighed in at 9 pounds 9 ounces (he was born at 7 pounds 13 ounces) and he was 20 5/8 inches long (he was born at 19 inches). He was right in the middle for weight and in the 25% for length. He is a shorty currently. :-) Hopefully he will be much taller than his mom (I am 5'1").

He is losing all of his hair on the top of his head and it is hilarious. He looks like a little old man. He is bald on top, but has hair on the sides and the back of his head. Pretty cute if you ask me (but I might be a little biased)!

We got the CUTEST newborn pictures taken when Owen was 2 weeks old. As soon as I can scan them or something I will post a couple on here. He is THE CUTEST!!! Seriously. I can just stare at him all day long. He makes the funniest noises, which I have coined his "guinea pig" noises. :-) He squeaks and grunts all over the place. He is also starting to be awake more, which is fun. This morning he was crying when I was on the phone with my mom and I put the phone up to his ear. My mom started talking and he quit crying and just stared at me like, "what's this??" It was pretty funny.

In other news...I have to have surgery. BOO. When I was pregnant with Owen I started having bad pains in the upper abdomen, but I didn't think too much of it because I thought it was just him pushing on organs and what not. Well, when he was exactly 2 weeks old I had another attack of the pains and it was HORRENDOUS. I had to go down to the urgent care and get checked out. After a few shots of muscle relaxers and demerol I was referred to get a CT scan. Well...my insurance wouldn't cover it since I wasn't referred from my regular doctor, so, after seeing my regular doctor and being referred for an ultrasound.....I have gallstones!! AWESOME!! The only cure for that is to have my gallbladder out. Again...AWESOME!! The only thing I am really worried about concerning the surgery is being able to take care of Owen. He is getting bigger and heavier, and I will have a weight limit of what I can lift. I meet with the surgeons on Tuesday, so we'll see when it's gonna be.

Right now Owen is sitting in his chair (awake) with his hands up behind his head. Just relaxing. Remember the ultrasound picture where he had his arms behind his head?? He does that all the time.

I'll leave you with some pictures.

Three Weeks

So, Owen is three weeks old now. I can't believe it. I went downstairs to visit a friend and her new tiny baby (2 weeks younger than Owen). Her baby weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce at birth, and was currently exactly the same weight Owen was when he was born (7 pounds 13 ounces). He was HUGE compared to that little girl. I can't believe it. I don't notice the difference every day, but man that little baby really made me see how much Owen has grown so far.

I LOVE being a mom. It is the best thing in the world. Even when he cries, and even when he chooses 3 am to be his play time...it is the BEST thing in the world. (for the record, he generally only cries when he needs something and he actually sleeps really well at night.)

I saw on someone else's blog where they listed some of the nicknames they had for their baby. So, I am going to list some of the names we use for Owen. Now, all of these names are used in humor and love. Even the ones that might sound different. :-)

1. Stinks
2. Stinky Doodle
3. Mr. Snugglesworth
4. Snugs
5. Monkey
6. Poops McGee

Yes, he poops ALOT. And he toots more than he poops. So, several of the nick names are because of that...but they are always said through a laugh or smile.

In honor of his three week birthday, here are some of the things I love about him:

~ When he gets really hungry he snorts and will suck on the tip of my nose.
~ When we lay him down to change his diaper he stretches his arms over his head and he rolls from side to side like he is dancing. It's really cute.
~ When he is in his papasan chair he sleeps with his hands up by his face (pictured below).
~ He HATES having a bath. But I LOVE that he quits crying and snuggles when we wrap him in his towel and hold him after his bath.
~ I love his tiny diapered body with no clothes. There is nothing cuter.

The 3 P's

1. Pee - I have been peed on more times than I can count in the last 2 weeks.

2. Poop - I was pooped on yesterday for the first time. Lovely.

3. Puke - Well, it is spit up, but that doesn't start with a P. I was soaked twice yesterday and once this morning. Again, Lovely.

It's a good thing I love this kid.

One week old

Well, Owen is one week old as of yesterday. It has definitely been an interesting week getting used to everything. All in all, it has been fun and Owen is such a good baby. He is also the cutest baby, if I do say so myself!! :-) Here are a few pictures of the little monkey. 

Owen Parker Tidmore

Owen Parker was born on January 24th at 4:11PM Pacific Time. He weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces.

Both Mommy and Baby are happy and healthy.

Tomorrow....

is my due date...and I should also be induced! Hopefully, next time we write Owen will be here!!! We are excited!!

Think about us tomorrow and say some prayers for a safe and EASY (!!) delivery!

Hmm...

So, we went to the doctor today. No baby yet. Obviously. They estimated his current weight at 8 pounds 5 ounces. She tried a little something for me to maybe get my labor going...so far...NOTHING. Next Wednesday is my due date and I was basically told today that I would be induced on Wednesday if Owen wasn't here by then.

