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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Colorado!

So, it turns out that we didn't actually take that many pictures while we were vacationing. But since I promised pictures, here they are...


Here's Ben and I hiking on one of the trails on the way up Pike's Peak. It was a beautiful day, but it gets flipping cold when you drive up the side of a mountain...


A family of deer came down for a visit to our cabin one night after dinner. We counted nine of them, though they obviously didn't all make it into the photo. They were literally about twenty feet away from our porch.


Here we are looking like midgets at the Garden of the Gods. I swear we brought more than one outfit...though we ended up in our hoodies several times!



Here's the Vance family at the Garden of the Gods. Notice Clayton in the fabulous stroller that now belongs to Worm. Thanks Vances!



Miss Lillie May, the world's smallest rock climber, and Andy in the background wearing Clay on his back who, we've been told, can sound mysteriously similar to a mountain lion when you're hiking up the side of a mountain and forget that he's back there!


...and the obligatory photo of a baby in a bucket...because who can resist!

Andy had three interviews and got three job offers. The house in St. Pete is going up for sale, and it looks like the Vances will make it to Colorado before we do after all!

Stay tuned, hopefully there will be ultrasound photos on Monday!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Worm's Spot 20 Weeks



Here we are at 20 weeks already...up 18 1/2 (gulp!) pounds and getting rounder everyday. I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. I'm having backaches most nights and I've been a little bit grumpy about climbing over Ben to get into bed lately. It just seems to require a bit more effort than it used to! I've done awesome so far with my no chocolate and no soda rule, though it doesn't seem to be helping me manage the extra weight. Oh well. We had a fantastic time in Colorado this week. Pictures coming soon...

Monday, March 19, 2007

Properly Chastised...

Well, we had our third prenatal appointment today...

I have been properly chastised for being a fatty McFat muffin, and I'm feeling like a rotten awful turd about it. Apparently I'm gaining weight too fast (which I could have easily told you without their stupid scale!) I've been really careful to eat lots of good fruits and veggies, whole grains and dairy...but apparently I've been eating too much of lots of other things too. This weekend after a particularly ridiculous "birthday" binge I swore off chocolate and soda for the rest of the pregnancy. We'll see...

Worm's heart is sounding good at 144 beats per minute (the first time they've given me an actual number!) and he's growing like a weed, measuring a smidge ahead of where they'd expect him to be. We're scheduled for an ultrasound on April 2nd, and really looking forward to that!

Tomorrow morning we're leaving for Colorado. Due to a little glitch in the plans, we'll actually be meeting up with the Vances in Atlanta to complete the trip out to Denver. I'm looking forward to seeing how much the munchkins have grown, and it'll be fun to be on the same flight. We're excited about the trip, and I'll be sure to take some nice pictures to post when we get home!

Have a happy week!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

This year for St. Patrick's Day Ben got to feel his first little kicks from our own tiny leprechaun!!!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Why You Should Pay to Have Your Hair Cut

A Pictorial Review for Your Viewing Pleasure...

Once upon a time there was a hairy beast...



He was a very brave beast who kindly humored his wifey and let her "do her thing" with the mop that was growing on the top of his head...


She snipped and snipped without abandon, wistfully leaving a curl here and there...


When she had finally finished she was quite impressed with her handiwork. The hairy beast, however, took one look at himself in the mirror and the expression on his face made her laugh and laugh until tears streamed down her cheeks.


Obviously, the beast was not impressed...

So she pulled out her trusty clippers and hacked off some more...


...til the beast was left with nary a curl on his head...


...and they all lived happily ever after!



A Few More Photos for Good Measure

(Mourning the death of the curls.)



(Can you believe all this hair came off one beast's head?)



(If you are as charming as the hairy beast, perhaps you too can have a beached whale with awful skin for a wife in just 18 weeks and 3 days!
Act now, supplies are running out!!!)

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Overwhelmed

The spring-like weather has arrived. Surely it will only stick around a few days before life goes back to dreary grey and cold for another month, but while it lasts it's making me think...

...that I'm coming to the end of my last childless winter.

...that I'm welcoming my last childless springtime.

...that in less than a week Ben and I will be leaving for our last childless vacation.

And somehow I feel so far from ready for that.

Yesterday I mentioned to Ben that I'm feeling overwhelmed, that I'm wishing I could have more time to prepare myself mentally for this giant change. Then I was silent for a moment and remarked, "Oh well, it's too late now!" I grinned the thoughts away.

But...

Maybe for the first time in my life I don't have any sense of control to grasp onto. I can't slow this down until I'm ready for it. I can't take it back and wait for a more opportune time. And I think perhaps having children in your life brings more and more of that lack of control. They are little individuals with their own minds and they just keep on growing up even when you're not ready. Maybe it's a lesson that I've been late in learning; that life cannot be controlled. Maybe I just need to breathe deep and let the changes come uninhibited. I need to smile at the beautiful parts and tromp through the anxieties. It certainly feels like a journey, and I want to believe that it's a journey that is so worth making.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Story Time with Worm

Some of the websites I've found on fetal development say that Worm should be able to hear right around now. I was taught that babies' ears started working closer to 20 weeks (and I should totally know right?!??) but lest we miss out on three weeks of quality time to talk to our little Worm we've begun telling it bedtime stories.

First was, "Worm and Papa Go Fishing" by Ben. He cracks me up with the details he throws in. You should know that Papa buys Worm a tiny fishing pole with Snoopy on it, that he teaches Worm to rub his* gooey fingers in the grass after putting the squirmy worm on the hook, and that Worm accidentally gets his hook stuck in a tree and Papa and Worm talk about how long it might be up there and what will someday make it come down. (I learned the difference between a bobber and a lure and that you should take the fish off the hook with a pair of pliers, which totally explains why mom, grandma and I were completely unsuccessful at getting the fish off the hook on my first...and last...fishing expedition!)

