Week 1: A Changed World

Our little blessing Dylan has been with us 1 week today. Just as everyone said it would, our life has changed! However, for me it has changed in a way that is more wonderful than I can describe or could have ever imagined. Scott made this awesome slide show for me to share some of the moments we've captured on camera so you can catch a small glimpse of how our world has changed...

The Best Birthday Gift Ever

Family Photo Leaving the Hospital

Me and My Little Boy on My Birthday

Today I got to celebrate my birthday with my son. I couldn't have asked for a better time or a more special little man. We love him very, very much.

Our Little Dylan!

Dylan Scott Connors was born on Thursday, April 10th at 4:08 AM. He weighs 7 lb 9 oz and is 20.5 in long. He came out with a nice head of blond hair and the most startling blue eyes I have ever seen. He looks a lot like his mama when she was born. We are now all at home and loving the new addition to our family. More details and photos to come, as well as the official baby pool results.

Snoopee's Favorite Spot

Here is a picture of Snoopee that Crystal took this afternoon. It is in Dylan's room and the sun is shining in through the window. Snoop loves to lay on the floor in Dylan's room and soak up the rays. It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Albuquerque. Crystal, Snoopee, and I have gone on a few long walks these last couple of days in an attempt to promote the labor process. So far there have been a few random contractions, but nothing long-lasting. So we wait and sit in Dylan's room together every now and again.

36 Weeks & Growing

Today I am 36 weeks 4 days pregnant and posing in my new favorite room! Hope you all enjoyed the nursery video. This last month is definitely going to be the most physically taxing and draining, but it just means that I'm that much closer to holding my little boy. I have been counting down the days until I am done working. Just 6 days to go. Once I make it through this weekend, rest is in sight (well, at least until Dylan arrives)! Today I was pampered with a wonderful spa treatment including a fun new haircut, a scalp massage and a deluxe mani-pedi that Scott gave me for Valentine's Day. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive husband! Speaking of blessed, I had a wonderful baby shower a few weeks ago. We received lots of super generous gifts and many adorable outfits. As you can partially see in the nursery video, the closet full of clothes is a good indicator that Dylan will be well dressed. Thank you so much to everyone! We now have the essentials we need, plus some, so whenever Dylan decides to come we will be ready. Here are a couple of pictures from the shower:

The fun cake made by Linda

Honored guests that flew in from WA & AZ
(from left- Nana, Me, my Mom, and Gram)

My Dad also flew in from Washington for the shower weekend and deserves the MVP (most valuable Pops) award for his contributions to the nursery and to Scott's sanity. They were able to go skiing and golfing while still building all of the furniture and putting the finishing touches on the nursery. Thanks Dad!


Also remember to enter the baby pool by leaving a comment on the post below and if you haven't seen the nursery video yet, it is just two posts below.

Baby Pool Time! It's Fantastic!

I have been meaning to do a baby pool blog before the little guy arrives and realized that I was quickly running out of time. The countdown says just over 24 days, which really means it could be anytime now. So... it is now time for the baby pool! Below you will find a list of questions. You enter the pool by leaving a comment with numbers 1 through 5 and your guesses listed next to the corresponding number. If there is more than one of you associated with an account (like M & M), you should each enter the pool by giving different guesses and specifying who guessed what. The person with the most correct answers will win and receive a special prize in the mail shortly (well maybe a few weeks) after the birth of little Dylan. Don't forget to look below and watch the nursery video I posted last night. Okay... guess away!

1. What day will Dylan be born on?
2. How much will Dylan weigh (pounds and ounces)?
3. How tall will Dylan be (inches)?
4. Will Dylan have hair? If so, what color?
5. Will Dylan be born in the AM or PM?

