Monday, October 29, 2007

From last post through October 31st







I know I need to be more consistent with my posts, if for nothing else, but that I can't remember anything anymore. Things are still going fairly well, but with 9 weeks left before Aiden is due (and we think less than that by the time he actually comes) we are starting to feel the pressure.
I have been trying to get Natalie to more and more activities with our playgroup, but it has now become harder. Some of our adventures included a trip to Homestead Gardens to visit some animals and look at pumpkins, Trick-Or-Treating at Annapolis Mall, and recently a Halloween Party. We also took another trip to visit family in WV.
Natalie is very excited about Halloween and all of the Fall Festivals. She has had the opportunity to see and pet a lot of animals, which she loves (especially the horses - God Help Me!). When she went trick-or-treating at the mall, she seemed to be more excited by looking at all of the other kids' costumes, often exclaiming, "Look, there's Cinderella. Ha! Ha! There's Buzz LightYear...I like Buzz LightYear!..." She met up with "Diego" at the germ pit, and that was all she wrote. Her and Diego played everywhere together, and if she lost sight of him you could hear her call, "Diego, Diego!" Of course, Diego didn't top a boat load of princesses though (Annapolis Mall has updated their "germ pit" and it now includes a row boat that the kids can climb into. At one point it was full with every kind of Disney princess you could imagine...Natalie couldn't resist). Many of the store workers who were handing out candy enjoyed Natalie's "Purple-ly monster" costume. Natalie got a kick out of that, and will tell you that people loved her "little tail." Secretly, o.k. it's no secret, she loves the little tail also!!!
Here's a somewhat funny story for you. Now that I am huge and have a hard time bending over, I opt to throw Natalie in the shower with me rather than give her a bath (if I am on my own). Well, that is proving to be a bit difficult now. My belly sticks out pretty far, and the other day Natalie is in front of me as I was reaching for the shampoo. Well, she felt a little crowded, and said "Mommy, my brother is in my way. Tell him to move please!" I had to explain that it wasn't that simple! Ahhh...so it begins!
On our trip to WV, Natalie had many exciting adventures. We intended on riding a real coal-operated train through Cass, WV. Cass is where most of my Dad's family, including my dad, grew up. It's a small town that used to thrive on the lumbering yard there. The Cass Scenic Railroad has become a huge tourist attraction, and we found that out quickly when we couldn't get a seat on the train (it sold out). We hung around for awhile, but the next train wouldn't leave until 5 and it's a 2.5 hour round-trip. By the time we would get back it would be dark and cold. Not good for scenic pictures, or an extremely pregnant mommy, who would have needed to eat right away!!! But, Natalie had fun none-the-less, playing on the swings and toy train, and looking through the old country store. My aunt, uncle, and grandfather ran into some people they knew from when they lived there some 40 or more years ago! Natalie also got to meet a "real live Bambi!" There is a deer in my Aunt Lisa's neighborhood that had been cared for by a family (I am not sure of the circumstances behind that, but they bottle-fed the deer for some time), and it is pretty tame. Natalie loved playing with, and feeding the deer. I was a little nervous, though, and made sure I explained the difference between a pet and a wild animal to Natalie. I think she mostly got that, as she was pretty careful with the deer, but did not want to leave the deer on its' own for a minute!!! I am posting a link with all of the pictures from the trip...there was some great scenery on the way to Cass (and that's a big deal coming from me, since Mother Nature and I do not get along, and looking at leaves isn't really on my list of the most exciting things to do).
Some of the pics posted on the blog include the famous "Scionwistisis" (see previous blog on earlier trip to WV). Natalie was very excited to see the family again, especially Great-Pop-pop. There's also a pic of a pumpkin cake I made for the Halloween party. I am usually not this creative or ambitious. It turned out pretty well in my opinion, though it wasn't nearly as pretty as the one on the recipe I was going by!! But, it seemed to be a big hit at the party, as there was very little left. I am thankful for that!!!
Aiden and I are doing fine. I went in a couple of weeks ago for a follow up ultrasound. The dr. just wanted to check the placenta and baby again. Everything looks good, but they want me to come back in 4 weeks (well, 2 now) for another. They said that the baby is measuring big. You don't have to tell me that...I knew! They say Aiden is in the 89th percentile, but I truly don't know what that really means. At 29 weeks he was measuring about 3.9 lbs, and avg. for that gestational age is just under 3. That doesn't seem so big to me, but the docs want to keep an eye on it. When I went to my follow up ob appt. yesterday she said I am measuring 33 weeks (I am really 31). She guesses the baby would be about 9 lbs at this rate. I told her I thought I could handle that, but 11 or 12 lbs might be pushing my limit! She explained that this is why they want to check Aiden's growth again. She said that if the baby moves to the 95th percentile, they start talking induction. Personally, whether on his own or with some help (though I would prefer on his own) I don't mind him coming a bit early. I am banking on my 37th week, which is the week including December 15th. I am ready. The aches and pains are getting pretty bad, but I know it's all for a good cause!!!! Oh, and we're still debating on a middle name. I think Daniel or Connor are our top two choices, but we haven't officially decided yet.
Oh, and funny story (well to most other than me). I was trying to cook grilled cheese. This is something I usually can do. But, my mind has not been up to par lately, and I forgot that I was cooking (not good, I know). Well one side of the sandwich was charred pretty well. I tried to scrape it off, but it wouldn't work. I hoped beyond hope that Natalie would just eat it (I couldn't make another because I didn't have enough cheese, and that's what she wanted for lunch), because I was not feeling very well, and I was trying to get the pumpkin cake done for the party. I showed her the sandwich, and apologized. She said, very matter-of-factly, "You not a good cook Mommy!" Well, given how I was feeling I thought I would have had a meltdown, but I couldn't stop laughing. She ate the sandwich though, with no other gripes. She said, "I like the burnt stuff mommy." Yeah right, but thanks for humoring your mother! She has definitely been testing Dan and I lately. There are no terrible 2's, it's terrible 3's. But, overall, I am so proud of person I see her becoming. We are so lucky to have her, even if at times I just wished she stop talking ;)

