New Pics

Marin is 12 weeks old this week, and she has come into her prime as far as bath time is concerned! She loves it, just kicking and splashing so vigorously that she almost shimmies right out of her little bath caddy!

She's Daddy's little water bug!

"She's Perfect"

Sick of baby pics yet? Get used to it, 'cause she's way more cute than we are! Just to update on our 2 month Dr. visit, I had underestimated her weight by about a pound...she's now 10 lbs., 10 oz. Healthy girl! She's moved up in the percentiles in all measures, and upon checking her out, Dr. Blair said, "She's perfect!" We like perfect!

We're just working on the ol' sleep patterns now...

Marin's First Toy

At about 7 weeks, Marin clenched her first toy. Here's a video of the momentous occasion...Well, I tried to post the video myself, and it took an UNREASONABLY long time. Have to wait for Ben's tech support on this one, sorry! Here's a picture, anyway.

Marin Turns 2 Months Old

Today is Marin's two-month-old birthday! As you can tell from the lack of blog posts, we've been a little busy figuring out this new and different world. We are so thankful for Marin, her health, and that she seems to be "clicking right along," as her 'Uncle' Clint says.

We go to the doctor for her 2 month visit tomorrow (boo shots!). By the looks of her, she is a good eater, and we suspect she'll weigh in around 9.5 lbs. or so, up a couple pounds from her birth weight. She has also grown in length by a couple inches.

She has rolled over, she's cooing and smiling more now, and just the other day, she held her first toy. I'll see if we can get some videos up soon.

Also, hopefully, we'll soon post baby pics of both of us and a survey to see who you all think she looks more like.

Here are just a few pictures of our early weeks:

7 weeks old and hammin' it up




At church in Cuero, TX the weekend of Great Granddaddy's 80th Birthday


Daddy - workin' his magic


Mom & Marin week two - a little groggy!

Marin's first Fourth of July

Marin had a great time during her "first fourth." As you can see from this picture, she is very protective of her cousin Reese. Marin finally put a stop to flash photography.Reese also decided to welcome her cousin Marin into the world with her own rendition of "Jesus Loves Me."
Here's the link to the video of Reese singing to Marin:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bjamin.wheeler/2008MarinsFirstJuly4th/photo?authkey=jQoYroQ9aDY#5219955225768245570

MARIN REED WHEELER IS HERE!!!!!!!!

Marin Reed Wheeler was born on 6/12/08 at 8:35 pm. She's a healthy 6 pounds, 7 ounces, and she's 20.5 inches long. Janet and Marin are both doing well.



Here is a video of Janet seeing Marin for the first time.





Here are a couple of pictures of Janet meeting Marin for the first time.

We're at the hospital!

We just arrived at the hospital to begin the process of bringing Marin into this world. Janet is doing well and our room is very comfortable. Janet's parents took this picture a few minutes ago as we left for the hospital.

39 Weeks and Counting

Now I'm realizing how pitiful the early pics I posted of my pregnant self were! I'm definitely feeling all 39 weeks by now. We are so ready and so excited for her arrival! The updated due date is Wed, 6/11. We'll let you know when she's here!

Baby Showers

We were very blessed with two wonderful baby showers, thrown by our dear friends! Here are a couple of pics...

Marin at 37 weeks

Here are a couple of the 3-D pics of Marin that we got at 37 weeks.

Better Late Than Never...

Ok, so it's been awhile since I last posted, and so many things have happened. Our remodel was completed in April. Since we had to basically move out for awhile, that's what I blame for the blog derailment. But it was SO worth the inconvenience...we are really enjoying our practically new home. Here, I'll post some before/after pics of the house:
Living Room Before:

Living Room After:

Master Bath Before:

Master Bath After:

Den Before:

Den/Office After:

Master Bedroom Before:

Master Bedroom After:

Update: 25 weeks

The bump is finally getting a little more obvious, and I'm still feeling really good. A lot of people are asking 2 questions: "Have you picked a name yet?" and "Do you have any weird cravings?" To the latter, my response is no, I have only consistently craved Blue Bell French Vanilla ice cream, which I have always loved, and from which I have heretofore abstained, so I'm enjoying the excuse to indulge. To the former question, the answer is YES! We have finally found a name that seems just right:

Marin Reed Wheeler

I hope everyone likes it, because it took some serious time to arrive at this decision, so we're sticking with it! So it's fun to call her by name now. I'm feeling her moving around a lot, and my favorite time of day is bedtime when I finally stop for the day, and we can just watch Marin go!

