Frogs and Snails, and Puppy Dog's Tails...

We had our 20-week ultrasound today. I watched nervously as the tech scanned all the important parts and functions of our baby's little body. I never can quite breathe a sigh of relief until the tech visibly relaxes and I know all is well with our little one.

All things seem to be in order, and developing right on schedule! We also took a peek at the gender of our newest family member...it was several peeks actually, because the cord was in the way, right between the legs. But in the end, the tech confirmed that we are having a BOY! And yes, she's sure it wasn't just the cord. :)

He's measuring just right for my due date of July 13th. There are no cysts to be seen, and the placenta is attached in the posterior position. I'm hoping to try for a VBAC, so the location of the placenta is a big deal. It's a little closer to the cervix than they'd like, but it tends to migrate upward as pregnancy progresses, so they'll recheck at 32 weeks to make sure it's out of the way enough to try that VBAC.

It still feels kind of surreal to call this baby a "him". Before we had Amy I would have been totally content to have a house full of boys! But after having her, I had a hard time imagining having anything but girls! Funny how that works!

Most of all, I know God is designing our family in just the way He intends it. I'm excited to have a whole new set of firsts with a whole new member of our family, and to raise a brand new human being to honor and serve his Creator.

Family

I don't know how a lot of people classify their college experiences, but I do know how I remember mine...it was a home.

Our music department was so much more than a branch of our college, it was a genuine family. The bonds we formed, the trust we placed in each other as we worked and struggled and gave so much of ourselves in our performances, and the caring we felt from so many sides have all made a huge impact on me. I have often recounted how blessed I felt to attend a small, close-knit college like Simpson, and be a part of a department with such a rich history and reputation.

This morning, I found out that my voice teacher, Maria, is entering hospice care and is not expected to live much longer. For those of you unfamiliar with voice studios, I can only describe them as your home base. The place you seek encouragement, feedback, and honesty. Where you know you will be pushed beyond what you feel you are capable of, but will also have your teacher and studio-mates right there with you. Your teacher guides you in your professional choices, and you trust him/her to direct you wisely. It's an intense relationship, but one that serves for your betterment.

Maria has been a part of Simpson's Music Department for many, many years. She has always been quite the style icon at Simpson, and well-known for her remarkable taste in shoes :) There isn't a day that I can recall when she wasn't dressed to the nines. When I was there she was the Chair of the department. After my freshman year, when my first Simpson voice teacher left the school, I had to try and figure out which studio would be a good fit for me. I was blessed in that first teacher, in that I learned a lot about what I needed in a teacher, which was someone who would push me, and not allow me to give only half, or be content to be on the sidelines. That was Maria. My first year in her studio, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was remarkably resilient, and by the following year, was on the mend. A couple of years ago, I heard that her cancer had returned, but that's all I really knew.

While I was in grad school, another of the Simpson voice teachers passed away after her own battle, and she also had been a faculty member for several years. So to now know that we will likely lose Maria too feels a little like our family is falling apart. It's the way of the world, and the relentless march of time, but it's still very hard. So much has changed there in the last 6 years that I'm not sure I would recognize my home, but those familiar faces of the faculty were what made it enduring. I can only hope that I will be able to go to Iowa for a funeral, and celebrate this remarkable woman...wearing my very best high heels.

What I Love About Toddlers: Sarcasm Edition.

1. I love when my toddler shrieks as loud as she can - and at the highest pitch imaginable - when she is frustrated. Such a sweet, sweet sound.

2. I love that if I have to leave the room, she goes straight for the wipes, climbing over any obstacle in her way, so that I can return to the room with a huge pile of individual wipes to put back in the container. She knows how much I love to do that.

3. I especially love #2 right after I have refilled the wipes container. It makes for maximum cleanup. She's so considerate.

4. I love that I have to put my toddler in timeout 80 times a day for throwing heavy toys onto the floor. While staring straight at me.

5. I love how my toddler eats her food one crumb at a time. She's so dainty.



There will be a sincere edition. But not today.