Nursery Video

After fighting with my computer for a day while trying to make the long-awaited nursery video, the time has finally come. The video is ready and available below with just the touch of a play button. As a disclaimer, this is the first time I have used the camcorder and the first video I have made on the computer so it is a bit of a mess... but I love it. I forgot to tape the ceiling fan we installed and this really cool train rug that is on the floor, but you get the idea. If you want to see the full thing you will just have to come visit us after the little guy arrives. Oh yeah... make sure your computer speakers are on because there is some musical accompaniment. Without further ado...

D is for Dylan!

After much thought and deliberation, Crystal and I pared the choices down to our favorite five names. Then we separately ranked them and looked at the results. Dylan was on the top of both of our lists and that sealed the deal. In honor of his father (that's me!), we have decided his middle name will be Scott. So our son is now Dylan Scott Connors and we are very excited about that. We have had a few weeks of calling Dylan by his name in Crystal's tummy and I think he likes it almost as much as we do. Either that or it is just the hiccups. Who really knows.

Look for a couple of new postings this week. I am sorry to say that I have officially ended my nursery chronicles after a riveting 2 episodes due to the strike shortened season and will just present a summary video of the now !!COMPLETED!! nursery in my next posting (the photo above is actually from the nursery as a bit of a teaser). You definitely won't want to miss it. Also, Crystal should have an updated belly pic posting (almost 36 weeks now) and some news from the baby shower earlier this month. So don't give up on us yet.

Bye for now...

32 Weeks

The Connors household has been through a whirlwind of changes over the past few weeks. Scott is making progress on the nursery and it is nearly ready to move furniture in. I am so excited! I will let him give you the details in his nursery stories since he is such a wonderful storyteller. Last weekend my Dad's parents, Gram & Gramps, came to visit and shared some helpful decorating pointers and helped us get closer to finishing the nursery project extraordinaire. This week we also had the carpets cleaned and an electrician installed wiring for overhead lighting in our office and a ceiling fan in the nursery. We managed to pack all this in with prenatal/gym exercise classes on Tuesday & Wednesday nights and childbirth education classes on Thursday nights. Whew!!!

Tuesday of this past week we received good news at our ultrasound. We had the ultrasound because our midwife was a little concerned about the growth of the baby due to measurements being small for my due date. However, we learned our baby boy is growing well and weighs about 3 lbs. 12 oz. and is positioned well for delivery, with his head down. He was hiding, facing my back, so we were not able to get any pictures of his face to share. I have check-ups every 2 weeks now until 36 weeks, at which point we will meet with the midwife every week until the end. This final stretch of pregnancy is difficult but is also very exciting. One of my favorite parts is watching my belly shimmy anytime he kicks or rolls around.

Next Saturday is our baby shower. This is super exciting news for me because my parents will be in town, along with both of my grandmas! Scott and I had fun registering at Babies R' Us and Target but it honestly took me awhile to get over the intimidated and overwhelmed feeling I got when we first walked into the stores. Babies R' Us in particular carries a vast array of baby things and contraptions that will soon be a part of our lives, with everything from bouncers to butt paste.

Back by popular demand... here are a couple of recent belly shots, one from 5 weeks ago and one from tonight. Scott and I can't believe I was ever measuring small. What do you think? People keep asking me if I ate a watermelon or basketball and Scott says I look like a kangaroo with a little Joey in my pouch because my stomach is all baby right now.

27 Weeks

32 Weeks

Creating a Nursery Episode II: Cool Hue Blue for You By You Know Who

Hello Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Blog Reader. Welcome back to the Nursery Episodes! Sorry for the delay. Due to the writer's strike I felt I should postpone this episode a week in order to have enough episodes left to make it through the prime viewing season. Crystal and I have been watching the new Terminator show and now I think we should have named our blog "Preganator: The Baby Connors Chronicles". What do you think?

Anyway, back to the task at hand. I was inspired to come up with the title of this episode by the Dr. Suess' book, Fox In Socks, which I recently read to a niece and nephew. It's a great book if you are not the one reading it aloud. His tongue twisters are a bit more eloquent, but you get the point. Without further ado...


