to geimps

So this will mean more to the Vener side of the family than anyone else, but it just needed to be done. These photos are for Mary Joyce Vener, aka Geimps -- Mom's mom. Mary Beth's great grandma. Geimps, don't worry... Kim is carrying on the Woodstock tradition for you, and Mary Beth already has her own Woody that eventually she can drag around with her. Thank you, Geimps...

update and angels

So yes, it's been a while. Gee, what could I possibly have been doing lately that has stopped me from updating the blog? In no particular order:

• Mary Beth has had two pediatrician appointments, where we have seen her grow leaps and bounds. From the first week to second week, she grew a pound and is now 7 pounds!!!
  
• I've also had two post-partum appointments. The first was slightly disappointing when I noticed that I had only lost the exact weight that Mary Beth was born. But then last week my weight dropped another 12 pounds. MUCH better. Still working on getting the feeling back in my fingers, but so far so good according to Dr. Jeff.
  
• Oh yes, Mary Beth gave Dr. Jeff a present when we went for my first appointment. We figured this may be a first--having an OPhi deliver for a Gamma, so Baby Gamma Mary Beth passed on some daisies. See photo below.
  
• We had Baby's First St. Patrick's Day! She didn't cooperate for the best photos, but we still celebrated.
  
• Bob's mom spent about a week here fawning over her first grandbaby, which was wonderful for all. Then she overlapped one night with Aunt Kim, who has been here for almost a week as well. The first week home was painful for me, and I couldn't really run any errands. Now I'm starting to with Kim, and eventually will be able to on my own. Still can't drive yet, or pick up the carseat with Mary Beth in it, but baby steps, right?

OK, that's enough of a mini-update. Now onto the angels...

Mary Beth sometimes looks "past" me with her big eyes -- like she's looking at something or someone behind us that I can't see. I had someone tell me that this is when babies are looking at the angels that are watching over them. Well, she has a LOT of angels watching over her, so we've been having some fun with this. We keep telling her not to listen to the funny looking guy telling her to torment me. No no, don't pee right in the middle of a diaper change. Or burp up on the new, clean outfit. Or yell at the top of your lungs because he said to do it. Do whatever the really tan woman next to that man says to do. Come on -- you know Mom has a tan again by now, right?! And now by popular demand, some more photos:

girl power and drunken baby syndrome

The nurse called it Drunken Baby Syndrome. Any mom that breastfed knows what we're talking about. It's the immediate effect breastmilk has on a baby -- especially the first few times. Eyes roll back, body freezes into a relaxed state, and she basically looks, well, drunk. Or stoned, but we'll go with drunk. Well, Mary really likes breastmilk, much to our delight, since it's then followed with up to 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This morning that meant that Bob left me to sleep for another 2 1/2 hours. I slept through breakfast. It was WONDERFUL.

Girl Power showed up when we were in the hospital. Kim is a genius at this double blanket wrap (aka a tight "baby burrito") that would put her to sleep in an instant. She LOVES it. Trouble is, when Bob would fold up the blanket (I was still getting land legs back), Mary would immediately shoot her left arm out of the blanket and into the air. Almost like a Black Panther salute. But since she's as white as white could be, I declared it to be the new Girl Power salute. Somehow I know that Mary's namesake would be proud.

For those of you who may not know, Mary Elizabeth's name has quite a history. There are a LOT of Mary Engelman's, Mary Vener's, and Mary Francisco's, along with the middle name Elizabeth throughout Bob's and my families. And then there's my mom, Mary Elizabeth, who passed away when I was 17. I've talked about her before, and don't think my hormones will allow me to do it again right now. :-) Bob's mom's name is even Mary Lillian, though she goes by Lillian. Rest assured that all the personality, knowledge, strength and attitude from all of these women have shaped a hell of a Girl Power for our little Mary. Watch out world!

