Can you guess which one Heff picked out for his truck? Who would have guessed Britax has a "Mossy Oak" Limited Edition :) AND my brother Jerry got a great job offer from a new company and is making the move in August to Slide.com, a really cool website where you can create slideshows and add fun effects to your pictures for blogs. Congrats Jer! (I was playing around with a few too many side effects here...)
Heff and I spent most of the weekend building a new fence in our front yard. We have it almost finished, we just have to build a front and side gate and paint it all white. The fence will hopfully keep the dogs in so we can leave the front door open and eventually create more of a front yard for Baby Heff! We had fun designing and building the fence together, of course I didn't like any of the pre-cut pickets at the lumber yard so we (um, ok mostly my husband) had to cut each of the 103 pickets for the fence... in addition to digging fence posts and all the other fun parts involved in building a fence :) It was a great opportunity to catch up with ALL the nighbors who stopped by to check out the progress and visit and my parents came by too, Jan to lend her eye for design and John brought us lunch both days. We finished cleaning up tonight, Sunday, and had a fun dinner at the Johnet's with James and Em, Jer and Allison and my parents. We are both tired out but love our new improved front yard!
So Sage and Ollie have actually been getting a little better, we were trying to just live with their obnoxious habits (shedding, barking, chewing feet, smelling, etc) especially since we thought Sage had a terminal diagnosis... then we took him to the Vet to remove this gross bump on his back leg when we couldn't look at it anymore and $780 later learned he has a clean bill of health! So we have "Soggie Doggie" mobile grooming coming every other week to keep them clean and are trying to change their awful habits before the baby comes. The picture above is Sage looking not too pleased with his turquoise bandana after his grooming.
And just when we think they are being good... Sage can get into a garbage can with more agility than a bear in Yellowstone. This is what we come home to!
And poor Heff can't even watch his favorite hunting shows with out Ollie whining and barking at the TV... does he really think he can get those deer?! (No pictures of Ollie, he is afraid of the camera for some odd reason).
Heff and I had another baby preparation class tonight... he is a very good sport to get dragged to all these childbirth and baby prep classes with me! But we will only do this once in our life and we're having fun with it. Tonight's class was at Day One in Palo Alto, a place for "new and expectant parents," and showed us how to hold, swaddle, diaper, dress, clean, bathe, soothe and generally care for a newborn baby. We got to practice with creepy looking baby dolls like this one...
but Heff being the good big brother that he is was an expert at all of it and kept reminding me I wasn't holding the babies head well enough. (I promise I'll be better with the REAL THING Heff!) When we had to practice with the diapers, most dads were trying to figure out which end was up and Heff announced to the class that "you just put the Pooh in front" which stopped most people in their tracks until they realized the practice diapers had Winnie-the-Pooh characters on them.
One of the best parts of the class is observing the other pregnant couples, there are some very "different" people in this world! We always get in the car after these classes just busting at the seams with "OMG, did you see/hear that lady's..." :) It keeps us entertained.
No more classes until next week!
We had our 30 week doctor's appointment this morning and everything seems to be right on track. We heard the heartbeat loud and strong and talked with our doctor for awhile about what we should be doing to prepare for the birth of Baby Heff... now that it is in sight! We start going to the doctor every two weeks now (instead of every four weeks) and we have a Newborn Care class Wednesday night at Day One in Palo Alto. 10 weeks to go!
A few more pictures from our visit to Salt Lake City...
Heff and Kate with a "thumbs down" after the pool was cleared for an "accident"!
Ellie in her swim lesson! (which was moved to the indoor pool after the incident)
Maureen's very impressive garden
Heff reading the last book to Kate before we left for home
Heff and I have landed in Salt Lake City at the Matthew's after four days in Montana and a night camping in Yellowstone Park. Yes, I actually camped for a night, but only after we purchased an entire car load of camp gear in Montana... I survived and Heff gave me an "A+" first time camping award.
We are having so much fun here in Utah with our favorite neices, Ellie and Kate... and with their mom and dad too! We managed to catch Doug on a night home which is rare since he's a medical resident and on a trauma rotation at the moment. We all had a great BBQ dinner outside in their fun backyard and beautiful garden Thursday evening followed by some fireworks with neighbors in the front yard. Friday we spent the day at a really neat, brand new Children's museum by their house, then at Ellie's swim lessons and sat in the kiddie pool with Kate (it was 102 degrees here!)
A few pictures from the trip so far...
