Jelly Bean!

The Steinbach clan has expanded by one healthy little girl! We welcomed Jelly Bean into the fold on the International Day of the Girl Child and during the Germany vs. Ireland football game. 

She's 50 cm long and weighed in exactly like her brother at 3010 grams. 

Speaking of PJ, he is a very proud big brother. Within three minutes of meeting her, he demanded to hold "mein baby" (my baby). Then he smothered her with kisses, kisses, and more kisses. 

After a rocky 40 weeks, it's amazing to see her, rosy and completely healthy on the outside. I'm also doing well. Alls well that ends well, right? 

XO

Last Date Night

Right on time for jelly bean and I to hit 39 weeks, the Mr. and I had our last date night before becoming parents of two. Thankfully hot babysitter was able to hang out with PJ while we were out.

As soon as everything was all settled at home, we walked (or in my case, waddled) over to a local restaurant, had a great meal, and enjoyed what could be our last evening of kid-light conversation. We talked about upcoming weddings, our careers, a little bit of politics, and just enjoyed being out as adults.

On Thursday we'll be celebrating 40 weeks! Looking forward to it.



xo

Last Minute Projects

As we get ready for jelly bean to arrive, we've been completing projects around the house. We've done so many of them that I can't quite keep track of them all - that's owning a house, I guess - but here are two of the most recent, impactful ones.

Project One: Front Yard
Remember what it looked like when we bought the place? I like to call it the "I think someone is buried in there" garden style.

Thankfully, it doesn't look like that anymore and there wasn't anyone buried in there. Thank goodness. Our very talented friend who also did the back patio put in two walkways with the same stones to add shape to the front and simplify the walk from our driveway to our front door. After that was done, we added a boundary along the front, and finally the Mr. moved a hibiscus tree from the back yard and added some winter-friendly plants.

 

 

Project Two: Wire Chaos

Since we've got a man in the house, we also have a massive TV, a surround sound system, a PlayStation3, and other stuff that requires wires. Lots of wires.

 



Look past the adorable little boy and notice the wire chaos, please.

 

The Mr. has been trying to figure out a way to organize those wires for over a year. Last week he implemented his plan, with PJ's help. 

 

 

The start of the project.

The last step of the project. PJ is in a supervisory role here.

 

The completed project - amazing the difference, right?

We've done so much more, including changing around PJ's room, setting up jelly bean's room, organizing and tidying up, and so much more. Gotta get pictures of all that....


xo

Our Last Pre-Jelly Bean Guests

Our very last overnight visitors before the jelly bean arrives have come and gone. We got to spend a very nice, relaxed evening with them in Heidelberg, taking in some of the touristy spots and then getting a yummy beer hall meal. Our last guests before PJ were my cousin and two of her friends who were travelling around Europe; it is fitting that this time it was a lovely family of three from my college days.

On our short walking tour, we stumbled across 3000 plastic pandas that kids could move around, arrange, and just generally use to entertain themselves. I'm pretty positive there was a deeper meaning to the pandas but I'm 38 weeks pregnant, gimme a break, okay?

 

PJ with the pandas. He ended up with quite a group.

Our too cute guests.

Over dinner and then a 'late' (after 8pm) conversation on the couch, I learned so much about personal training, research offices, and the town they call home in Ohio. Wish we had had more time - guess we'll have to drop by when we are in Ohio next time!


xo
 

New Camera - WDYT?

A week ago I realized that I had somehow managed to misplace our camera. I looked everywhere with no success. So, yes, I lost our camera just weeks before I give birth to our second child.

Poor kid. Its a fact that parents take fewer pictures of their second than they did of their first...but, to not have a camera at all? It turns out one other Facebook friend did the exact same thing while expecting her second child, ad she is good people and a great mom, so at least I'm in good company.

Thank goodness for Amazon Prime, right?

After asking around and doing some research on my own, I settled on the Nikon Coolpix s3500. Sunday and last night night we played around with the camera, taking a handful of pictures. We need a simple, reliable camera. This one seems to be both.

Since babies and toddler move like crazy, I want one that also has a super fast shutter speed and can take more than one picture after the other quickly - which this camera doesn't. Or at least I can't figure out how to make it.

 

Any tips/tricks/suggestions out there? What do you think about the pictures? Got a tip about how to take pictures quickly, one after the other?

 Set One: Eating breakfast:

Set Two: Off to vote!

Set Three: PJ goofing around with the cardboard tub that usually holds his wooden train set:

Set Four: Jelly bean and I:

xo

Homemade Pregnancy Portrait

A few days ago I was trying to get a reasonable picture to send to a friend of mine for a project she is working on. Before I started posing, I wanted to see if the lighting was okay. What I got is about the best picture I've ever seen of the last few weeks of pregnancy:

Pregnancy, how glamorous.

Exhausted, uncomfortable, and just overall blah. Yes, I'm still stoked and grateful that jelly bean is baking and that we are doing okay. I'm also exhausted, uncomfortable, and just blah.

Thank goodness, I have my little ham to cheer it all up around here. Recently he found one of daddy's work shirts and insisted on putting it on and that I tuck it in for him. Then he declared he was going to work.

Such a proud little monkey.

xo

35/36 Weeks

Jelly bean and I are rounding the corner into our 36th weeks! Which means we are now about a month away from our estimated due date.

 

Considering all the health problems we've both faced during this pregnancy, and although she remains small for her gestation age, she *could* arrive today and we'd both be (statistically at least) in the clear. I'm hoping for another three weeks - or even more - of pregnancy so that she has more time to grow and develop.

 

Dear readers, we are so, so close to full-term. That's worthy of a celebration, I think.

 

The middle of the 35th week.

PJ wants to celebrate too...or at least he wanted to be a part of the picture through another photo bomb.

xo