The Holiday Spirit

Call it the hormones, but I cannot get enough of Christmas! I could not hold myself back last week from decorating the entire house with every holiday item I own. Yesterday Todd and I put up the Christmas tree - here's a look at the finished product.



Of course, I had to put up the worlds most adorable Christmas ornament. Look how cute Todd was as a child! I hope our little boy looks like him!


And in case you didn't already guess, I am listening to our "Christmas Music" Ipod playlist while I compose this post. No scrooge here!

What's in a name?

For those of you who may be confused as to why we refer to our baby-to-be as "Super Tiny", I thought I would provide a little context.

For as long as I can remember, Todd's pet-name for me has been "Tiny". Driven predominantly by the fact that he has 14 inches of height on me, and because I am so adorably petite :) Variations of this little nickname include "Tyneside" (a city in England where some soccer team plays), and the abreviated version of this,"Tyne".

So when we found out we were pregnant, we tried out a few different names for the little nugget inside me, but somehow "it" just didn't quite roll of the tongue. Luckily, by some stroke of genius, Todd one day sent me a text message saying that he missed "Tiny" and "Super Tiny" - and it has stuck ever since. It really is the perfect baby nickname. First of all it's gender agnostic, it's more creative than "bean", and finally it's much more endearing than "cletus the fetus".

Until we land on a final name, we will continue to refer to our little one as Super Tiny. And don't be surprised if we interchange other variations including: "Super", "Super Tyne" and "The Super". The possibilities are endless!

So Thankful

This Thanksgiving, we felt especially thankful. Not only did we get to spend it with my parents and Romina & Craig, but we had little Super Tiny aboard to celebrate! Super Tiny loved Thanksgiving, he kicked all day long, the most active he has ever been. My mom, Romina and Todd even got to feel his little karate parties on my belly.

My personal suspicion is that Super Tiny loves being around others and food (aka the perfect blend of Todd and me!). We spent all day playing board games and snacking, until our late Thanksgiving dinner. The key headline on the boardgames: Todd kicked everyone's butt in Monopoly, and we all nearly busted a gut playing Cranium. Craig's humming and my "hamster wheel" impression were pretty amazing.

And of course, it wouldn't be a holiday without little Super Tiny getting spoiled. Our baby boy was showered with gifts. My Tia Marta loaded him up with super soft clothes and bedding from Argentina. My mom and dad found some adorable clothing, books and educational toys for their grandson-to-be. And as a very generous Christmas present, my parents and Grandma Gina gave us a shoot-and-share video camera so that we can capture all of the amazing moments with Super Tiny and share them back with the family!

We feel so blessed and look forward to the next Thanksgiving when Super Tiny gets to be out and part of the party!

Adventures in Registering

I've often heard Baby's R Us described as the "7th Circle of Hell". And more than a handful of women have warned me about the perils of registering, however, nothing could have prepared me for what it would actually be like.

Last Sunday, thanks to a 3pm Bears game, Todd joined me on the epic journey to register for baby gifts and supplies. I armed myself with a highly calculated spreadsheet, cross referenced with the following:

• 4 separate lists from past General Mills mothers
• Baby Bargains (9th edition) - a cult favorite that is basically the "bible" of baby supplies and brands
• Reviewed by current moms - to make sure that I wasn't "missing anything"

I was convinced that this was enough to make the process a breeze. I was so naive. I projected that setting up all 3 registries would take us 2.5 hours, MAX. Boy was I wrong... 5 hours later, we were finally "done". I use quotation marks because I still had to go back online and edit and refine all three registries (add on another 1.5 hours).

Luckily, I brought snacks, and thankfully, Todd was up to the challenge. He eagerly weighed all the baby product options, tested out strollers, and even patiently listened as I explained the difference between a baby sling and a baby carrier.

Alas, another key baby prep item has been checked off the to-do list. We even went off script and purchased the baby his own Christmas stocking. Notice it's the only one hanging on our mantle, this kid is already ruling our roost!

It's a..........

After weeks of calling our child "it", we can finally use an appropriate pronoun! Today was our 20 week ultrasound and we couldn't be happier to discover that not only is our baby-to-be healthy, but it's a 4-days-ahead-of-schedule-developing-normally baby BOY.

That's right folks the Sarbaugh streak continues. Our little one will join the male ranks of the Sarbaugh family. I see many hours and holidays spent playing with his cousin Brayden, and watching and discussing sports with his daddy, Uncle Kurt, and Grandpa Bill.

As for my family, well Grandpa Roberto will finally get someone to hang out with him! No longer will he be left abandoned as the Tonucci women hit the mall. Our new little guy is sure to keep the whole family busy.

Here's a great profile pic of our little man. I love technology!

Well let's just be clear....

Todd and I are no pros at this whole baby thing. Neither of us has ever changed a diaper, let alone watched a baby on our own, and in 20 weeks we will have one of our own!

Our hope is that this blog can help us keep our family and friends (those who opted to not live in the icy tundra of Minneapolis), in the loop on our baby adventures. It's likely to be a wild, and at moments, awkward ride - but we are looking forward to it!

To help you grasp what this moment is like for us, I have included a 2 beautifully photographed (not to mention beautifully modeled) pictures taken by my sister Romina. We are 16 weeks pregnant in the photo, and very much ready for parenthood, can't you tell?