Down for the Count!

As the weeks press on, so too does my waistline at what seems like an alarming rate! What comes with this baby "bump" was expected, but not so soon.

This year we were blessed with a Christmas Day snow. Snowed in at my parent's house in Middlesex, what else was there to do, but go play! Snow calls for snow angels, right?



Looks like fun? Well it was until I realized there was no way I was going to get up on my own. Maybe if I picked up momentum, rolling left to right, and finally face planting on my stomach in the snow I could pull up onto my knees. However, thank goodness there was a camera man there to save me from a Christmas Story moment. Yeah, you know the one; "Ralphieeeee, Ralphie I can't get up! Ralphieeeee".

In addition to the realization that I can no longer get up as normal from a laying flat position (so long abs!), I am finding putting on socks, shoes, boots, anything below the knee, painfully daunting. If I am forced to lean over, folded like an overstuffed sub sandwich, I am now prepared for the tiny, white stars I will see for a good 30 seconds after doing so. Business trip to Raleigh in February? Who is going to put on my shoes for me!? Is it inappropriate to call up one of the VPs for assistance?

For all this annoyance comes one amazing thing... seeing your belly move for the first time! For the past week or so Baby Ward has been making his presence known by tapping me with little bubbles from time to time, but last night he had a lot of energy. Sitting there staring at your belly isn't the most exciting thing, but when you finally see it involuntarily move it is amazing! Yes, a little Alien like, but amazing all the same.

I will enjoy this moment while I can; before I have to add it to the list of annoyances.

Snips and Snails, and Puppy Dogs Tails,
That's what little boys are made of!


That's right, we're having a little, baby BOY!

Matt and I are very excited to announce to all of our friends and family that we will be welcoming a baby boy to the world in April!

Watch out, Matt is already making plans for his future Hokie! While I am just trying to avoid an Orange & Maroon nursery.

In addition to the big news, baby boy Ward (name to be determined) is starting to make his appearance!!

It's a Love/Hate Thing

During my first half of pregnancy I've come to find there's a lot I love about being pregnant... but there's also a lot that I hate!


I love that there are valid reasons not to work out (at least as much),
I hate that without the gym cellulite seems to form rather quickly.


I love that my chest has gotten bigger,
I hate that my butt has gotten bigger too.


I love that ice cream is on the 'OK' list of things to eat,
I hate that red wine is on the 'DO NOT' list .


I love that my fingernails are growing like wildfire,
I hate that the zits on my chin multiply daily.


I love that I get to wear elastic waisted clothing & loose tops,
I hate that I cannot shop anywhere except the maternity section.


I love that I love my doctor,
I hate that I don't get to see her enough.


I love that I am pregnant during the Holidays.
I love that I am expecting in the Spring.

Most of all, I love that Matt and I are expecting a sweet baby Ward!



Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Hello, Elastic Waistbands! Nice to meet you!

Baby Ward is officially beginning to make his/her debut! Unfortunately, that means the days of wearing my cute pencil skirts are out and the days of sliding on my elastic waist jeans are in. So too are the days of trips to Banana Republic's amazing Christmas sales, shopping for that perfect Holiday Party dress, and frankly enjoying any mall shopping that doesn't involve baby. I even had to pass up the J. Crew warehouse sale!

These are the hotness these days!



If you are reading this blog it means you know me and probably know me pretty well. Which also means you probably know what the inside of my closet looks like or at least have a pretty good idea. I LIVE for clothes! Target, H&M, Banana Republic, Anthropologie; I love them all and I don't play favorites. That said, this is a very hard time for me and my wallet for 2 main reasons. (And a really hard time for Matt, though I am sure for more reasons than just 2).

Reason 1: Bigger Belly & Butt means New Wardrobe from top to bottom

And by new wardrobe, I mean new everything! From jeans, to t-shirts, to leggings, to new undergarments. Pajamas and work attire. Jackets and tights. Oh, and throw undergarments in there a few more times --- those suckers are going to keep growing! Too bad this new, necessary wardrobe costs the same if not more than those amazing pieces you can wear year after year.

Reason 2: New Wardrobe means Laura gets to SHOP!

If there is any reason to shop, you know I will. Although it is painful to walk past Banana Republic without so much as taking a peek in, I am (over) compensating by loading up on all there is maternity. Sorry, Matt, that itch must be scratched! Thank you Loft, for now carrying maternity; Thank you A Pea in the Pod for being just down the street; and Thank you Motherhood Maternity for your great shipping and return policy! I thank you all, though you may soon be receiving hate mail from my (so far) very patient husband.

As much as I miss tucking my shirts into my high-waist pencil skirts, I can't wait until this arrives on my doorstep!

A Little Birdie Told Me...

It is official, the first pieces to the nursery have been purchased! No, we don't know the sex yet and Yes, I am going to find out that little piece of info as SOON as I can, but I just couldn't pass these up!



or these:



Zulily.com posted the Children Inspire Design store today and I seriously could have purchased almost everything there! Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if I found myself purchasing more, but I doubt that I will find the pricing that Zulily offered, nor am I likely to find the wall space for all the pieces I love.

"Nature" is officially the theme and it all started with my love for the homemade mobiles on etsy.com. Oh, and an idea for Robin's Egg blue walls.

No Pictures, Please!

As most of you know, Matt and I recently took a long trip to Europe over the summer; sort of a planned last hurrah. The trip was more than we could ask for, all except for one thing - the plane rides. On the way there, we missed 1.5 days in Florence due to our plane colliding with another plane on the runway in Charlotte (see report) and on the way back it was a very rough landing in Philadelphia to say the least.

For all of our time lost, stress and patience, U.S. Air was able to provide us with some flight credits and send us off to Louisiana to visit with two wonderful couples!