Brian and Doug with the girls on the front steps of their adorable house... note Ellie's new "running shoes" and socks, all she needs to show us how fast she can run!
Ellie with a smoke bomb on the back of her fancy bike!
Kate trying to outride the blue smoke!
Mary and the girls at Liberty Park a few blocks from their house
Look at the Utah Sunset over Kate and Heff!
Kate in the chicken coup... with the chickens Henrietta, Madame LuLu, Shelly, Harriet etc :)
Ellie collecting the eggs for the morning
The girls in their new outfits
Maureen, Heff and the girls after a trip to the Utah Discovery Children's Museum and lunch at CPK
Just got some pictures back from our friends wedding in the Bahamas on 5-6-7 (above, Heff and I at their ceremony)... My belly has sure grown in two months time!! Today, I am sporting the new "Tank-ini" my sister bought me for the pool, we're almost at 7 months and I think I just hit the point where a bikini in public is a little too painful :)
Heff and I are in Bozeman, Montana for most of the week with some friends. We flew into Salt Lake City on Saturday and rented a car to make the drive up to Montana (since we're hanging out with Brian's sister Maureen, Doug and our nieces Ellie and Kate at the end of the week in Salt Lake!) So we are enjoying the great weather and open air up here in Montana. Heff is fishing today with the guys, Brendon and Mike... they went out on the river with a fishing guide so hopefully it will be a great day of fly fishing for them. I'll be at the pool with the girls and the kids :) Pictures later!
21 years ago....
My little sister (known better as "Baby Ann" by our family and even by her younger cousins) just arrived in Croatia for 8 weeks on a program for school. She is going to be a senior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and LOVES to travel (the one thing we don't have in common). Last year she spent the first semester on a ship traveling around the world through a program called, appropriately, "Semester at Sea." We all love following her detailed accounts of her trip on her blogs. The new one is:
http://annbsimo.blogspot.com/
I am lucky to have a sister like Baby Ann, even though we are 8 years apart in age... she is my best friend and one of the funniest people I know. My brothers and I are all giving her a hard time to move back home immediately after she graduates next May... we all want her here to entertain us! She thinks she may stay an extra year at Vanderbilt to get a Masters degree in Childhood Development, which is her undergrad major. I keep reminding her she doesn't really like kids, but she says she just like to find out what's wrong with the little brats. :) Just kidding, Ann... you are great with kids and you're going to be a really great Aunt to Cletus!!
Some more old photos I found...
Have fun Baby Ann and be good!
Heff and I and Jan have been busy working on the nursery this weekend... and it's done! (at least 80% done, which is where we usually get to) We have a beautiful crib from my parents and a matching changing table from Tom & Claire (thanks grandparents-to-be!)
I wanted to paint something on the walls, after seeing a cute A-B-C border from a Pottery Barn photo shoot they did at the Johnets house for the next kids magazine. We got ABC bumbers in primary colors at PBK so I matched the colors and style of letters on a little flag border that says "Sweet Dreams" above the crib and will have the baby's initials above the spot where our rocker/glider goes (it hasn't been delivered yet). The only problem was after I painted the flags and lettering, I changed my mind on the wall color... three times!
SO finally Heff helped me pick a really light blue on Saturday that was perfect. We had a painting party Saturday night, Jan came over to help since my dad was out of town while Heff BBQ'ed rib eyes and made us dinner. Today Heff and I put up a "chair rail" molding aong the wall to finish off the final touches. We are excited to have a baby in our new baby room in less than three months!
Heff and I had our first childbirth preparation class on Tuesday night. We decided to try the Bradley Method classes which is also known as "Husband Coached Childbirth." I told my mom I was going to buy the "Husband Coached Childbirth" book after Heff and I had looked into it a few weeks ago and she said "Oh just come over I have that book!" So we've been reading the 1964 version that says "there is no medical means to determine the sex of your baby" but other than a few changes is still pretty accurate. It's similiar to the Lamaze methods and works on relaxation and encourages natural childbirth.
The class Tuesday night was in a woman's home in Redwood City with a few other couples. It was what you would expect of a natural childbirth class! However :) Heff and I actually enjoyed it and found it really informative and not too hippie-ish.
My parents met our good friends Ann & Earl Skidmore in their Lamaze class when they were pregnant with me and one of my best (and definetly my oldest!) friend Jenn... I think we can safely say there weren't any Ann & Earl couples in our class! But since I've signed my willing husband up for about 15 classes before this baby come maybe we still will!