Last night was, "Worm Gets a Dirtbike" by Ben. Apparently Worm is getting a dirtbike for his fifth Christmas, and Papa is going to train him to ride it by tying a rope around it and practising using the brakes in the back yard. Priceless!

Tonight since Ben was exhausted and too tired to be creative I told the "Worm Eats Breakfast" story, in which Worm and Papa discuss philosophical questions over Cheerios (and a banana that Mama makes them eat) before Papa goes to work.

I already look forward to story time with Worm, and I hope that we will continue with the tradition long after Worm arrives and creates stories of his own...

*In our stories Worm is always a boy. I'm completely convinced that Worm is a boy, although I have absolutely no evidence to support my theory. We're not picky about the sex of the baby, and we'd be thrilled to have a little girl Worm, but until my premonition is proven incorrect Worm will most likely be referred to with masculine terms on this website. Of course, you'll all agree not to mention it if Worm turns out to be a girl and I frantically edit every post!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Worm's Spot 16 weeks

It's not the best picture quality, but it gives you an idea of what the belly is looking like at 16 weeks; kind of lumpy if you ask me! Since I'm up to about 12 pounds now, I'd say it's definitely growing. This past week or so has brought the advent of people who know there's a worm in there commenting that they're starting to notice "the belly." My clothes are definitely not fitting well. Most are out of commission at this point and the ones that I'm trying to squeeze into are very unhappy about buttoning.

I've been feeling pretty well. I'm still very tired, but when I think back to how I was feeling those first three months it's so negligible that it's almost not worth mentioning. Worm is squirming more regularly and I really like having a little reminder of worm's presence everyday! I've taken to interpreting worm's opinions based on the movement, especially when Ben and I talk about names. (Yes...we've revived that topic!) So far, worm totally sides with me! Of course, I'm probably totally misinterpreting, and worm's really in there going, "You dummies, I'm a girl. Give it up already!" Ben's most ridiculously amusing attempt to date was, "How about William Orm Otto? Then he could be W.Orm!"

Sorry little one, I think you've inherited a nickname for life!

Friday, February 16, 2007

Cell Phone Stand-off

I hate the phone. I have a genuine disgust for the phone. I'm not sure how I grew it, or why it plagues me so, but it's there, and if you know me well enough to call me you've probably encountered my general ignorance of "that phone thing" until it's absolutely necessary to give it the time of day.

So, I wasn't all that disappointed when my cell phone became infected with an evil spirit and took a dump. Eh...it just gave me a better excuse not to pay any attention to it. However, after an extended period of ignoring it and several concerned e-mails, I came to the conclusion that maybe....just maybe....every once in awhile someone might like or even need to get in touch with me. And so, we made the trip to the mecca of my disgust, the cell phone store, today.

I hate everything about the cell phone store. I hate the little fly-catchers that stand at the door who won't let you dodge them before you tell them your whole cell phone life story so that they can determine which sales associate will play the best mind games on you. I hate that there are eight different prices on every product. I hate that when I tell the sales associate that I don't need any bells and whistles, that I only use my phone to talk to people, and even do that at a bare minimum, they look at me as if I just stepped out of one of those caveman commercials. Because clearly, every person needs V-cast, whatever the heck that is, and a travel charger and the cable to make your phone into a portable modem for your laptop and don't forget the blue tooth...don't even get me started on you weirdos who use the blue tooth.

I also hate that we pay a hefty chunk of money every month to the awful pariah who own the cell phone store for a service that has given me eight thousand problems and that I hate hate hate in the first place. So, I suppose it's a given that it wasn't a pleasant experience for me, this trip to the cell phone store.

In short, the moral of the story is that I left the cell phone store without a cell phone because of the sheer disgust I felt with the whole process of tom-foolery that abounds there. I refuse to be brainwashed into another two year contract, which they weren't even going to tell me about because, for the love of God, why would anyone ever want to Stop!....Using!....their Cell Phone!!!!! I also refuse to pay the super-exorbitant price that a cell phone costs when you refuse to extend your contract. And so, my friends, for the next 10 months until the contract I was previously suckered into ends, I will pay for a service that I have no cell phone to utilize. If you want to talk to me you'll have to call Ben's cell phone. Do you feel the outrage seeping from the computer screen?!?

On a far less awful note, in fact, on a very pleasant note, we had our second prenatal appointment today and worm's heart is still beating away in there. I haven't felt worm move as much these last couple weeks, and I think there's a very good reason for that. Worm used to be sort of squished down in the left side of my pelvis, but now worm has pushed it's little habitat up into the belly where there is plenty more room to move freely for the time being. Nevertheless, it was good to hear worm's heart and know that the lack of felt movement does not mean that the movement has stopped. All my blood tests came out splendid, and our next appointment is on March 19th. It will be followed by a TRIP TO COLORADO!!! on the 20th. We are meeting my sister-in-law and her family out there for a week of fun times. We'll be there over my 26th (gulp, I'm getting old!) birthday, and I'm very excited to have a last hurrah trip before the worm shakes life up for us. Please don't remind me that I should be buying diapers, car seats and tiny swings with that money. I'm feeling guilty enough!

Monday, February 12, 2007

Yum

A view of the tiny baby cupcakes I made to take to class tomorrow and officially announce to the world that we are expecting a worm. The picture doesn't really do them justice as you can't see their cute little squat bodies all wrapped up in Valentine's wrappers. I made about a million of them (or maybe only 130 or so) and it took me a thousand years to put them all together, but man are they tasty and cute!

Also, does anyone know how to put a picture anywhere besides the top of the post? This is really driving me nuts...