Below are some pics... the first two are from the hospital, with Aunt Kim and Proud Papa Bob. Then Horsey, our favorite little stuffed animal that was given to us at our RSSC shower, the onesie that says "I love Mommy, and Mommy loves me." :-) And Mary's Little Lamb. It's the gift from Sonia, Lisette and Oscar. It's Mary's new home away from my chest...

home sweet home

Greetings all from the new land of Motherhood. It has been quite an interesting last 3 days, and I'm just starting to catch up on all the e-mails, text messages, etc. from all. Bob, Mary and I thank you dearly!

So here's a quick summary, though Aunt Kim did a great job of standing in while I was slightly busy! Checked into the hospital on Thursday morning. And no, I was not a fan of the IV and spinal block. I'm choosing not to relive any of that for you all except to say that Summer, the Nurse, very much deserves a raise.

If you've been following this, you know that my doc went to college with me. So Dr. Jeff is cracking jokes with me as he's slicing and dicing, which is the best way to distract me! "First foot... second foot..." Baby came out legs first, so I had to make a soccer crack. After head comes out, he says "Well I hate to break it to you, but she's got red hair." Made me VERY happy. Everything was kinda a whirlwind after that. She was weighed, measured, cleaned, etc. I was cleaned up and stiched/stapled, and taken to recovery. I don't remember a good chunk of that part -- I believe someone gave me more happy drugs to assist! He very much deserves a raise as well.

We're home now, and trying to adjust to a house that is ruled by a girl under 6 pounds. Amazing how much power she has! And the other little man here, Orbit the Wondercat, is a bit confused and doesn't know what to do. He gave me some well-deserved love when I came into the bedroom. But boy did things change after Mary started crying. Boy things are going to get interesting...

she is here!

hi! its kim, haven't decided if i am aunt kimberly (aunt, like those up north say it) or aunti kim ( like ant). Anyway, 0915 this morning, via c/s. kristi hated the iv, the spinal and the recovery room, since then all is great. baby took to the breast right away. she is a redhead. she is sofa king cute. 5 lbs 9 ozers. 20 inches long. tall! a screamer! just like mama. she just got named too. was beginning to think she would go home without a name ( like mama, she went home baby girl engelman #2, while i was named by rob right away! ) but now, 7 hours after delivery she is Mary Elizabeth Francisco. those of you pulling for sam or filamena. sorry. i was pulling for kimberly dawn. sending some cute pics. haven't loaded up the pic of kristi, mary beth and bob all asleep, may come later. it was cute. entire fam plum tuckered out. hospital is great, lots of attention. for those who care, 8/9 apgars. best you can hope for. layman's terms...baby is really healthy! yeah! i was so nervous! i didn't want her to have to go to intensive care, nicu. it was great to see her and bob in the reg nursery! i was pacing. enjoy pics.

sure kristi will write soon!

love,

kim

kristi wants all to know she too had the strawberry mark/stork bite on forehead. mary beth has her lips too. not sure how she putts or drives, so will have to see what she got from bob later

superwoman's daughter to give birth tomorrow

She was able to carry twins until 5 days before her due date. Give birth NATURALLY -- that's right folks, not a drug in her -- to a 7 pounder and a 6 pound, 9 ouncer. And bounce right back like it was nothing. She then raised three holy terrors (well, the third one was an angel, of course!). Went back and continued her career. Finished her doctorate of her life's work. Taught her children how to take care of themselves. Put up with a smartass, but all-loving husband. Had amazing, close friends who would do anything for her. And fought up until the last day when cancer, her only Kryptonite, took her from this world.

I'm convinced that if she had kicked cancer's ass, she would have done even more heroic actions, like becoming the first female President of the United States. You know, something easy for us to live up to.

I promised my mother that I would live my life as she taught me -- without fear, with intellligence, love and compassion, and I would live it to the fullest.

I have, however, accepted the fact that I am NOT Superwoman as she was.

I will not be carrying Baby Girl until her due date. I will not be giving birth without a single drug. Somehow I do believe she will be a holy terror, though. Let's hope she doesn't roll over at 30 minutes in the hospital and scream so loud that she had to be separated from the rest of the nursery. Yeah, that was me! :-)

Baby Girl has an appointment to enter this world at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. She does, however, have Engelman and Vener blood in her, so it would not shock me if she showed up before that JUST to make an entrance.

