Babies and Grannies...

Here is Grant, giving himself a bottle, probably his first learned skill. Of course, it has to do with food.

Sweet Baby Blue Eyes! OK, check out the family resemblance on the picture of Ryan below:


This is Ryan at four months, they sure do look alike!

Leif enjoying his Christmas present with Daddy. He was really good with the train, very patient and intrigued.

Choo Choo!

Oma Sue, Oma Ru, and Leif too! Merry Christmas!

331/2 weeks and still smiling!Baby Belly!

Well we had a very low-key and relaxing Christmas. I hope everyone enjoyed theirs as well. Things are good here in White Marsh, Baby is growing and moving lots. I am now having dreams that the baby is born but our home doesn't even have one diaper or onsie in it. I guess I better get started on the baby's room!

Ryan and I are really enjoying Grandma Ru's visit. She has been the supervisor on the Bathroom project:

The bathroom is 99% finished. Hallelujah!

Happy New Year!

Renovating a Bathroom, Easy as 1,2,3...

Prime...

Bullnose...

Shower wall...Use lots of force to set the tile...
(and release some frustration)

But remember, always measure accurately...

More Baby Pics!

This image reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock! (It's a profile shot of the head and bust)

Last Monday, I had a sonogram scheduled to check the placenta. At the beginning of the pregnancy it was placed low, covering the exit door. Fortunately, as my uterus grew, the placenta traveled north, and now all things are a go for a vaginal delivery. Ryan could not make the appointment, so Grandma Lola came along. Baby is head down and feet up, ready for the big day.

Lately Baby is using my bottom ribs as a foot rest, and my bladder as a pillow. He doesn't kick my ribs, just sets his feet there with some pressure. When I sit my ribs ache. So I push in under my ribs, grab the foot and push it off. It's funny, but the baby will get kinda agitated and reposition himself as if to say "excuse me, I'm resting in here and you are disturbing me". The bladder thing is very typical, I run to the bathroom hourly but there isn't much in the bladder. Since our only functional bathroom is downstairs, this means lots of exercise for me.

I am officially off of work. Before anyone thinks "why is she taking so much time off?" I can explain. The float pool hours at work were scant this month, so my original intention of working till the end of the year is not happening. It is a good thing though, as my back and sciatic nerves are giving me a hard time, and lots of standing and activity worsen the pain. And there's lots of standing, walking and bending in nursing. So now my new title is "Domestic Engineer". I am spending this time giving the house a "deep cleansing". Cleaning cupboards, ceiling fans, under furniture, etc. And of course, there is always sorting and organizing.

January is nursery month! Ryan and I finally registered at Baby's R Us. Once the waterbed is out, I'll have the room ship-shape in no time.

Ryan has been hard at work on the bathroom, and the tile is looking great! As luck would have it, our special order items are in (vanity, medicine cabinet, over the toilet cabinet and shower head.) Everything is falling in line. We should be finished by New Years, our fastest project ever.

Say a prayer for Kristi, she has a big interview tomorrow and we really hope she gets the job!

Till next time...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I couldn't wait to hang stockings on our new mantel.

Notice there is one for "Papa" "Mama" and of course, one for "Baby"!

Finally, winter has arrived! Usually I don't look forward to these blustery short days, but this time it's different. I think it is because winter's end holds the greatest event of our lives; the arrival of our little one. Thanksgiving was wonderful, thanks to Lola. She made a feast for 30 and of course, everything was excellent. The next day Ryan left to go hunting for the weekend.

Work has finally slowed down, I only have this weekend and the next, then I am finished. It has been nice, having these past days off. This past weekend I decorated for Christmas and baked some cookies. (Of course all the while listening to my Charlie Brown Christmas music.) I feel this will be the most relaxing Christmas ever. In a week and a half Grandma Ru will be here for the holidays, yah!

Ryan decided on a whim to start renovating the upstairs bathroom now rather than wait for January. If all goes as planned, it should be finished by the end of the month. It's funny, they say an expectant mother goes through a "nesting" period, readying the home for baby. I feel like Ryan has it too, as we hurry and finish these last projects before baby's arrival. By the new year we will have, for the most part, completely renovated our little home. It is so wonderful.

More baby news: this kid has more moves than John Travolta on speed! Baby is constantly moving! On Thanksgiving morning, while he was going at it, I put my fingers on my stomach and met resistance, I think it was a foot or a hand, because the two of us just pushed against each other, kinda like holding hands. These words can not describe it justly, it's amazing!

I finally chose the nursery theme: twinkle stars, bunnies and lambs. Tomorrow Mom, Lisa, and I are doing arts and crafts. I plan to make a mobile, Mom will sew the nursery curtains, and Lisa will paint a watercolor to dress up the walls. I wanted the room to have personal touches, not a lot of store bought over-done stuff. I did buy the bedding and some artwork, but I am trying to refrain from getting anything else.

Wednesday evening starts our Birthing classes. Ryan will finally learn where babies come from. Hope he can handle it.

BUNDLE UP, CAUSE BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

The Matschulat Family Thanksgiving 2007.

Ryan, Ryan H. and Mark went hunting in Greenridge Thanksgiving weekend. Here they are enjoying yummy leftovers I packed them.

Ryan and Ryan were very successful that weekend. Sorry if this offensive to anyone, just a day-in-the-life at the Winterstein's.

