Bye, Bye Beard

After a short-lived attempt last year, Eric thought he'd grow a beard for the winter. Once he got past the initial itchy phase, he started to appreciate not having to shave every night.

Last Sunday, we took one final photo of Eric with beard...

...and now he's back to being clean-shaven. The good news: he just shaved 10 years off his face! :)

Should the winter beard make a return next year?

Visit with the Sparlings

It had been nearly a year since we'd made it down to Leeds to visit with the Sparling family. Their kids are growing up too fast!

Tyler, almost 5, is fearless in everything she does, whether it's gymnastics or riding a bike or collecting chicken eggs!

Noah, 3, is starting to come out of his shell and show off his fun-loving personality.















Sydney, 14 months, is still finding her place in the pecking order, but she'll probably give them both a run for their money!

We had a wonderful visit and can't wait to do it again!

Nesting

With Stacy on spring break, we took advantage of some extra free time to start getting the nursery ready. Our first task was emptying out the room, which had become quite the catch-all, and giving it a thorough cleaning (Thanks, Sue, for doing the carpets!). Once that was out of the way, we were ready for the fun part - setting up the room!

Sue and Joe generously bought us a sweet convertible crib and it arrived late last week. We were anxious to put it together to begin filling up the empty room.

We've developed a pretty good system where Stacy exhaustively reads the directions and Eric does exactly as Stacy tells him to. And that system doesn't just work for building things ;)

It started to take shape pretty quickly.

Eric, embracing his new responsibilities as a father, made sure all the screws and bolts were safely tightened.

It's hard to believe that in just 11 short weeks, there will be a baby sleeping in that crib!

My bump, my bump, my bump, my bump...check it out!

28 weeks pregnant and definitely feeling it! I love that I actually look pregnant now, and not just like I've been eating too many desserts...oh, wait, I have been!

(A special thanks to my mother-in-law for this adorable maternity shirt. I get compliments every time I wear it!)

Birthdays!

Late February/early March is a busy time for birthdays! First up, Melissa's 28th birthday. Brian organized a surprise party, although it was only a surprise until she pulled into the driveway.

Melissa loved her gift from Brian: a nautical map of the area where she grew up.

We hope your wish comes true!

The following weekend, it was time to celebrate Joe's 57th birthday. The cake wasn't quite big enough for all of his candles!

Apparently Brian didn't have enough cake, so he turned to Melissa!

Next on the birthday list...Stacy!

I love that new car smell!

As the winter has progressed, we could no longer deny that Stacy's car was a deathtrap and needed to be replaced before the little one comes along. On one hand, it was hard to say goodbye to the Saturn...

...but not too hard since she now gets to drive this sweet ride:

After doing our research, we had narrowed our choices down to Honda or Toyota. In the end, Toyota was a better fit and better deal for our growing family. Stacy was the prime negotiator, and rocked it. We knew we had the car salesman right where we wanted him when he chased us outside after we told him we'd get lunch and think about it. Ultimately, we got a great deal on this 2010 Toyota Corolla LE.

We'll see if we're still this excited when we have to make our first payment next month!

Baby Russell - EXPOSED!

A few weeks ago, we went in for our 20-week ultrasound. We were excited, but didn't quite know what to expect. The first thing we saw was our little one's feet...5 toes on each, a good start!

The ultrasound featured a combination of 3D and what they refer to as 4D photos, although we can't quite figure out what the fourth dimension is...

We saw some great shots of Baby Russell's arms and hands, too.

There were shots of the baby's spine, ribs, heart, brain, kidneys, etc. but they didn't compare to seeing our child's face. He or she wasn't exactly cooperating, so it was difficult to get some crisp images, but they were still pretty sweet!

Who do you think he/she looks like? Eric? Stacy? The milkman?

As the technician was wrapping up, Baby Russell threw its hand up. We're still not sure whether he/she was saying "Enough is enough!" or waving goodbye...

The entire experience was very humbling. We stuck to our guns and didn't find out the sex of the baby, and haven't had second thoughts (so if you think you see something in a picture, keep your mouth shut! [says Eric]).

We can't wait for June (or maybe May?) to see this baby in the flesh!