Episode II: Cool Hue Blue for You By You Know Who

01.26.2008 1230 Albuquerque, NM
In The Nursery

Scott is back in the nursery after a hard week of work at the factory. He is staring down the challenge and it is staring right back at him. He managed to pull off a miracle last week with his Red Scare work. He called it the Red Scare because while he was painting it, he was scared that Crystal would absolutely despise the dark red color (red has that effect on people) and he would have to scrap his whole plan and start over. Fortunately Crystal loved it and had been raving about it all week. Now the pressure was greater than a tea pot of boiling water and all Scott wanted to do was let out some steam to relieve it. His stomach was doing flips and his heart was racing... it was GO time!!!

Scott started painting at a furious pace. Paint was literally flying out of the bucket and on to the walls. In under an hour he was already sending Crystal to Lowe's to get some more paint (Cool Hue, a blue hue, for those of you who want to kn 'e' w) because one can just couldn't handle the domination. He owned the room, he owned the paint roller, and he owned this project. It was actually coming together. Scott was thinking he might finish two coats of paint in time for his niece's (Maggie) birthday bash at 1700 that night.

01.26.2008 1630 Albuquerque, NM
STILL In The Nursery

Okay, Scott was wrong about his record pace. He is still in the nursery trying to apply the finishing touches to his first coat of paint for the day. His early pace cost him dearly as he hit the 2-hour mark and he certainly did NOT own the closet. Scott realized that small closets are places best left unpainted. His muscles ached, his back was in full spasm mode, and he was on the brink of defeat. The worst part was that he would have to face the challenge again tomorrow. His output for the day: 1 coat of paint in 4 non-stop hours. It's a good thing Scott doesn't make a living as a painter.

01.27.2008 1430 Albuquerque, NM
Back In The Nursery the Next Day

Scott is in survival mode now. He's been left battered and bruised by yesterday's revolt by the nursery walls. He is just hoping to get this thing done in time to sleep tonight. He starts off at a steady pace, putting the finishing touches on all of the dreadful corner and edge spots. Scott despises corner and edge spots because he is a perfectionist and can never get the paint to look perfect in these spots. He dutifully pushes on, yearning for the time he can use the big roller and get it done. He loves the big roller. So big, so fast, such a perfect painting tool.

01.27.2008 1900 Albuquerque, NM
STILL In The Nursery

Scott has been steadily painting for the last 4.5 hours, yearning for dinner and rest. He is again in the dreaded closet and finishing up his time with the big roller. He applies the last stroke and calmly places the roller in the paint tray and walks out of the room a victorious man. He has stared defeat in the ojos and swatted it away like a pesky fly. He brings Crystal in to reveal his masterpiece and she is ecstatic, saying "I love it! It looks sooo good!". She immediately starts taking tape off of the walls (it is her favorite part of painting) and gets happier with each rip and pull. Scott responsibly reminds her she isn't supposed to be in the room with freshly painted paint fumes, but she presses on a few more minutes until the tape is gone. The smile on her beautiful face eases Scott's aches and pains and allows him to let out that high-pressure steam he has built up all weekend. He looks at the room and can't wait until next week to tackle the accent molding. He is driven by the joy that it will bring to his lovely wife and her glowing face.

Here is an up-to-date picture for your viewing enjoyment. It may look a lot like the pictures from the Red Scare episode, but rest assured, Scott actually painted blue on those walls. You can see white between the blue and red sections where the tape used to be. It is important to note that it isn't the same color as the turquoise blue shown in the Microsoft Paint design picture. It is much nicer (and lighter) and matches our nursery set perfectly.



The End!

Creating a Nursery Episode I : The Red Scare

Prologue:
I have decided to document the creation of the baby nursery in a riveting mini-series for your reading enjoyment. As the Mr. or Mrs. (or even Ms.) Blog Reader, you will have the good fortune to see second-hand some amazing, artistic feats that you will most definitely not want to try on your own home. This awesome demonstration of nursery creation is not for the weak of heart. If it becomes too much to handle, just click the little 'X' at the top right corner of your browser. I'll understand. For effect, I will be referring to myself in the third person throughout the mini-series. Without further ado...