It sounds strange to say, but I am going to miss being pregnant. Well, SOME things. Like the limited wardrobe options that made getting ready in the morning a lot easier. Bumping bellies with Bob. Eating chocolate and saying "Hey, Baby Girl likes chocolate, what can I say?" Fingernails that never broke. Baby hiccups. Feeling her move around in my belly, especially before Bob or anyone else could feel it. It was like our little secret.

What I won't miss? This numb, painful feeling in my hands that I've had now for the last 2-3 weeks contantly, and swollen feet -- just appeared in the last few days. Not being able to join my work friends after work for Happy Hour because it was at the world's smokiest bar. Not being able to exercise. Having to stop taking my roseacea medicine and having my face break out.

I'm sure there's more for my pro/con list, but now I must try to get the house ready for our impending guest. OK, so I'm actually going to go snuggle with Orbit, my first child. I hope he still likes me after this and that Baby Girl isn't his Kryptonite.

grow baby, grow!!!

So, Baby Girl is a true redhead. Not only is she breech and not turning, but she's not growing as fast as we'd like. She's healthy with a strong heartbeat - heard it myself! But even though I'm eating and drinking more than when I was during two-a-days for soccer back in college, she's somehow not growing leaps and bounds like we want. My doc here went to college with me back at Trinity, and I trust him with both of our lives. He's doing a great job of keeping me somewhat calm, and we'll continue to watch her progress. So appointments have gone to two a week and we'll just keep watching and waiting.

So I said "somewhat calm," because if you know me at all, you know that my mind is racing right now. I admit that I had a mini-freakout this morning. Then I got two e-mails from Mom's side of the family. And it calmed me down COMPLETELY. (Thanks! you know who you are!) Baby Girl definitely has Francisco and Engelman blood in her -- I keep forgetting she had Mary Vener blood in her too. Reading those e-mails jumpstarted some of that blood I think.

Funny thing -- we always talk about the "stubborn ol' bitch gene." Seems I forgot that this gene is actually from Mom's family. Honest mistake if you know a lot of the Engelmans! Mom's doc gave her two days to two weeks to live, and she left this earth almost two months later. She wasn't ready. Geimps, her mom, had a pacemaker, emphysema and general heart problems (NOT due of course to her smoking like a chimney, according to her!). I swear she had those problems for more than 2 decades. And she was not going to die until she wanted to. And she didn't. The gene appears a lot -- not just when faced with illness or death. Just life in general and not giving in. I believe I have that gene top (stop laughing, everyone), and I'm pretty damn sure Baby Girl has it too. She'll grow or be delivered when she wants to, dammit.

One of my sorority sisters wrote me about her little girl, and how she thinks that before she was born, she met her late sister in heaven. Hung out, played, etc. She even recognizes her in photos and talks about her. I love that idea. So -- Mom, Dad, Marsha, Geimps, Earl, Grandma and Grandpa, and even Lexie... Baby Girl needs to put on some weight. Think in your partying and playing up there with her you could fatten her up a bit for me? She likes chocolate ice cream. No vodka, Dad, and no Jamison, Geimps. Thanks.

the stars at night...

If you have to ask for the rest of that song's lyrics, you're not a Texan.

I dearly miss my friends and work back in Florida, but it is nice to be back in a place where the neighbors down the street wave at you as you're pulling away. They don't even know us yet. That would never happen back where we lived in FL.

We've spent the last week now wading through boxes, moving paper and, well, crap. The house was NOT in move-in condition, even though the landlord said it would be. Very luckily for us, Bob's mom came down from Kansas and scrubbed this place up and down. There's no physical way I could have done these floors, and I shouldn't have been around the chemicals either. So I worked during the day and she cleaned.

My work has been SOOOOOOOOOOO good to let me continue working remotely. And it's difficult to see the house in array and not organize it, but there's no possible way to do that and the amount of work for RSSC. So nights and weekends are for the house. And on a good note, it was getting uncomfortable to sit at work with belly growing, so this makes it a bit easier for me!