Halloween went really well. Fortunately Natalie only lasts about as long as I can handle. She still made out like a bandit and really enjoyed trick-or-treating with her friend Ray. I will post those pics as soon as they are downloaded.

Pics from this summer - Natalie swimming (I just realized I never posted these):
http://picasaweb.google.com/open.mynds/Swimming


Homestead Pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/open.mynds/HomesteadGardensTrip


WV Pics!
http://picasaweb.google.com/open.mynds/WVOctober2007

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Up to October 3rd!

Wow, has it really been this long since my last post? We have had a few things going on, some pretty major as you can see from Dan's last post.

Natalie is still doing fine. She's been keeping up with her dance classes, and really loves them. She gets extremely excited when I tell her it's almost time for class. I think she is also very interested in going to pre-school. We didn't feel it was necessary for her to have two years in a pre-school setting, so we decided to wait until next year to start. I hope she keeps up the enthusiasm. I don't know if there are any programs (aside from a daycare center) that will start in January. If so, we may think about doing that. At least then I would be able to see her off to school for awhile (since I plan to have a full time job next Fall). That would also give me some time to have some one on one time with Aiden (Oh yeah, by the way, did we mention that we finally decided to stick with Aiden as the baby's name? We are still contemplating the middle name, but so far no agreement).

Natalie is also still having a lot of fun playing doctor. I probably encourage her since I frequently ask Dan to take my blood pressure (something I have become OC about lately). She told me the other day that she had to check me out. We went through this whole routine where she strapped the bp cuff on and "pumped" it up, announcing "It it says 27; you're o.k." Then she listened to my heart, and then said, "Mommy, I have to put sticky stuff on your belly and listen." It took me a second to realize what she was talking about, but I remembered that she has been to several of my doctor's appts. and thinks it's funny every time the doctor puts the gel on my belly to listen to the heartbeat. Natalie also loves to tell stories and hear other people tell stories. She started a story for Dan one day with this..."When I was your age..." Pretty funny!

Last weekend she went with mom-mom and pop-pop to Ms. Debby's farm for a festival. There were hay rides, pumpkin carving, and animals galore. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, but here are some funny things that my mom mentioned happened on her adventure.

Natalie really enjoyed the Fall Festival at the Houck's. She enjoyed a great hayride with Pop-pop, Mom-mom, Ms. Debby and Eddy and all the other children. We saw deer, horses, goats, cows, dogs, cats, and chickens along the way, while Natalie munched on strawberries, during the ride smiling and laughing the whole time.