So, we wait. HE NEEDS TO COME OUT!!!!!!!! I am SO uncomfortable. I am so short and he has literally no room, so when he stretches out his legs (which the doctor mentioned today during the ultrasound that his legs are really long) they shove up into my diaphragm and it HURTS.

Ok so...any ideas as to how to get this kid out?? :-) What do you know? Share. Please. I am begging you.

Owen moving

So here is a video Travis put together of my belly. I shot all of it from my perspective, so it is me looking down at my belly. Anyway...for some reason any time anyone else looks at or touches my belly Owen stops moving. So, I wanting to get it on video as proof that my child actually does move ALOT in my belly. :-)

UPDATE!!

Ok, so we are back from the doctor! I am between 1 1/2 and 2 centimeters dilated, and I'm 50% effaced. His head is VERY low and just about ready. Since they think he is going to be big, next week at my appt. they are going to do an ultrasound to get a better estimate of how big he will be, and then possibly schedule an induction soon after, if he is going to be really big. The doctor today was pretty sure he is going to be very large...but I am small so if they estimate bigger than 8 ish pounds already, then the induction is the best option. That is, if I don't go into labor before my next appt. I am hoping I do, but who knows. At least I know that the doctor won't let me go past my due date due to his size...so we have no more than 2 weeks to wait!! WOO HOO!! There is an end in site!

Ok, I am posting my 38 week pic. Please excuse my heinous facial expression. I slept TERRIBLY last night, and I am retaining water so my face looks huge. But, the belly is there. You can see my belly button poking out too.

Nothing Yet

Owen is not here yet. Sigh. I wish he'd hurry up. :-) I technically still have 2 weeks to go...but I bet he waits at least 3. :-(

Travis is in bed sick...so let's all start saying some prayers that I don't get what he has because I'd really rather not be puking these days.

Nothing new to report. I have a doctor appt. tomorrow morning, so we'll see how I'm progressing. I am betting not at all. BOO. I also need to take a belly pic an post it, but haven't gotten around to that today.

Wow...I really don't have much to say. At least not anything interesting. Not going to work everyday is weird. I'm not sure what to do with myself...and quite honestly there is not much that i can do these days without huffing and puffing. he he I just don't get around as easily as I used to. It could have something to do with the very large basketball shaped growth in my stomach area, but I'm not sure. ;-)

I'll update soon with a pic and reports from the doc, if it is anything worth reporting.

Happy New Year!

Well kids, it looks like Owen will definitely be a 2008 baby. I haven't had him yet. :-( I am getting more uncomfortable, though...and ready to have him. We just found out that my brother and sister in law are going to have a baby in August!! AND, some good friends of ours (won't mention their names yet) are also expecting in August! FUN! Lots O Babies in 2008!

My aunt and cousin come today - my cousin is starting school at Pepperdine next week. She is coming just in time to babysit!!! :-)

We have a doctor appt tomorrow, so we'll see if there's any progress. I know I technically only have 3 weeks left of this pregnancy (if he doesn't show up late), but I am READY!! Of course, I think Owen will laugh at us and be late after all of the commotion. The doctor told us to be ready any day, so every day we are ready...but Owen is too cozy I guess.

I hope everyone is having a good New Year so far. Nothing exciting is happening around here...just waiting for the boy to come. Its ok, because I know we will have teh baby before February!! :-)

Merry Christmas....a Little Late! :-)

Well, I hope you all had a good holiday. This year, since I can not travel in my state, Travis and I did the Christmas thing alone...for the first time since two Christmases before we got married. Now, you could look at this as a sad thing...yes, we did miss family....OR, you could look at it the way we did. RELAXING. We decided not to do gifts this year, but to spend that money on dates (movies, dinners out, etc). We love going to the movies, and when Owen arrives, we will not be doing that as often as we normally do. So, since I have been on my Christmas break we have seen Juno and a sneak peek of 27 Dresses. Both great, I reccommend them to everyone. We went to eat at our favorite roadside place on Pacific Coast Highway....and we will venture out for lunch at one of our new favorite places today (hopefully). We will also be attempting to go to a taping of Ellen on January 7....if Owen doesn't decide to come before then, we will see.