Good-bye "bone bathroom"






Another "before" shot. We are keeping the sink and hardware, but everything else is gone.






Demolition Man! Removing plaster walls is tough work, it took Ryan a full day.










The first piece of drywall. See the 2x4 to the right of Ryan? We found "Ryan" written in pencil in his own 5 year old handwriting. Cool, huh? Kinda like a time-capsule. Bill & Lola enclosed a window back in the early 80's. I guess little Ryan wanted to make his mark.

Sheesh, I look like my mom!

MUTTER!

Long Time, No Blog

Grandma Mil and Leif E. Pants.

The smart guys, who didn't go hunting in the rain.

At least they look like they know what they're doing.

Ahhh, the Florida Keys.




Happy Birthday Leif!

He had so much fun.

Sorry for the lack of bloggage. Life has been busy but good.

In October, I flew to Miami to celebrate Leif's first birthday. Mom, Dad, Jason, Laura, Leif and I celebrated with a small intimate party, complete with cupcakes and a paper hat. I think this was the first one-year-old birthday party I went to that the guest of honor actually enjoyed himself, and wasn't completely overwhelmed with alot of commotion. Leif was all smiles, he seemed to understand what was going on. The next day we went for a day trip to the Florida Keys, one of my most favorite places.

Mid-October we packed up and headed to the Greenridge Mountains for our annual camp trip. It was a nice crowd: Ryan, Kristi, Bill, Sean, Hurlock, his girlfriend Alyssa, Andre, Ron, Steve and myself. Karen had to skip this year, she was truly missed. Ironically, we all turned in earlier to bed this year than ever before! Friday night we actually danced around the campfire with music from DJ Ryan. That was a first. Well, unfortunately, no one shot a deer and the guys came home empty handed.

Late October we celebrated Ryan's and Kristi's Birthdays. We had dinner in Crazy Court (Bill & Lola's) then everyone in the court joined us for dessert. I really enjoyed seeing everyone and playing with the kids. It won't be long until Ryan and I will be adding to the growing number of grandkiddies. Can't wait! Grant is growing fast, he is so cute and getting more interactive.

So far my pregnancy is going exceptionally well. But what it is doing to my body, that's another story. Everything was going smooth (except for the skin problems and heartburn) until this past week. My right sciatic nerve started acting up. I left work early on Tuesday and called out Wednesday because of intermittent but severe pain. On Wed. afternoon, the bottom dropped out, or should I say my bottom dropped out. The pain came on continuously and relentlessly. I could not walk or sit. My OB took me in last minute. (Thanks to Aunt Kristi who drove me) Unfortunately, there isn't much to do for it while I am pregnant. Just ice, heat and rest. So I am pretty much on house arrest. No driving, no stairs, just lots of resting. Kinda boring. Really boring. Oh well, our baby is healthy, the pregnancy is healthy, and this is all I can ask for. I am actually in good spirits, and everyday the pain is a little less.

Baby is moving lots. I think about him/her all the time since it's just the two of us home all day. The baby weighs about 2lbs and is about 9 inches long from top of the head to the bottom of his butt. In a week and a half I will be in my last trimester! Woooohoooo! I can't wait to meet the little guy/gal. 3 months to go!!!

Introducing Baby Winterstein...

Ryan and I went for a sonogram on Tuesday. It was so much fun. Our little baby is a wiggler, he/she wouldn't stay still through most of it! The sono tech could tell what the sex is, but we held out. And yes, it was difficult.

I am feeling the baby move on a regular basis now. I first felt it on 9/9, but I wasn't positive it was really the baby until later in the week. Now though, it is unmistakable. It always catches me off guard and I usually take a quick breath of suprise. It is most enjoyable, because now I feel like we can communicate on some level. It just makes it all seem so real. I am now 19 weeks, almost at the halfway point.

Ryan The Handyman

We removed the island that Ryan is standing behind
Demolition Man! We took out the old fireplace and brick.

Ryan's masterpiece: the bathroom tile.

Watch your fingers!

The new fireplace.

At bottom of steps looking at my new laundry room.

This pic shows off the recessed lighting we put in

throughout the basement.

As many of you know, Ryan and I have been fixing up our house since spring of '06. We started with the kitchen last summer, and as if that wasn't enough fun, we proceeded to gut and redo the basement this past spring. I am very proud of Ryan, he has done an excellent job and he continues to add to his skills. He has learned so much in the past 2-3 years.

Happy Anniversary!

Sunday was our two year anniversary. We celebrated by doing another day trip. After dropping off Kristi at BWI for her vacation, we headed over to the Eastern Shore. We stopped in Chestertown, did some window shopping, then headed north on 213 towards Chesapeake City. On the way, we stopped by hunting property that is owned by the state. It is located on the beautiful Sassafrass River. Ryan has his name in to possibly hunt it this year (they draw names by lottery). We did a little hike and I saw a wild male turkey! In Chesapeake City we had dinner at The Chesapeake Inn on the banks of the C&D canal. The food and atmosphere was excellent.

Well two years have past and I can honestly say that we are more happy today than the day we married. We have so much fun together and have many things to look forward to. I am truly grateful for our life together.



Here are a few pics from Sunday:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12491359@N08/sets/72157601940076570/