Episode I: The Red Scare

01.13.2008 1300 Albuquerque, NM
The Connors Residence

Scott just finished posting a blog that says he will be posting nursery pictures on said blog in the upcoming weeks. He begins to sweat a little as this means he will actually have to work on the nursery in the upcoming weeks. Crystal has carefully chosen the nursery bedding to have many colors to choose from, so this leaves Scott with endless possibilities for the nursery design. Lazy Scott is thinking he can just paint it some light shade of blue, leave the closet untouched, hang a few pictures and voila! Nursery! Unfortunately Ambitious Scott is already convincing Crystal to go with this cool, complicated tri-color design with accent molding, changing the existing trim, fixing the closet shelves, putting in a ceiling fan, and even possibly painting some neato trains on the wall. Now he's opening Microsoft Paint and and giving her a color demonstration (see picture). Now he's at Lowe's buying paint, primer, and painting supplies. There is no turning back now. The Super Nursery is on the way!


01.19.2008 1230 Albuquerque, NM
Back at Lowe's

Scott requested another trip to his favorite hardware store to buy a laser level. He is asking himself why he chose a project that would require such a device, but dutifully chooses the cheapest one and calls it good. He has spent the last few days worried about his design and if he can actually pull it off by himself. You see, Crystal gets an automatic free pass on creating the nursery because paint fumes are not good for moms-to-be, which leaves Scott flying solo on this mission.

01.19.2008 1330 Albuquerque, NM
The Connors Residence

The time has come! Scott whips out his newly acquired laser level and begins taping off a section of the wall where the accent molding will go. He manages not to shoot any living persons or dogs in the ojos with the laser device and the cheap model works like a champ. The iPod stereo is plugged in and the tunes are blaring. Things are looking up. However, it isn't until after a grueling three more hours of taping everything in the room except for Snoopee before it's finally painting time. At this point it is important to understand that painting is a form of torture for Scott. It isn't a stretch to say that he is a bit of a perfectionist and painting is far from a perfect science. Any uncovered white spots or paint streaks are like nails on a chalkboard to his fragile psyche. Scott must really be excited about this little guy to paint a room by himself on a fine Saturday afternoon.

01.19.2008 1730 Albuquerque, NM
In the Nursery

Of course, if it were just painting that would be one thing. The color that best matches the bedding set (Radiant Red) happens to require that a tintable primer be applied to the wall prior to actually painting it with said color. This is unfortunate for Scott because it increases the painting workload by 25%, which is really a tragedy. Fortunately, Scott loves his wife and unborn child so much that he presses on despite the primer problem. In a mere 6 hours, Scott is able to transform the completely white room into a completely white room with a radiant red trim on the bottom of the walls. For those of you counting at home, in 6 hours he has applied a single coat of tintable primer and not 1, but 2 coats of Radiant Red paint to approximately 37.5% of the surface area of the wall. He even had time to feed the dog during those 6 hours. I'm fairly certain this is close to the record for fastest room painting in history. At this rate the nursery might even be complete by the boy's 2nd birthday party. Fortunately for Scott, Crystal comes home and is ecstatic about the progress of the room and loves the color.

Now before you see these initial pictures, remember that this is just the beginning. Scott has many more features up his sleeve that will turn the Red Scare into the Super Nursery. However, for now it is just the Red Scare.




The End!

T is for Train

We haven't posted a baby update since the ultrasound pictures from a few months ago. The reason for this is that the little guy is not doing much bloggable stuff right now. All of our checkups have gone really well and his heartbeat is great. Our midwife, Dympna, always says "Good baby! That's a good baby!" when she listens to his heart. We like it when she does that.

He has been growing steadily, as evidenced by Crystal's expanding mid-section, and kicking her sporadically throughout the day. Crystal is 26 weeks along today, which marks the beginning of the 3rd trimester. The books say the baby is a little over 2 pounds already and is entering a time of rapid growth. We are both getting anxious for him to come live with us outside of Crystal's belly. Unfortunately we have not decided on a name yet, but thank you all for your suggestions.