Haven't posted photos for a bit, so here we are 32 - 35 weeks! She's breech (woo hoo) so life is getting interesting in these last weeks. We'll keep you updated on any progress or news!

Texas, here I come...

Bob and I officially moved out of the condo on Friday, and then checked into the Westin Diplomat. Not a bad life... then apparently he couldn't sleep, because he was going to wake up and leave around 5 Saturday morning, but he woke up at 3. WAY too early for me, but he went and picked up Orbit and headed out. He drove for about 17 hours and spent the night near Shreveport. That's a LONG day!!!

Meanwhile, I enjoyed a day of leisure at the hotel. Literally. I slept and watched movies on tv and had Valentine's dinner by myself at the sports bar. But I had chocolate and raspberry sorbet for dessert -- that's kind of Valentine's Day sounding, right?

I woke up this morning and took some beach photos before heading to the airport. I'll post them later (at airport now). We had moved into our home here on Dec 28, 05, and went across to the ocean on New Year's Eve. So I thought it was appropriate to say goodbye the same way.

Calling my flight, so the next time I write, I'll be back on Texas soil! Yee haw!!!

what a crazy life... DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!

About 2 months before we got married back in 2004, we packed up everything and moved to Denver. On 2 weeks notice. So we thought hey, why not do something just as stressful? Let's move less than 2 months before the baby is born! Sure, why not.

Bob was transferred to a course north of Ft. Worth, literally across the street from Texas Motor Speedway. It was a difficult decision for us with me about to pop and LOVING my job at the cruise line. But it's Texas and it's closer to family. It's not San Antonio, but it's close! Kim and Matt, Jeff and Andy will all be within 4-5 hours of us -- faster probably, depending on how fast they're driving. Baby's Francisco grandparents in Kansas will be 8-9 hours away, so this obviously is making them REALLY happy. And Rosalie is in Tulsa (hi Red!), so she now has to pretend she's Rosemarie who promised to be a surrogate Engelman grandma. Sidenote - she said I must be confused, as she's not old enough to be a grandparent. SO funny, since one of my last phone conversations with Dad had him saying the exact same thing. Siblings. :-)

Anyway, this has been extremely stressful to say the least, and it's not done yet, but still tredging along. Bob and I just got back from Texas, where we went so he could meet his staff, owner's representative and boss. While we were there, we found a house to lease in Grapevine (woo hoo!) and meet with my new baby doc. THAT was stressful at first -- try and find a doctor when you'll be 34 weeks preggers when getting into town! Luckily I happen to have a college friend that is an obgyn that actually is in my insurance, and I trust with my life. He very happily took me on as a patient, even with my warnings of fear of needles, blood, and ivs, and my labor/delivery nurse sister who will be in there with us! Both Bob and I feel so much better now.

This next week is going to be interesting, to say the least. One last week in the office (though hopefully not the last of my working for them!!!), and a ton to do! Bob's office is throwing us a baby shower/going away party on Saturday, and then we need to start getting the condo ready for the packers/movers. They come Thursday/Friday, which will be when my office throws us a shower and I have my last day. Bob will drive his car to Texas - mine will be shipped. I'll stay here an extra day and fly there on Sunday the 15th. Furniture should be delivered soon after that, and welcome to Texas!

Tired yet? Me too.

Just wait til we break the news to Orbit... poor little bugger's gonna be in a car for 2 days...

slacker mom strikes again -- but i have good excuses!

Wow. Has it really been more than 2 weeks? There's been a LOT going on lately -- I'll fill everyone in once things have settled down. In the meantime, so certain people will stop e-mailing me, enjoy some "me getting plumper" photos. Weeks 29, 30 and 31...

like mother, like daughter

Baby Girl likes Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream.

After dinner, Bob and I stopped at the neighborhood convenience store for our vices -- he got Miller Lite. I got ice cream. I just had 3 or 4 spoonfuls of the ice cream for a small treat. After putting it away, I sat down and got back on the computer... and she's going BONKERS in there.