We spent Wednesday night in Labor and Delivery. It was lovely. I went from having zero contractions to being in severe pain...so we went in and I was having legitimate contractions and labor. I puked a couple times, and the nurse just smiled and said, "that's labor." Awesome. Well, they ended up giving me a shot to stop the contractions...they did not stop. SO, we thought he was coming 4 weeks early. Well, eventually I stopped feeling the contractions, but they were still happening according to the monitor. So, they wanted to keep me over night. At 5 am, the nurse told me I could go home, because the unfelt contractions slowed down enough. I am already dialting, among other things (i will spare you)....which could signal quickly approaching labor, or another few weeks with a bun in the oven. To put it in the words of my doctor we saw Thursday, "I think it will be sooner rather than later. I wouldn't be surprised if you went at midnight tonight, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was another 3 weeks." So folks...there you have it. Owen will be born sometime in the next few weeks. :-)

Since our lovely practice trip to the hospital, our bags are NOW packed, and MOST things that we needed to get done are done. Owen's room is finished, the living room is rearranged, our room is somewhat rearranged and the pack and play is set up in there for him to sleep in when he comes home. The car seat is in the car (has been for about 3 weeks now). All baby things washed. And thanks to a little mishap with Worcestershire sauce on Christmas day our refrigerator in spotless.

Anyway...we had a nice Christmas by ourselves. Travis made a big breakfast for us Christmas morning, and we had an early dinner. A few days before Christmas we started making our Christmas treats. We made and decorated sugar cookies, we made peanut butter balls, puppy chow, chex mix (hence the need for the Worcestershire sauce), and we made a Pumpkin and Chocolate pie.

Side note: Travis has affectionately taken to calling my swollen feet/ankles/calves CRANKLES. He says it is because they make me cranky. Well, I think if most of his legs were uncomfortably swollen, he'd probably be a little cranky too. :-) He does rub my feet and fat ankles (or Crankles) every night for me, though.

Ok, here are a couple pics of us making our Christmas treats. Have a good weekend!
Well, I can't find them right now, I will psot them later.

belly pics

Well, I am officially done with work! WOO HOO!! Today after the Christmas party at work we went to the store and bought stuff to make lots of Christmas goodies tomorrow!! It will be fun. I am glad to be finished with work and now I can finally rest. :-)

Here are my belly pics.

34 weeks (above)

35 weeks (below)

prayers

We have a friend that has cystic fibrosis. She is currently in the hospital with pneumonia. Please pray for her recovery - as it will not be as "easy" as those of us who have regularly functioning lungs. Thanks.

7 more days...

of work!! Next Thursday is MY LAST DAY of work!!!!!! WOO HOO!! Well, until April when I will go back for about 4 weeks - then Travis graduates and we will move BACK TO TEXAS!!!!!!

I am very excited, but I am too tired to show much excitement. I have been trying to get over this crappy sickness. I ended up having to do an antibiotic - last resort. I was trying to make it without having to take one during my pregnancy....but, I did not succeed. I have managed to lose my voice 95%, though. That has been great at work trying to communicate with the kids - I think they think I am trying to play charades. I have had to use my hands alot. One little girl asked me today if this was my real voice. Sadly, yes. So, if you call - expect to be talking to Travis.

Yesterday a little boy came over and lifted my shirt up and asked with his face to my belly "where's the boy??" The kids don't understand that I can't just show Owen to them yet. This particular little boy is getting VERY frustrated with me about it. To them I have been pregnant FOREVER, and while I would agree to an extent, they are way more impatient than I am.

Some interesting things are happening to my body. I am quite slow these days...among other things. I am definitely in the end of my pregnancy, and I feel it. A friend of mine told me tonight that she thinks Owen will come early. I'm not opposed to that, actually. As long as it is AFTER Christmas - I am good with that.

Last Tuesday was my birthday. We went out to dinner, just the two of us. We decided that I would put some Christmas money toward a late birthday present to myself. At my staff Christmas party we received a very nice gift card to a very fancy spa here in the Los Angeles area. So, I am putting Christmas money with that gift card and treating myself!! The plan is to go this Saturday for about 4 hours - for a pregnancy massage, a fancy manicure, and a fancy pedicure!!! It will be so nice!

We were so tired that we both just got up from an hour and a half nap. It was nice. Travis has one more final on Thursday, then he is done for the semester!! :-)

I have heart burn. Tums are NOT working. Any other ideas?

Updates

Hello everyone! Long time, no real post. Not that any of you care that much about daily or weekly posts. ANYWAY...

We had a good Thanksgiving with my family in Texas. I had a little shower on Thanksgiving day with the fam. It was fun and I got some cute stuff. The plane ride home was horrendous, as my ankles and feet swelled up marshmallows. I was quite uncomfortable. That was pretty much my first swelling episode, and I can say I am not a fan.

I am posting some pics now. I have a belly pic, but you will have to ignore my Rudolph nose. I am quite sick with a sinus infection, ear infection, and bronchitis. YUCK. Not fun. So, on my belly pic, only look at my big belly, not my sad sick face. Ok? Last week at the doctor she told me that Owen is already head down. Hopefully he will stay that way.

I also have a couple of pics from Thanksgiving. Not many of my pictures were very good, so I am only posting a couple.

33 weeks Preggo. 7 weeks (give or take) to go.

A cute outfit I got at my shower.

Me and Travis with my nephews.

Ok, that's all for now.