Heff's first (unofficial) Father's Day! He says it's like a Father's Day with training wheels on :) We had a relaxing day recovering from the parties. We slept in, went to the Johnet's for breakfast (John cooked us all eggs), helped clean up the carnage and the whole family sat outside enjoying the sun while Dad opened his birthday gifts and Father's Day cards. Then Heff and I did some cleaning of our own at home, he worked hard most of the afternoon cleaning out our garage then we went to the grocery store and he cooked me a yummy dinner! We're spoiled by the "dad's" in this family doing all the work AND feeding us on their big day!
I am so lucky to have Brian. He is an incredible husband, he always takes such good care of me, he's my best friend in the world and I can't wait to watch him be an absolutely fantastic father. Three more months to go! I love you Heff.
John's big 60th Birthday BBQ was a hit. Janet did a great job pulling off TWO parties in the backyard in one day, we had lots of great food, John got to show of his BBQ, we all got a chance to visit with old friends to celebrate Dad's big 6-0 with our family and the cops only showed up twice (they don't like illegal fireworks for some reason). It was great to see everyone and felt like old times with a big "Simo style" BBQ in the backyard!
Happy Birthday Dad!
A Slideshow of pictures from the party... (can you tell I love Picasa's new features for Macs!)
My mom and Ann and I threw a shower for our good friend and neighbor growing up, Jill Carter this afternoon. Jill is getting married in August and we are so excited for her. Above; Mary, Baby Ann, Jan, Jill, Georgia and Beth. We had a great group of 24 ladies for the "pink and orange" themed shower, Jan made pizzas for everyone and Jill got a lot of beautiful wedding gifts (which we walked back to her house in the Pram!) Congrats Jill!
... now off to help get reay for John's 60th birthday party BBQ at my parents house tonight! Jan thought it would be "easy" to have both parties in the same day. Should be fun!
We're about to hit the third trimester! I can't believe how fast it's going and how soon Brian and I are going to be parents. I am still feeling really great and the baby (who continues to be better known as Cletus the Fetus) is moving and kicking pretty often. Today the baby was going crazy when Heff was talking as I stood behind him, leaning against his back... I guess he or she recognizes his Dad's voice!
Tonight, Katherine had us all over for dinner a great dinner at her house, across the street from my parents, with the Johnets and our good friend Joanie Huck, my sister who is still in town before she heads to Croatia for 6 weeks and Mark Heffernan who just started his first week at Google so is living here during the week before his finace, Sarah, moves down to the Bay Area too. Heff and I are so lucky to have so much family so close by and to have so much fun together. We can't wait to have the baby along at family dinners too! (move over Baby Ann:)
I'm getting bigger everyday... as you can see from this photo our friend Susan took at the polo fields last weekend, she did a lot of our wedding photos and takes care of the horses too, Thanks Susan!
Cathleen Cahill (Claire's twin sister/Brian's Aunt) and Brenda Snider (a good family friend of the Heffernan's) threw Andrea and I a double Baby Shower at the Snider's home in Cottonwood (just north of Red Bluff) on Saturday. We all caravaned up to Red Bluff early Saturday morning with Kat, The Johnets and Baby Ann (only after Heff was helping move the playhouses out of the shopping center at 5:30am Saturday!)
The shower was so nice and so fun to talk about babies all afternoon! Margaret was there with Baby Ronan and Maureen had Ellie and Kate, along with our moms and friends who've had babies we got lots of good tips and advice. My sister was a little overwhelmed I think, watching us with wide eyes talk about having babies, I had to change the subject before she passed out (Sorry Baby Ann, we all know you're a fainter, good luck when it's your turn!) Everyone gave us adorable gifts for the babies... and lots of cute matching stuff we will have fun dressing Baby Heff 1 & Baby Heff 2 in very soon! Janet did the "ring test" holding a wedding band on a strand of the mothers hair over the belly and Andrea's baby said BOY but mine said GIRL (twice! once for Jan and once for Claire!) We'll see.... I've been thinking boy all along but might be feeling girl lately.
The Grandmothers-to-be (Claire times 2!)
Andrea's Belly is a little bigger than mine! She is 8 weeks ahead of me (so she's 33 weeks here, I'm 25 weeks)
Mare, Jan & Baby Ann
A Book from Aunt Kat for both babies called "My Daddy is a Giant"
Cousin Margaret & Baby Ronan
The hosts, Brenda and Cathleen with Mary and Andrea
Grandma Wichmann came up from Southern California for the shower!
Mary and Ellie making faces at Baby Ann
Aunt Kat helping Mary write the gifts and gift givers... after the wedding shower and Maid-of-Honor duties she joked "This is the job that never ends!" THANKS KAT!
Ellie and Ronan
We had a busy busy weekend...
Friday we BBQ'ed Tri-Tip at the Nativity Carnival! Academic Trainers sponsors the Tri-Tip BBQ for the school and parish (where we got married!) Heff and my dad along with the "SRBT" (St Raymonds BBQ Team) helped us, as usual, put on a great BBQ to raise money for a new gym and kindergarten at Nativity School. The carnival is always so much fun and a great way to kick off summertime, it has always been the big event aaround here since we were in junior high. We saw lots of friends, played a few authentic carnival games but luckily no one won a goldfish (last year if you remember our website post.... I sort of ate a goldfish on a dare from my brothers, but I don't think that's an allowed food on the pregnancy diet!!)
"Captain John" and Mare
James and Em wouldn't miss the Carnival either!
Mare & Heff
PRINCESS SOPHIE came to the Carnival too!
Happy after Churro's and Tri-Tip!
My brother Jerry turned 25 yesterday on 06-06-07 (last year was an interesting birthday date:) We went up to the city with Baby Ann and Kat to meet Jerry, James and Em, my parents and Jerry's good friends Gary and Jeet (Hi Gary, thanks for the nice comments about our cheesy blog and good luck studying for the bar :) We had a fun dinner at Sam's and Jerry opened lots of funny birthday cards. My dad even brought back a few cards from our old, dead pets... leave it to John! Dad also took a few photos with his new camera but I think the telephoto lens was a little much for the booths at Sam's...
Happy Birthday Gerald Sheehy!
On Sunday Heff and I had a very unbusy day after Dreams Happen. We took my mom and Kat to breakfast at Scott's for Bloody Mary's (I wish) and then went to the polo fields to try and sell one of my horses to an old friend who plays down in SLO. I haven't played polo in over a year so it was weird to be back, but I am pretty sure polo is behind me... it's much more fun to hang out with my husband on Sundays and even though I couldn't play being pregnant, it's a little too dangerous to play as a mom so I'll stick to riding them around the orchards in Red Bluff. It was fun to see everyone and smell the horses :)
It was a really nice day so we decided to put a pool in the backyard for some lounging time... yep, you can see from the picture it's a pretty high-class pool! Heff even went to Target with me on a Sunday and spent $9.99 to keep me happy :) We were entertained all afternoon by our awful dogs playing in the baby pool. Yes, the dogs continue to drive me insane getting up several times a night to go out or barking at squirrels and shedding so much our living room looks like a dog groomers unless I vacuum everyday. Sage is getting more odd lumps and bumps and tumors and might not be long for this world (is it bad my fingers are crossed?) but he has been a good dog to Brian for 10 years and even though he drives me nuts we'll miss him when he goes to doggy heaven. Ollie, on the other hand is just as bad and is only 4 years old, sorry Heff!
We had a great event on Saturday night at the Dreams Happen Playhouse Auction and raised lots of money for Rebuilding Together. We had a fun group of guests joning us for the evening and although Brian and I did not go home with a playhouse for our backyard, our friends made up for it and took home three! The event started with a VIP reception at Williams-Sonoma Home, then drinks in the courtyard at Stanford Shopping Center... I was busy selling raffle tickets while everybody mingled around to check out the playhouses. After dinner we staked out the last row of seats and were a busy section during bidding! Heff welcomed everyone to the event and then passed the microphone on to Diane Dwyer, the NBC news anchor, who announced to all 500 guests, "Did you all know he met his wife here last time! Where are you wife?!" It was pretty funny :) The Playhouses went for $14-56K and the autioneer did a great job keeping it going quickly and getting people to raise those paddles. After the auction we danced to the "Cheeseballs" and everyone was happy to report there were no glitches and the event had gone well. Heff and I had so much fun remembering just two years ago, being there and meeting, talking and even dancing together for the first time... I knew that night I had met my husband and I am so lucky just 2 years later to be married to him and expecting our baby in 3.5 months!
Heff kicking off the event and turning the stage over to Diane Dwyer.
Some of our friends who joined us... We had so much fun!
Emily and her mom Marla
Anne and Heff after the bidding closed!
Life with our Four Marys! Raising Free Range Kids in Northern CA.