Nice to know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

trudgin' along...

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the kind texts, e-mails, calls and cards. It's obviously been a tough last month but we're getting through it. Baby puts everything in perspective, but she's also the source of pregnancy hormones. Add Dad memories to it, and I'm a ticking timebomb! I'm starting to make up for 6 months of no mood swings. At least they make sense to poor Bob, though! And usually they happen when I'm alone, at work or sleeping, so he's not seeing that much of it. I was telling K that my drives home suck now. That was when I would call Dad and tell him how his grandaughter was driving me crazy! He would either be on his way to or just arriving at Blanco Tavern, and he would tell me how he wasn't old enough to be a grandfather, so I must have him confused with someone else. Or that Mom was in much better shape when she was pregnant than me. I think that was more of compliment to himself for having a hot wife than a dig at me!

So anytime I start to feel a little weepy, I go look at the baby stuff that we're gathering up. It's hard to feel sorry for yourself when you see a onesie with a big football on it that says "TOUCHDOWN". Hey, she is Filmore's grandaughter after all. Very good odds she'll follow football like us! But I'll allow her to talk during a game, unlike Dad...

Little behind on the photos, and missed a week when Dad was in the hospital. But we're catching up, just like she's catching up on growing! Gained 15 pounds, and she's going strong. Below is 26 (taken in SA), 27 and 28 weeks.

OH! And Baby Girl says "Get Well Soon!" to Grandma Francisco!

A Letter to Baby Girl Francisco

Dear Baby Girl,

The last two weeks have been quite traumatic to say the least. And I know you've felt some of it as you grow inside of me. I have to admit that having you roll around in there has kept things in perspective and have helped me. After all, it's hard to crawl into the fetal position and cry when I physically cannot get into the fetal position anymore! As you grow up, you're going to see me get sad sometimes. And you'll often hear stories that will seem completely absurd and unbelievable. So let me give you a sneak peek about all of that:

Your grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Vener Engelman, was an amazing woman who unfortunately lost her battle to ovarian cancer in 1993. Your Aunt Kim and I were just 17 years old and about to graduate from high school, and Uncle Rob was 20. There is never a good time to lose a parent, but she did an incredible job preparing us for the world. We could take care of ourselves, didn't have to rely on a guy to be someone, and knew we could take on the world if we just tried. She worked through her illness, finishing her doctorate before she died -- her life's dream. Aunt Kim is really starting to look like her now, though she is where my body structure, music ability and a LOT of personality traits come from.

Now for the latest trauma. Your grandfather, Filmore (Phil) Keith Engelman, suddenly had a series of strokes. On December 17th with all 3 of his kids surrounding him (and you in my belly), he joined your grandmother in heaven. We all have different memories of Dad growing up, and all developed deeper, closer relationships with him after Mom died. We watched him stand by Mom's side and promise her that her kids would be OK. He helped us all through Mom's death, college, breakups, marriages, new careers, and just lately, the both exciting and frightening time of bringing a baby into this world. I still cannot believe he is gone, and cannot imagine doing this without him.

But the wonderful thing about your grandparents is that they have given me the strength and ability to do this without them physically being here. I would give ANYTHING in the world to have them here with me and to hold you as you enter this world. But I'll just have to settle for their memories and stories that we will share with you as you grow up. Believe me, with Aunt Kim and Uncle Rob, Mom and Dad's 7 remaining siblings and close to 20 cousins of ours, we have plenty! And you will think we're just making them up, too!

I know that Dad would have been sad that he couldn't hold you, so when he was in the hospital and I was holding his hand, I sat on the bed and had him cradle you in my belly. It's the closest we will get, and I'll treasure the photo forever. It's posted below, along with a re-post of my favorite photo ever that we shared when we found out you were a girl. Dad loved it too -- though he commented that if I cropped me out and only left him and the cat it would be better. Total Filmore statement. :-)

Love, Mom

slacker mom

OK, I've completely been a slacker mom and haven't posted anything in a long time. In my defense, I've been completely slammed at work. We're trying to get all our brochures out before the holidays, which really means by the 18th since most of us will be out for the holidays. So it's been CRAZY!