We have been hard at work the past few months preparing for our little boy's arrival. This hard work has mostly involved many hours of shopping for baby essentials. Crystal's main focus has been on picking the right bedding and crib for the nursery. I am happy to report that we have decided on the T is for Train theme. A picture of the blanket is shown here for your viewing pleasure. Crystal picked it primarily because it had a lot of bright colors for coordinating and because there are many different textures on the quilt itself. I like it because it has some trains, which are cool. We are attempting to find the T is for Train night light at our local Babies R' Us, but they don't carry it. So, if you happen to be at a Babies R' Us in a different city, we would love it if you could check on the night light for us.

The big news from this last week is that we have purchased the crib. Crystal read that it could take up to 4 months to get a crib in if you have to order it and that most places don't keep them in stock. So after our Christmas vacation it was imperative that we find the crib of our dreams as soon as possible. We spent a day going around to the different stores (there aren't many) and found the one you see on the left. It is the "Vicki" crib made by C T and is highly rated by the cool "Baby Bargains" book that we were given. Fortunately for Crystal, it was in stock and we were able to take it home right away. Unfortunately for me, it was in stock and we were able to take it home right away. She has been asking that I build it ever since we bought it, but I'm still holding out. There are a lot of nursery things I need to do before I can put a crib in there. For now it is just taking up the majority of the free space in our garage. An unexpected bonus to this crib is that it converts into a nice looking bed later on, but we are not sure we're going to do that, as we would like to have a couple more little ones after this guy comes along.

We'll keep you posted on any new developments in the coming weeks. Hopefully there will be some pictures of the nursery in the not-too-distant future. Bye for now.

Holiday Greetings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Connors Family!

The Baby Belly

This is me 21 weeks pregnant! Now well into the second trimester you can clearly see that there are more than just a few extra pounds around my middle. People now stop me and ask how far along I am. I often get the response... "but you hardly look pregnant." I am confused by this, because I must look pregnant enough for them to ask. Perhaps they are trying to be nice and don't want to upset me since I'm pregnant? Pregnant women are known for their emotional outbursts. I'm just happy that he is growing well and was nice enough to pose for the amazing ultrasound pictures shown below. He is going to be one handsome kid, that's for sure! As you can tell the biased mom thing has clearly set in.

Thank you for all of your name suggestions. Scott and I like many of them, but still don't agree on the perfect name. It is such a huge decision to name a child! We have now expanded the search beyond C's.

Well Hello There!

Welcome to our newly established blog. We hope to use this as a means of sharing our journey into parenthood and beyond with those of you who wish to share it with us. At present time Crystal is 19 weeks and 3 days along in her pregnancy. This makes the expected due date April 20th, 2008 or 144 days from now.

We had a very encouraging ultrasound yesterday that told us the baby is progressing along wonderfully and that the baby is in fact a little boy! We will refrain from calling him "It" from now on and go with "He" for the time being as we have yet to decide on a suitable name for our handsome little guy. From the very first ultrasound 11 weeks ago I predicted that we would be having a boy, but since then we were only able to come up with a girl's name. If you have some boy name suggestions for us, please feel free to leave a comment. We are kind of looking for something with a 'C' as the start of the first name, but this isn't a hard requirement.

As you can see, we got some great baby pictures from the ultrasound. The first one is from a standard ultrasound transducer (fun word) and is the evidence that our boy is really a boy. Linda, the sonographer, was kind enough to point out the boy parts for us on the image. The second one is from a special transducer that constructs a 3D image of the baby by sweeping along the mother's belly and combining all of the 2D slices into one complete image. The object poking his left eye is actually his little foot. He appears to be a super-flexible baby (I think they all are though) and is kind of folded in half right now.

Please check back in periodically and see what else we have in store for you. Until then...