I think we have a professional hide-and-seeker here!

Just a quick update for Baby Ramm fans (or to keep all the family informed at once):

Yesterday we had a 17-week check-up appointment and everything looks good.  Baby Ramm was being naughty as usual and was hiding from the doctor and her dopplar.  However, in this case Mommy approves because that means they had to wheel in the ancient ultrasound machine to make sure everything is ok and we got an extra look at Baby R.  I can't believe how much she/he has grown!  And what a little mover and shaker!  She/he is taking full advantage of the recently acquired long limbs and was kicking around like crazy.  In three weeks we get to go in for our 20-week ultrasound and that means finding out gender :).  Hopefully...

In other news, we had a visit from this little monkey last night:

May I introduce our preparation for Baby Ramm?  This is Aniiah and she is my cousin's 5-month-old.  So...my first cousin once removed?  Let's just call her my niece.

She is the best baby!  Always smiling and being adorable.  Erik is absolutely in love with her :).

Toast, on the other hand, has some reservations.  It is also good practice for him to get used to a baby.  I think it will be ok- at one point they were actually cuddling together on the boppy pillow.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Lately, I have been a little emotional.  I occasionally burst into tears for no reason at all.  THANK GOD it has not happened while I have been in court.  With the emotion I have also found myself feeling sentimental.  Christmas is a big deal around our apartment.  I come from a long line of Christmas lovers, but nobody does Christmas like my husband.  He is pure holly jolly.  He blasts carols.  He makes Christmas candies.  He anticipates Christmas morning like any four-year-old.  And, God bless him, he really does try to wrap gifts.  In essence, he is a delight to be around, especially during the holidays.

Getting back to my new-found sentimental self, every morning when I wake up I take advantage of some alone time and eat my cereal to the light of the tree.  Every year, Erik and I purchase an ornament to commemorate the year.  It started when we were first dating and we are starting to get quite a collection, with only one casualty (A snow couple inside a snow globe from 2007.  Come on Macy's, thicker glass next time!).  With Baby Ramm on the way I find myself thinking about where we were in our relationship during each careful purchase and love the beautiful story the ornaments tell.  See, I told you...way too sentimental.  Maybe too sappy?  Well, that's who I am right now apparently.  So, I decided to share a few of them with y'all:

  2006- The first one.  We had just started dating that fall, but I think we both knew we would be spending all our Christmases together after that.

If you can't see, this is Minny eyeing an engagement ring through a window and Mickey is sweating.  This is from 2008, the year we got engaged :).

Here is last year's, 2010.  I include it to commemorate our last year as "just the two of us."

Finally, I present Christmas Ornament 2011.  Parents excitedly waiting for the arrival of Baby Ramm.

I would be remiss if I did not show another member of the family who doesn't know he is waiting for the arrival of Baby Ramm:

Toast also really likes Christmas!  Everyone keeps saying he is not going to know what hit him when baby comes.  There is probably some truth to that.  But I have a feeling they will be besties before long.

So...that's the end.  Thank you for indulging my emotions.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Shock and Awe

As it turns out, everyone I know and love is capable of lies and deceit!  Although, I think in this case we can forgive them.  Intrigued?  Read on.

So who were these perpetrators of my trust?  Enter perp 1, the Mastermind, my bff Lauren.  If that is even her real name.  She convinced me I needed to drop by her house on my way to watch Dexter at my Mom's.  Luckily for her, I'm used to her nonsense requests and agreed without suspicion.  Enter perp 2, the Accomplice, my own Mom!  She made up an extremely believable excuse that she could not have dinner with us before Dexter so we had to arrive there later than usual...pure lies.  Finally, enter perp 3, the most surprising on the list, the Baby Daddy, Erik.  He very inconspicuously delivered me right into the den of the lion.  Honey, I didn't know you had it in you and frankly, I'm a little concerned.  So what does all this deceit add up to?  A surprise baby shower!

(Side note:  If you let a prego believe her daily activities consist only of lounging on the couch watching Miracle on 34th Street during intermittent napping, then going to the grocery store, followed by going to her Mom's house to watch Dexter, she is not going to run her closet, pull out her Sunday best, fix her hair, or create any pretense that she is "such a cute little pregnant person" rather than the mess she feels like.  So let me paint the picture of my appearance as I arrived as the guest of honor: charcoal leggings I pulled out of the dirty clothes hamper, a bright red sweatshirt, fluffy brown boots I literally pulled out of the bag going to Goodwill because they looked warm, nap hair, and no make-up.  I'm just grateful I brushed my teeth at the last minute!)

Back to the shower: Once I got over the shock I had a great time.  Several family members and friends were there, and I was told even my sister was involved in the elaborate scheme.  We played some baby shower games, including name that baby food (umm...baby food beef and chicken are disgusting!  I think Baby Ramm might be a vegetarian until he/she can eat solid food.)  Baby Ramm got some really nice gifts and I was once again reminded of how lucky he/she is to be born into such a loving and supportive (if somewhat devious) family.  And the best part of being totally caught off guard: no camera, so we will pretend no photos exist to document my unfashionable entrance :).  Thanks to everyone for scheming and going along with the ruse, it was a lot of fun!