To make up for my slacker actions, I thought I could post some photos. Seems to give you guys some bantering material. My brother keeps telling people I'm having twins, just to taunt me even further into my life. You can tell by my small size that if there are twins in there, they're severly underdeveloped! I'm not too big, but big for me. It's hard going from six-pack abs to, well, I'm not sure what this is in comparison... maybe a pony keg?

22, 23 and 24 weeks...

Baby Girl Francisco Speaks

Hi. I'm Baby Girl Francisco. You've been reading about me and how I'm growing inside Mom. It's nice and warm in here, and I really like when she gives me chocolate milk and Fig Newtons. Dad keeps calling me different names, and this thing called Orbit lays on top of me and makes everything vibrate. I think Orbit is the thing that hissed at me when I was brand new.

I'm 22 weeks new tomorrow, and growing more and more every day. Mom mentioned something about a list of everything I've done so far. Since I can't type yet, I told Mom the entire list for her to put in here for you. We'll add more later. Enjoy.

1. Saw the most beautiful sunset ever at Great Uncle John’s “cottage” in Minnesota, and consumed almost an entire bottle of Riesling
2. Went camping in Minnesota where every Engelman gave me drinks by the campfire, we outran a tornado, lost in bowling to Aunt Kim, and ended up sleeping on the floor of the Atlanta airport
3. Ticked off Orbit, whoever that is, by my mere existence. Hopefully we’ll get along later.
4. Taunted Grandma Francisco when Mom and Dad told her they were going to get a dog before getting me.
5. Gave Mom fierce headaches because I was screwing with her body. She forgave me so I stopped.
6. Flew to San Antonio to see Aunt Kim again, and meet the Francisco grandparents, uncles and Grandpa Filmore. He made fun of me for being a redhead. What's a redhead?
7. Made Mom throw up. But just a few times. Including in the Houston airport on the way back home. That one was fun.
8. Went to my first NFL game. It was hot. REALLY hot.
9. Flew to New York, walked around Time Square, ate at an Irish pub, climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty, toured Ellis Island, rode the subway, hung out in Central Park, met Mom’s friend Megan, went to mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and walked the streets of Manhattan.
10. Voted with Mom. She says I’m the only one that knows who/what she voted for, and this is the ONLY time I’ll ever know. Something about Grandma Mary’s quote of “It’s called a secret ballot for a reason.”
11. Watched the first African-American win a presidential election. Everyone's making such a big deal about it, so Mom explained it to me. I don't know what colors are, so it doesn't make any sense to me. Everyone sounds the same to me from in here. Maybe people should just close their eyes so they can experience things like me.
12. Showed Mom and Dad I was a girl. It made Grandma Lil REALLY happy. Then Mom found a bunch of stuff from her own Mom, like the pillow she made for the tooth fairy and the Cabbage Patch doll she bought Mom right before she died. They made Mom laugh and smile.
13. Heard Uncle Rob teasing Mom. He sounds funny. But he keeps making fun of redheads. Again, what's a redhead? Am I going to be one?
14. Went to Islamorada for a wedding. Don't know where that is, but somehow I made Mom get bit by a TON of bugs. Sorry!
15. Started movin’ around for Mom to feel me. But Dad can’t yet. I’ll start kicking more soon. But for now it's fun to only share with Mom. After all, she's the one that gives me the chocolate milk and Fig Newtons, right?

See you all, well, I'm not sure when. But when I do, bring presents.
-BGF

My baby's a what?

So, we took our weekly progress photo yesterday morning. Belly looks about the same, so not posting it. I think we've all seen enough of the white belly for a while, right? Yes, I look like I haven't seen the light of day in years because, well, this body hasn't seen the light of day in years! After soccer ended in college, it was kinda nice to just stay inside and not worry about a sunburn every damn day. Hard to do in Florida when I can get burned driving to work, but that's why lotions and makeup have sunscreen in them, right?