The Derrys in Baton Rouge: and The Moores in New Orleans:

Chris, Melanie, Jackson & baby Isabella on the way ...... Chris and Mandy

While in Baton Rouge we were able to visit with the Derrys for 2 whole days and get them all to ourselves! Melanie and I discussed babies, babies, babies! And Matt and Jackson became best buds!



The adults were also able to get out one night and enjoy a great night of sushi. Too bad we can't get alligator and crawfish sushi here in Richmond!



While in NOLA we were able to do everything, really, everything The Big Easy has to offer. I am not sure what there is to do that we didn't.

Beignets and Huge Ass Beers in the French Quarter



Robert Randolph at the famous Tipitinia's



And finally, a trip to the Jean Lafitte National Park. We saw all sorts of wildlife and beautiful cypress forests and to my delight we even had a few gator sightings.



Note to future guests: mama gators DO NOT like visitors taking pictures of their babies! The below pictures were taken moments before mama gator hissed, opened that big ol' mouth of hers and started coming at us as... scary!




It is interesting to think about what sort of protective instincts will come out of me when our baby arrives. I like to think I am pretty laid back, but will I too hiss at strangers that come too close to my baby?

Thanks to our wonderful friends for a wonderful visit! I hope you are all planning trips up North because there is no way you are getting me back on a plane until my belly is no longer rolling over the tops of my jeans.

Cereal has never tasted so good!

My newest obsession, cereal. All kinds of cereal.

Honey Nut Cheerios? Sure!

Apple Jacks? Don't Mind if I do!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch? YES PLEASE!

I guess you can say that I am one of the "lucky" ones and haven't felt so bad during my pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I had my moments of nausea, but nothing ever lasted too long and eating was never a problem - however unfortunate that was for my waistline. So far, I had been pretty curious as to what "cravings" would be like; what would I crave? would I even have them? Up until this point, I could only tell you that salmon is the sickest thing to hit a plate and salads come in 2nd --- again, very disappointing for my waistline.

Then, while grocery shopping with Matt, we stumbled upon the cereal isle and it was like a light shown down from the heavens. Look at all these glorious boxes! So many flavors, so many shapes! I certainly could not be expected to pick just ONE! That lead to a whole new battle; to fight the sugar monster and go "healthy" or to give in to my childhood taste buds and pick up that box of Count Chocula? A compromise was quickly made and I happily walked away with 1 box of Honey Nut Cheerios, 1 box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and 1 box of Kashi Go Lean (for good measure).

With one box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch down and a new box of Apple Jacks on the shelf, I have already begun flipping through the index of flavors in my head for our next trip.

Cocoa Krispies, you might just be the lucky one!

Stroller Crush?

I am not sure if I have fallen in love yet, but I sure do have a crush on the Baby Jogger, City Mini stroller.




My mom and I were out shopping this past Saturday and I was able to talk her into going to Weebsworld with me to browse the "rich people" strollers that I knew I would never be able to have. A girl can dream, right? Upon entering the store, it became quite clear that neither of us had any clue what we were looking at, let alone how to use anything. Sobering Moment #1: If I can't even figure out how to use a stroller, how in the heck am I supposed to figure out how to take care of a baby!? After a few minutes of browsing and whispering between each other (too embarrassed to say anything out loud and have people realize how clueless we really were) the woman behind the counter finally came to our rescue. I wish I could remember her name because she was super helpful and made us feel at ease. After discussing a few of the items in the store, she brought us over to test drive the City Mini. So smooth, so light, so easy to fold up! It is every girl's dream! It is the travel system we have all been looking for --- and the best part, the price isn't completely out of reach! (However, the crazy cost of all this baby stuff will be discussed in a later blog.)

The City Mini is a super light umbrella stroller that has attachments for almost any car seat. The Maxi Cosi is the car seat that was suggested to us, and works most easily with the seat adaptors. After comparing the Maxi Cosi and the Graco, I have to agree with their recommendation. While both are great, high-ranked car seats, the Maxi Cosi offers more side impact protection as the baby grows and uses metal parts vs. the plastic attachments the Graco uses (and it is lighter). PLUS, the Maxi Cosi is only $10.00 more than the Graco. In addition to the minimal weight of the City Mini, I was amazed by its ease in folding. There is a strap in the seat you simply lift and the entire stroller collapses to a very packable size. There are so many more great things about this stroller I could go on and on, but you should go see for yourself!

City Mini, I think I love you!

The news you have all been waiting for...

Drumroll please....

The Wards are having a BABY!!!

On August 11, 2010 the results came in and it was official that "just the 2 of us" would soon become 3 (or so we were hoping only 3!!). Only 2 days could pass before I HAD to tell my mother; that is one secret that is just too big to keep. Only 3 days later we attended a wedding for our friends, David & Anne, and that is when it became apparent that this was news that would be hard to hide. We did our best, but anyone who knows me is aware that I almost never pass up a glass of wine (let's face it, almost should not be in that sentence) and as I was sipping my cup of lemonade the questions started.

5 LONG weeks later we finally went in for our first appointment and the ultrasound confirmed 2 things; yes, I wasn't crazy and really did have a baby in there and 2, there was only ONE. WHEW! I really don't know why I was so sure that 2 little beans would pop up in the photo, there really was no good supporting evidence to make me believe we would have twins, but I hear that many new moms go in thinking for sure there would be 2.

Once the heartbeat was confirmed (a strong 164 bpm) and the "new mom" questions answered, it was time to start making some calls. Marshall, Grandaddy, Grammie, Karen... the news was out! And believe me, Matt took full advantage of that. Seeing the excitement on his face when he tells every person he sees is priceless.