We all gathered around the campfire to listen to Natalie tell her campfire story, and carve out pumpkins. Ms. Debby helped to find the perfect pumpkin for Natalie, while Ms. Linda helped her carve and decorate the pumpkin. Unlike Trinity, Natalie was hesitant about sticking her hands into the pumpkin to pull out all the guts (as the children called it) of the pumpkin, replying, "this is messy and gross!" About a half hour later, after a lot of wipes, Natalie was holding her own right along side the other children, in pulling the so-called guts out of her pumpkin. A fine job she did!



Then Lauren, Trinity, and Natalie ran and played for hours in the dark. Each with their own lights to see where they were running in the night (those light-up boots helped Mom-mom keep track of Natalie's whereabouts). Natalie received a lot of compliments from the adults at the festival about how smart she was and a very good girl (bragging was in order of course)!
Natalie and Trinity entertained all Ladies, Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (as Natalie announced) by singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and the ABC song.
The girls than proceeded to run and play hide-n-seek again, however, Natalie had an advantage this time, when Ms. Linda gave her a light that fit around her head (the coal-miner type) leaving her hands free. She was very excited to be wearing this light.

Speaking of doctor's appointments, we have had some follow-ups with new information. I had my second ultrasound on 9/25. This time it was at the Women's Center in St. Agnes (the hospital where I will be delivering). I LOVE this place because the U/S techs are very thorough, personable, and make sure "you" are aware of everything they're looking at. Plus, you get the results right away...the doctor on staff comes in when the tech is done and gives you the report. This is where we went from the get go with Natalie, so I was a bit surprised when I went to American Radiology for Aiden. Anyhow, the doctor said that the placenta has moved, and I should have no problem having a "regular" delivery (provided that everything else goes as planned). Then he mentioned that Aiden's kidneys look normal, and we thought, "Good to know, why is he singling them out?" He explained that the first u/s report indicated that one of the baby's kidneys appeared distended. What? We never heard anything about that! When we explained this to him, he double checked that he was in fact dealing with the right people, and confirmed. He said it's not uncommon for kidneys to appear this way in an u/s if the baby is producing urine at the time, and the fact that everything looks completely normal now suggests that was what happened during the first u/s. I will be going back on October 22nd just for one last follow up on Aiden and me.

A few days after the u/s I went for my glucose test. Fun stuff! I was a little nervous this time around. I have had a problem with low blood sugar for awhile, but nothing with high sugar (though it does run in my family). I had such a rocky first trimester with eating, and often feel like my sugar is out of whack, so I was afraid there might be a problem. Well, I had another o/b appt. this past Tuesday, and the doc said I passed with flying colors. Yeah...no 3 hour test!!! She also indicated that the baby's heart is fine...pause, what? I choose now to express my concerns about the fact that we didn't know any of the possible complications (with the exception of the previa) before my follow up ultrasound. I feel a little better having had the discussion, and there shouldn't be anymore surprises!!!

All stated, Aiden and I are doing fine, aside from the fact that I have severe heartburn (I am up to 150 mg of Zantac 2x a day), and was concerned about possible contractions (let's just say it wasn't contractions!!!). I was in obvious pain a few times, which concerned both Dan and Natalie. Natalie was so sweet and would come rub my back, and ask me what's the matter. I am somewhat surprised I wasn't offered Ginger Ale. Aiden also likes to sit very low, and who am I kidding he kicks, rolls, punches, everything real low. For all of you mommy's out there, you know this is not comfortable ;) I made a comment, more to myself, that Aiden is trying to come out...perhaps through my belly button. Natalie overheard and thinks this is the funniest thing ever. So, don't be surprised (or alarmed) if she mention that her brother is trying to come out!!!!

Pictures will be coming soon!!!!
Farewell! thou are too dear for my possessing.
Or, It is finally time to get rid of this heap.

Last Thursday, on the way home from work, I drove my car under the rear wheels of a passing 30-foot-long box truck. They say you should make every effort to experience life, but I don't recommend this particular experience.

As a lawyer, I'm not supposed to say this, even if they put me on the rack, but the accident was my fault. Anyway, I'm fine, and the other driver was fine, but my car was not fine. We haven't officially heard from the insurance company, but we can't imagine that it will try to repair the car. The cost of repacking the airbags is alone probably more than the car is worth. So, last Saturday, Danielle and I bought a minivan, a silver Kia Sedona. She drives fewer miles than I, so she'll drive the gas hog, and I'll drive her Hyundai Elantra. Here's what's left of the Malibu, which I bought brand-new almost a decade ago: