January 7

Ugh, it's late and I'm tired and I don't have a picture. I've given myself permission this year to occasionally not post a picture, but still post a blog entry. It's a bit early in the year to already be taking advantage of that, but it's all I've got for today!

We did have a good day. Daniel and I took Audrey to the Children's Museum in Decatur. We're trying to get lots of use out of our museum pass before it expires in April! The Decatur museum is older and not as big as the one we usually go to in Bloomington, but Audrey still had fun. Her favorite exhibit today was the grocery store. They had miniature metal carts that look just like real carts. She had a lot of fun filling her cart with groceries, then putting all the groceries back where they belonged on the shelves, and then filling her cart and starting all over again. It would have been a good picture opportunity, but I forgot to bring my camera!

Tonight, Daniel and I went out for dinner and a movie. After enjoying dinner at Olive Garden, we went to see The Fighter. Probably not the most romantic date movie, but it was good. And it was on my Oscar movies to-see list!

January 6

My friend Lindsey is writing an article about smartphone apps for toddlers/preschoolers. She wanted me to take a couple of pictures of Audrey playing with a phone that she could use with her article. We don't have any smartphones in our house (only stupid phones here!), so Lindsey brought over their iphone for Audrey to use. Audrey was super excited that someone was not only allowing, but also encouraging, her to play with their phone!!

January 5

I think it's about time for a review of the Nook, don't you?? I have now finished two books on it, and all I can say is: I love it!! Here are my thoughts:

1. I love that you can read without holding it. This is perfect when you read in bed, which I always do. My main reading time is between 10-midnight, when everyone else in my house is asleep! Reading a book in bed is a pain, because you have to hold it and turn the pages, and it's just awkward and uncomfortable. With the Nook, I can prop it up on the comforter (or with the cover Daniel got me for Christmas) and lay down and read. I only have to push a button to turn the page...way easier and much more comfortable.

2. Another reason I like being able to read it without holding it: it's perfect for when you are a holding a baby. I was holding my sister's sleeping baby over Christmas. I just propped my Nook up on a pillow, and I was able easily able to read while holding him. I think this will be a very good thing when baby #2 arrives!

3. When you finish a book, you can have a new one ready to go within seconds (and without ever having to get up!). This is great for traveling. We are going to Florida soon, and I love that I will be able to bring as many books as I want with me!

4. Most people's concern seems to be that reading on an e-reader is just not the same as reading an actual book. But honestly, it really does feel the same as reading a real book. Because the Nook is not back lit (like a computer screen or even the Nook Color), the print on the Nook looks just like it would look on a printed page. Twice, I have tried to physically turn the page (like I would if I was reading an actual book). I don't even notice the fact that I'm reading on an electronic device.

5. It's more fun to read on the Nook. This is probably just the novelty of it, but right now, I'm more excited about reading because I get to read on the Nook.

6. My mom's comment was, "I just feel sorry for the books". And I can agree with that. I love having books on my shelf, and I would love to have a library in my home someday. Just because I own the Nook doesn't mean I will never buy a print book again. I think if I read a book on the Nook that I love, then I would be willing to buy a physical copy for my bookshelf.

7. The battery life is pretty good. My battery seems to last about a week (with me reading every day) before I need to recharge it.

8. My only complaint so far is that the "LendMe" feature, which originally sold me on the idea of getting a Nook, is a bit limited. You can only lend certain books, and then you can only lend them one time. And the selection of e-books available at our library seems even more limited. Hopefully over time, this will improve!

Overall, if you like to read and if you read a lot, I would highly recommend the Nook!

January 4

Audrey had her own "tarade" tonight while carrying around this wrapping paper flag made especially for her by Daddy. The parade started when we were trying to keep her occupied while we cleaned out some stuff in the basement. The parade continued upstairs when I wanted to get a picture. The parade was complete with marching and music, provided by both Daddy and Audrey. I tried to record it on our video camera, but it was dead. It was adorable and hilarious though; I was cracking up.

January 3

Today I had my 16 week check up. It was a quick and easy appointment: weight check (4.5 pounds gained so far), blood pressure check (normal) and a quick listen to the baby's heartbeat (138 bpm). I am always surprised to hear the heartbeat. Even with my ever growing belly and the nausea and the fatigue, I still have a hard time believing that this pregnancy is real! So that heartbeat is always an exciting and surprising reminder that the baby is real and alive and growing.

The other exciting thing about today's appointment was making my next appointment. The next appointment is the 20 week sonogram (and also the yucky glucose test, but we don't think about that!). And at the 20 week sonogram, we (hopefully) will get to find out this baby's gender!

And the exciting thing about finding out the baby's gender is the fun idea I found for revealing the gender to all of our friends. Last year I found this idea for a gender reveal party, a way to share the sex of the baby with all your friends. I loved the idea, but it was about a year too late for me to use it! So, as soon as we found out I was pregnant this time, I immediately started thinking up ideas for a gender reveal party. Daniel joked tonight that I was more excited about the party than the baby, which is not true at all...but I am very excited about the party idea! If you know me, you know I love any excuse to throw a theme party!
I made this invitation this afternoon. It still needs a little tweaking, but I think it's fun. Our appointment is on February 4, and my plan is to also have the party that evening. Now with my luck, they won't be able to determine the sex at the ultrasound (they almost couldn't at Audrey's ultrasound), so it may be a lot of party planning for nothing. But if that's the case, we'll just reschedule the party for the next ultrasound date and hope the baby is a bit more cooperative that time!

January 2

I know, it's pretty lame to post a picture of your photo blog as one of the photos on your blog. (It is also pretty lame that it's only January 2, and I'm already scrambling to figure out what to post!)

But I got a new layout today (from this website), and I like it a lot! I splurged a little and paid $10 for this design. I generally try to make my own header/background or use a free layout, but I figured after blogging this long, I deserved something a little nicer. I know some of you read blogs through Google Reader (or something similar), and therefore you may never actually come to my blog site and see what it looks like. Now you know!

So about the blog, we're coming up on year 3 of this daily photo posting stuff. This is post #702! I am absolutely positive that I have never been disciplined about doing anything else that consistently for that long. I'm planning to continue for another year of daily photo posting in 2011. It's a part of my life now, and my day wouldn't seem complete without it!

January 1

Audrey enjoyed wearing and playing with this necklace all day today!