Our remodel project is about 30% done, and we're very excited as we see the progress, day by day. Still lots to do in the next 3 1/2 mos! Ben has been traveling quite a bit for work recently, but he's really enjoying the great things that are happening at RemitData, and the travel will slow down pretty soon. He's in Austin this week, which is why I'm up WAY past my bedtime tonight, as I always stay up too late when he's gone.

Check out the previous entry below...I posted a couple of entries tonight, as it's been a month since the last one.

I "Heart" NY - Our Valentine's Trip

Ben took me to NYC for Valentine's Day weekend! We stayed with my sister, Becky, and we had a great time. Here are a few pics.





Since we've done all the touristy things before (and because it was REALLY cold that weekend), we took it easy and just hung out at her great apartment. Ben took me to Gramercy Tavern for a great Valentine's Day meal, different parts of which we both thoroughly enjoyed. He savored a local Brooklyn brew, and I, the German Chocolate Cake. It was truly unforgettable! We pondered whether the experience was really, truly that great, or whether the atmosphere and our circumstances (the fleeting time we have left for peaceful, quiet dates alone together) just made it that much more precious? ...I think it was a mix of all those factors! We have been so blessed to be able to travel and enjoy each other so much in recent years. Ok, gush, gush...I'll spare you now! Hey, it was Valentine's Day--what else can you expect from an emotional pregnant lady?

Let the Nesting Begin

We're past the halfway mark, at 21 weeks! Here's an updated pic of me...I know, it's a little disappointing as far as the bump goes, but the Dr. promises me our little girl is growing as expected. I suppose I should count my blessings before the real discomfort sets in. At a minimum, this pic shows you the future site of our new home office!

That's right, construction will begin later this week. We're finally going to do (that is, have a professional do) the remodeling that we've been wanting to do since we moved in 4+ years ago. We'll have a new, larger master bath and walk-in closet, as well as a formal home office, with most of the extra space being carved out of the former game room. That's right, the pool table was listed on Craigslist last Saturday morning, and within 24 hours of posting, it was sold and hauled out :( It was fun while it lasted. We'll be sure to take before and after shots and share them once the projects are done.

One parting note...a shout out of congratulations to our friends Greg & Amanda for the arrival last Thursday of their strapping baby boy, Gavin. I can only aspire to be as great a trooper as Amanda was!

P.S. Check out Ben's entry below, which includes a link to the sonogram video.

My favorite silent film: "It's a girl!"

The video is here!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8642258704952177628&hl=en
If you find yourself longing for the days of silent films, this will be a very fullfilling video for you :)

I knew we were having a little GIRL several minutes before the sonogram technician made her announcement. My first clue was that she was crossing her legs and sitting on her feet. OUCH! WHAT GUY DOES THAT?!!

I love taking Janet shopping. Now I'll have two ladies in the house to take shopping:) Seriously, I have our first father daughter hunting trip already scheduled.....unless she wants to go shopping, or whatever else she wants to do:)

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

That's right, it's a girl! We learned a few things about our baby today...

1) Most importantly, we can start referring to the baby as a "she," as opposed to "it," or "shim" or "fetus" (I think that one came about at Christmas with the Wheelers).

2) She's very stubborn, just like her Daddy (and maybe a tiny sliver of me ;). It took quite a bit of maneuvering by the sonogram tech to get her to kick out those legs and show that which needed to be seen...or in our case, not seen.

And 3) She carries the Lewis family trait of long toes...the second toe, in particular, being notably longer than the big toe. I inherited this trait from my Dad, so she has her Poppa Gary's trademark long second toe, which we Lewises choose to believe is a sign of intelligence!

I'll ask Ben to post some sonogram pics or other items of note tomorrow, since it's late and I'm tired! But I'm still very blessed to be feeling great.

It's a...

...rescheduled sonogram! We were expecting to find out if we're having a boy or girl next Wednesday, but I had to reschedule for the following week, the 16th. So, we're just waiting! Everyone's curious to know whether we want a boy or girl. Well, besides the obvious answer that we want a healthy baby and will be totally excited either way, I'll just say we have a 50/50 vote in our house as to what we think we're having, so one of us will be surprised either way. I'm still feeling good and showing a little more each day. There's not much that's very exciting going on at this point (which is good, I'm told). Just wanted to wish everyone the best for 2008. Happy New Year!