Polyphonic Spree at the Granada

Mike and I had so much fun a couple of weeks ago at the Polyphonic Spree's Annual Christmas show. It was a whole afternoon's worth of entertainment for kids and adults. We went to the early show (hello, I go to bed at 9:30, and the late show didn't even start until 8), so there were lots of kids and families there.

The first act that we saw when we arrived was the Critterman, who brought a bunch of random animals up on the stage for the kids to see. This guy was a Binturong (also known as an Asian Bearcat, apparently), and he was pretty cool. He didn't seem freaked out at all to be up on a stage in a huge room full of screaming kids instead of hanging upside down from his tail in the rain forest.
My favorite part of the day was the Polyphonic Spree's Christmas Songs set. They pulled a bunch of kids up from the audience onto the stage with them, and sang a bunch of Christmas songs. They also provided the lyrics on screens next to the stage so everyone could sing along. Very cool, and the kids on stage were clearly having a blast.

Then after the holiday set, the Polyphonic Spree came back to do a rock set. I was surprised at how many families stayed for this part, but it was cool to see the kids rocking out with their parents. Maybe Baby Brant will be into them someday too!

Thanksgiving & Baby Shopping

I hope everyone had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as we did! We spent the day on Thursday with my dad, Kelly, Jana and Manny, which was wonderful and relaxing. We had some yummy food and watched the Cowboys game. After that, we went home to watch the Longhorns game. Unfortunately, I was so tired that I was only able to make it through the first half, but that was enough to know that the Longhorns were putting the hurt on the Aggies! Hook 'em!

On Friday, we drove out to Granbury to eat leftovers and hang out at the lake for the weekend. It was a great time, and we got lots of relaxing done there! I didn't get out of my PJs all weekend, I think! The doggies had the best time, of course. Vince even took a little dip in the pool, even though it was freezing!

Of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without shopping. Baby Brant got somewhere to sleep this weekend! We got her the cutest little crib from JCPenney. I had an extra associate discount, so it ended up being very affordable, too! What a bonus! This isn't the bedding we're using (you can check that out here), but you get the idea :)

It's a Girl!

Well, it was a long day, but we finally got the big question answered!


Baby Brant did not want to cooperate at her sonogram this morning at my regular OBGYN's office, but we did get this adorable pictures out of it. She's waving for the camera, and you can even make her little fingers out a little bit! Very cool. But unfortunately, you can also tell that her legs are all folded up tight. She was being very shy, and didn't want to give up the goods. We were able to tell that everything looked normal. Yay! Obviously the most important thing, anyway. They also decided to move my due date up a week to April 1. Which means only 18 more weeks to go! Woo hoo!

So, when I texted Meri to tell her what happened, she decided that the outcome of our first sonogram was just not going to do. She got right online and found a place in Plano where we could get another sonogram that afternoon. I decided VERY quickly that she was right, and that I would just go nuts if I couldn't find out. So, I got on the phone and made an appointment over lunch at the First Vu clinic.

They were truly wonderful, and after 45 minutes of trying to get the baby to roll over (no, I am not exaggerating), she finally did, and we got the money shot above. It doesn't look like much to me, but according to my sonographer, "I can't tell you for sure that it's a girl, but I can tell you that in a sonography text book, that picture would be next to "girl" as a perfect example. We couldn't be more thrilled, and are looking forward to welcoming Baby Girl Brant to the family in 2009!

Boy or Girl?

Friday is my big ultrasound appointment to find out if Baby Brant will be wearing pink or blue this spring. I can't wait! Please keep your fingers crossed that Baby Brant cooperates and flashes the goods for us.

Any final predictions before the final verdict? I think girl, and Mike thinks boy.

Mini-Movie Review: Persepolis

Mike and I had Netflixed (yes, I am allowed to make up words) a movie called Persepolis several weeks ago, but for some reason, we had been putting off watching it. I guess because it was an animated, foreign film with subtitles about a young girl growing up in Iran, we thought it might be kind of boring or pretentious. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it was neither.

The movie chronicles the life of Marjane Satrapi (who also wrote and co-directed the movie), an irreverent and punk music-loving young girl. It follows her and her extended family, friends and acquaintances in Iran during the fall of the Shah and the subsequent takeover by the radical Islamic government. It was really great--funny, enlightening, and occaisionally infuriating.

I would definitely give it my highest recommendation, and Mike also gave it a thumbs up.

16 Weeks And Counting

I had my 16-week appointment today, and everything was great. Baby Brant's little heart is beating away at about 150-155 beats a minute now. Apparently he/she was swimming and flipping like crazy, because he/she kept moving when the nurse was trying to get the heartbeat. She was laughing, and said, "That's one slippery little one you've got in there." Hopefully that's not a sign of things to come!

Okay, only a month to go before the big ultrasound on November 21st. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that Baby Brant cooperates and shows us his/her stuff. I can't wait to start decorating the nursery in blue or pink!

Concert Crazy

Sunday when we got back from Austin, Baby Brant and I left Mike at home and joined a bunch of my girlfriends to have dinner and attend the New Kids on the Block reunion concert at American Airlines Center.

I know I should be embarrassed about this (as Mike has been telling me for months), but I have to say, they put on an amazing show. The singing and dancing were still great, and they rolled out all of their old hits for the occasion. I'm not sure which was my favorite, but Hangin' Tough, The Right Stuff, Please Don't Go Girl and I'll Be Loving You Forever were all awesome. They did, however, go a little crazy with stuff off the new album. New Kids, I love you, but this concert should have been 75% old stuff, 25% new stuff. It ended up being more 50%/50%.

Mike was a little horrified to learn that this was the first week Baby Brant was able to start hearing, so I'm sure he/she was treated to the sound of thousands of screaming women in their late 20s and early 30s, as well as the amazing falsetto (even after all these years!) of Jordan Knight.


On Tuesday night, Mike, Jana and I went to see my favorite band, Weezer at Nokia in Grand Prarie. It's hard to believe, but I had actually never gotten a chance to see Weezer in concert before. Because I am a member of the Weezer fan club (yes, I am a dork), I was able to get us really great tickets in a pre-sale.

I wasn't expecting anything less than awesome-ness from them, and they delivered. They did lots of old stuff, as well as some great songs off their new album (totally acceptable in this case, because their new album is really good). I was a little sad that they didn't play more from the Pinkerton album (my favorite album of all time), but they did play El Scorcho and Pink Triangle.
The highlight of the concert, however, was the "hootenanny" portion. During this tour, they had been soliciting musicians of all types (accordion players, sousaphone players, spoon players, etc.) to learn a couple of their songs and come on stage and play with them. Then they selected about 20-25 of them to actually come onstage and play a couple of songs with them during the concert. most of them looked straight out of their high school marching band, and it was an absolute riot. They played Island in the Sun and Beverly Hills, two of Weezer's most recognizable hits, and the whole audience sang along while the band played. It was a riot. The best part was the accordion solo that substituted for the guitar solo in Island in the Sun. Hilarious, and the accordion player did a great job!

They closed the show with a very cool cover of Nirvana's Sliver (amazing how obvious it was when they played that how influenced they were by Nirvana) and Buddy Holly. A great end to a great show.

I purchased Baby Brant his/her first article of clothing, a Weezer onesie. How cute is this?

Trip to Austin

Last Friday, Mike and I drove down to Austin to spend the weekend and enjoy the Longhorns game against Mizzou. We definitely expected the Longhorns to win (naturally), but I don't think even Mike anticipated what an awesome game it would be! The Longhorns looked totally dominant, and we had an awesome time.

The defense looked incredible in the first half. They completely shut-down Mizzou's supposedly stout offense, and basically made Mizzou look like a bunch of chumps. Colt McCoy was also unbelievable again. It's really amazing how much progress he's made from last year.

Baby Brant is still holding out hope that he/she will be born into a world where the Longhorns are the National Champions. Each week it looks more and more like it might actually happen!

Baby Brant's First Football Game

Okay, I guess it won't really count until after Baby Brant is born, but what a game it was anyway! We are convinced that Baby Brant brought our sweet Longhorns good luck and helped them power past OU.

Mommy and Daddy came home a little sunburned, but it couldn't have been more worth it. I've sat through several bad Texas/OU games (2000 springs to mind), but it's games like these that make it worth it! Baby Brant also got to enjoy his/her first Fletcher's Corny Dog, and I'm pretty sure BB enjoyed it!

Look out Missouri - Baby Brant will be down in Austin next weekend as well! Hook 'em!

Baby's First Horoscope

Okay, one of my pregnancy websites sent me this horoscope for Baby Brant. Aries covers two weeks before and two weeks after my expected due date, so it's fairly likely that this will be accurate. Check this out...does our baby sound like a jerk, or what???

March 21 - April 19 Planet - Mars Element - Fire

The Rambo of the play group has arrived! With an Aries baby around, you can
expect lots of action and activity in your midst. Don't expect this tot to sit
still with a rattle -- it just won't happen. The Aries baby is one who makes a
lot of noise and will definitely be heard. There's really no choice!

As a Fire sign, the little Ram will be dynamic and always up to something.
Will this be a tough baby to deal with? More than likely. To that end, parents
would be wise to show this child how to work with other babies early on. Things
such as sharing won't come naturally, they must be learned. Even where siblings
are concerned, the Aries child won't be a walk in the park. What the Aries baby
may want most of all, however, is attention, so parents be well advised.

In a play setting, the Aries tot will easily get the attention of others on
their own. This baby will also start many things early, the better to get to the
finish line, so to speak, in a hurry. To sum up, the Arian baby can be quite
independent but enjoys interacting with others. This baby is a fairly physical
child and craves constant stimulation. They will be ready from day one!

End of First Trimester!

I am excited to report that I am now officially out of my first trimester!

I had my end-of-first trimester appointment with my doctor today, and I got to listen to the heartbeat with the doppler. It was very cool, and made me feel like an official preggo!

12 weeks down--only 28 to go!

8 1/2 Weeks

We had another ultrasound at 8 1/2 weeks so that they could pin dwn a more accurate due date. Baby Brant isn't looking anymore like a baby at this point, but at least it's got something that looks like an arm now. Or a flipper.

We are getting very excited. My first trimester has been pretty rough on me, but it will all be worth it in April!

Baby Brant

Well, it's hard to believe, but Robin and Mike Brant are actually going to be parents of a two-legged, non-furry (fingers crossed) baby.

That's right - I am seven weeks pregnant now, and am still feeling pretty good. I definitely have my moments where I get spinny or nauseated, but overall, it's just the fatigue that's really bothering me. Who new growing a baby was so much work?

Here's baby Brant (otherwise known as Blinky, named for the blinking heart we saw on the screen)at 7 weeks 2 days. Kind of looks like an owl or a sea monkey, but we're hoping it will get a little cuter before making its appearance.

Yes, I know the name on the ultrasound says "Brandt". Even though Mike Brandt is apparently the father, Mike Brant has agreed to raise the baby as if it were his own anyway. Let's never discuss it again.