Anyway, every week I get an e-mail from BabyCenter that tells the size that Baby would be right now. Obviously it's an average, but still. It's always a food item. Baby Girl has been a jumbo shrimp (which you all know I have no idea what size that is!), bell pepper, heirloom tomato, and lately a banana. So what is she this week, from head to toe?

A carrot.

Somewhat appropriate for a hopeful-carrot top, don't you think?

What a Difference a Week Makes...

Seven little days. Wouldn't think it was going to make that big of a deal. But hey, if God created the world in it, then it shouldn't come as a big surprise that in seven measely days I all of a sudden balooned up. Or out, I should say.

So for those of you who keep pestering me, and you know who you are, here are the infamous belly shots. Week 19 and then 20...

CONGRATS, IT'S A...

GIRL!!!!! Though it was a 50/50 chance, both Bob and I were a little shocked to hear GIRL instead of boy! Everyone at work, and I mean EVERY person who had an opinion, said a boy! And with so many boys on Bob's side of the family... But she's a girl! This little girl is going to be so spoiled by the family!

And our siblings better get cracking! It's hard for me to go from having almost 30 cousins to Baby Girl Francisco having NONE!

And she'll be SUCH a Daddy's little girl. It reminded me of this picture, so I had to post it...

(You'll notice the cat is sleeping with us too. That's MeToo, Mom and Dad's FIRST child.)

So nice they named it twice...

We took a long weekend and flew up to New York on Thursday for a WELL-deserved break and mini-vacation. After years of me tormenting Bob for not ever visiting New York, we went for a 3-night stay in Manhattan. Bob's only two requests: 1. Visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and 2. Watch the Longhorns game on Saturday night. For his aching heart, we won't discuss number 2 much, except to say that we got to meet up with my college friend/roomie Megan and had a great time catching up with her. More fun than watching parts of the game...

Anyway, Friday morning we headed downtown to Battery Park and took the ferry to the Statue. I have to admit that I've been to New York countless times, and never went down there. It was incredible to see how big she is, learn the story about how she was built, and actually climb the 192 steps from the ground to the top of the pedestal. Thank goodness you cannot climb in the actual statue anymore -- I was struggling with just that part! Again, hard for me as the athlete to be taken down by an interloper the size of an heirloom tomato (according to my weekly e-mails from Baby Center).

After the Statue, we took the ferry to Ellis Island. I have to admit that this was VERY cool, even though we figured out before the trip that none of our direct family members actually walked through Ellis Island on their way to America. Most came prior to the time Ellis was open, and some came from other ports -- the Engelmans apparently came up the Mississippi. But the museum there, especially with the audio tour, was very interesting and it was somewhat touching to walk where so many people came before us. We very highly recommend it. After having dinner near Time Square, which we just kept walking through, we collapsed into bed.

Saturday we went to Central Park, which is such a dichotomy from the rest of the city -- it's quiet, full of trees changing leaf colors, and even a kids petting zoo. The NY City Marathon was on Sunday, so the park was getting decked out with signage, the finish line, and the path marked out. Very cool. I miss running. :-( We stayed there for hours. Before the football game, we even attended mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The marathon theme continued, and at the end of mass, more than 200 runners that were attending the service were invited to the front of the church for a blessing. It was a remarkable site.

We did so many other things it would take too long to give every detail... ate at an Irish pub, of course; took photos in front of the bull in the financial district, walked along 5th Avenue and didn't even make Bob buy me anything at THE Tiffany's store, etc. We had a blast and I'm happy to report that Bob liked the city -- I was afraid I talked it up too much and he wouldn't like it!

And, we now have more to add to our mythical list of things that Baby Interloper has already done in his/her 19 weeks of squatting. We're going to put that list together and post it when we have a chance. First item: Reisling at the cottage and shots at the campfire in Minnesota. Yeah, it's that kind of list...

Oh, and before I post this... Baby Interloper just did something else. Tagged along as I voted this morning and just watched history at 11:00 EST.