May in Missouri

To celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday, the entire side of my mom's family converged in Missouri in early May.

From Friday to Monday morning, all 17 of us — including my California-based uncle to my grandmother's now grown foreign exchange student Fernando and his partner Kim — split our time between my folks' house and my grandmother's, mostly coming up with excuses to eat.

Every time we get together with the family, Julian has grown and changed enough that they have to get to know him all over again. This time, he was entertaining them with jokes, songs ("Little Bunny Foo-Foo" is a favorite right now) and observations about Missouri. He was such a trooper on the way up there. Nearly 12 hours without a DVD player or other electronic device to keep him entertained. I know, I know; we're draconian parents, but we'd rather break up the trips with rest stops than turn him into a car-riding zombie.

I brought two cameras, three if you count my iPhone, but didn't take nearly as many photos as I should have. I guess I spend so much time trying to photograph things for my blog and work that it's nice to have a break from capturing everything in a picture.

I was happiest when stealing moments with just a few members of my family away from the group. Chelsea, Nick and I went flea market shopping in Springfield before meeting up with our cousin Christian for pizza. Chelsea and I pulled ourselves out of bed at 8 a.m. on Saturday go with GaGa to the farmers market.





We had a nice celebration for GaGa at my parents' house on Saturday night where I was in charge of prompting the stories and laughter. I came up with top 10 lists (top 10 reasons GaGa should be on Facebook, top 10 reasons she really goes to San Diego every year, top 10 reasons I hope she never stops cooking) and once the ball got rolling, everyone, especially my uncles and mom, started opening up and sharing memories. Having us all in one room was so special. GaGa is in such good health, and she is the reason we're all so well adjusted and have such giving spirits.

My Aunt Betsy, who never minces her words, said some of the most poignant things about GaGa and her lasting impact on the family she married into. After everyone pitched in to throw a flawless reception at the community center in Aurora on Sunday, she made note of the fact that there was not one fight, spat, disagreement or even a tense moment the entire day, the entire weekend in fact. Most families can't even make it through a Thanksgiving dinner without some drama.

"You are the reason that our family is so open, outgoing and service-oriented," she told GaGa later. "You have passed that legacy on to us. Not every family is so blessed."

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After the family-filled weekend, it was time to start meandering back to Austin. We wanted to take our time, hopefully canoeing and camping along the way. Rain killed our canoeing plans, but we stayed in an awesome cabin in the Ouachita Mountains in Southeast Oklahoma and we camped at Cooper Lake just northeast of Dallas.

It was nice to spend some time just with the boys. The weather was perfect for sleeping and cooking outside, and Ian finally got to go fishing with Julian.









It was good to get back home, where summer is definitely underway. The garden has exploded, the AC is on and my belly is getting big. 2010 is flying by. I hope you all are taking time to enjoy it.

And baby boy makes four

The news started to trickle out to our friends and family in January, then our wider circle in Austin, including work, and finally on Twitter and Facebook, so it's time to fess up here.

We're having another baby.


Looks like baby boy No. 2 will be born in September, just as the heat of the summer finally starts to set into our bones and we lose hope that it will ever turn cool again. But we get what we ask for: I didn't want to have another baby in winter, so I'm lucky enough to get to have one in summer this time around. Boy or girl, I could have cared less, but now that we know it's a boy, I'm thrilled to think of Julian having a little brother.

He's pretty excited, too. It's a hard concept to impart on a 3-year-old, but he's really digging the idea of a baby brother, for whom he's always coming up with different weird names. (Most of them characters from movies or strange sounds like Wall-E or Ree-Roo.) He gives my belly tickles and kisses and — most of the time — is happy to share his Lucky Charms or quesadilla with his mommy so the baby can have some.



Speaking of the belly, there she is, growing by the day. I can still wear most of my clothes, but just with a rubber band to close the button and a cloth band to cover up the open fly. I'm very excited about having an excuse to wear moo-moo dresses all summer long (as if I needed one!), and swimming has already proven to be a relaxing, soothing way to easing my muscles.




When Ian was a kid, it was often just him and his dad, so in some ways, he has an only kid mentality. I feel so lucky to have grown up alongside Chelsea, and I knew I'd want two kids. When Julian was born and just an infant, it was hard to imagine having the energy, time or gumption to want to go through it all again, but I knew we'd eventually feel ready again. I feel so fortunate that Julian has grown into such an independent little boy and Ian into such a confident, patient father. It's a lot easier to prepare for this new little life because each of us plays a role in making our family stronger.

Being pregnant again has been great. Last pregnancy was pretty easy, minus the heartburn, and I'm feeling the second trimester glory right now. It's so funny to me, now that I've been pregnant, then not pregnant and now pregnant again, the stereotypes about pregnant women, especially about their emotional stability.

Sure, all kinds of crazy things are happening with hormones and anticipating such a big change, but I feel more focused and confident than ever when I've got a baby growing inside me. Many pregnant women report feeling in their prime, some physical symptoms notwithstanding. I'm lucky enough not to be suffering from nausea (I had some in the beginning, but it was linked to when I was taking vitamins. Once I started taking them at night, the nausea went away) or back pain (I'm sure that's probably coming soon.), but emotionally, I feel like I know what I want for myself and my family and there's little that can stop me.

Mentally, preggo brain does seem to have set in, which means I'm pretty freakin' forgetful, but even though I sometimes can't come up with the exact word or phrase I'd like, I still know that the feeling behind it is solid. I have no tolerance for people who come into our life and affect our balance in a negative way, and I just don't have time to deal with pettiness or problems that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

I'm bakin' a baby, people. Family is very clearly at the top of my priority list.

After all, come September, there will be four of us.