Why?

Today started out really well! Its a great day...the sun is shining, its a decent 50 degrees outside, but then I made a mistake. I asked for help.

Why do people who are always saying they "just want to help" make it so, SO hard for you when you actually take them up on it?

George and I work really hard to be independent, that's true. We want to be self-sufficient, and not have to depend on others for help. It doesn't mean we want to be above needing help, just that we know we should be able to do a lot of things on our own, and not develop a habit of never dealing with our own stuff.

I'm firmly in the camp of "Sometimes you've got to put on your big kid pants and DEAL with it". But that doesn't mean there won't be times when we need a favor. We try to make those times rare, so that we don't take advantage of anyone, and we offer our help and services to others freely and without expectation of having the favor returned.

But maybe we've gone too far to the extreme in our independence. I guess the fault could lie with us, too. I don't know.

It just...wasn't a great encounter this morning. But I think I should put on my big girl pants and just enjoy the rest of this day! :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I like all these little blog things that help people (i.e. me) with what to post! Here's a new one (and yes, mom, it's more than just a picture) that I've seen a bunch on other blogs I read. Thought I'd try it out today!

*Disclaimer: A lot of what I'm loving right now is about food. I'm pregnant. It's the way it is.

1. Sandra Boynton books: Amy just loves these, and so do I! It's fun as a parent to enjoy the books you read to your kids. I love how witty and silly these books are, and someday I want to have the whole collection!

2. Stacy's Pita Chips: particularly the Parmesan Garlic & Herb and the Cinnamon Sugar. I love these because they don't have a hint of soy to be found in their ingredients, and they're so filling that even an 8oz bag lasts me for a while.

3. Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream: (I had an image and then I tried to backspace a word and it disappeared. It was way more work than should be acceptable to get it on here in the first place, so I'm not fixing it)

This ice cream was a staple in my house from the time I was a little kid (my dad still eats this ice cream with orange sherbet). I'm more of a chocolate Breyer's girl myself, but the other day I was suddenly hit with a strong craving for vanilla Breyer's and chocolate syrup (which of course I mix up until blended. duh.)

So. Yum.

4. Smallcakes, A Cupcakery: This is a local business that has gotten big press with the chef being on cable's Cupcake Wars and The View (they're Whoopi's fave cupcakes). But they started right here in the metro and tomorrow a store opens right here in my suburb of KC!!! I am pumped. I drove to Olathe, KS the other day to get their special Valentine's Day box (Red Velvet, Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Fudge, and Pink Champagne). Delish. Worth the drive, but I'll be glad to have one 5 minutes from me too!

So that's what I'm loving today! What are YOU loving today?

Is it dinner time yet?

I'm making a crock pot roast today. This was a super awesome idea many moons ago when we were young, childless and working/going to school outside of our home everyday. Homemade dinner! When we arrive home! As if by magic!

Now that we've procreated and I am home with Amy (and S and T) all day, I am beginning to think this crock pot thing was a very, VERY bad idea. For all of you who have been pregnant, you're aware of the heightened sense of smell. Now imagine, if you will, being pregnant and cooking a nice, hearty, meat-and-potatoes dinner...All. Day. Long. Here's a little sample of what my train of thought has looked like today:


10:00 am: Mmmm...that smells so good.

10:00:37: Is it 5:00 yet?

10:01: (baby moves) Hi sweet thing!

10:02: Seriously, it has to have been another 7 hours by now...

10:03: maybe I can have some roast rare for lunch? George probably won't notice if I cut off a chunk or two. Or ten. Right?

10:05: (takes lid off pot and gazes longingly at cooking roast) Maybe I'd better check the clocks to make sure they're still working...

When I've not been playing with/feeding children, this has been my thought process. Seriously, I've somehow arranged a little torture chamber for myself here. Not a wise move.

I wish I knew a way around it, but alas, I don't have the free time toward the end of the day to chop veggies, sear a roast and watch it on the stove for 2-3 hours.

Next time, this will be a weekend meal, when I can escape from the house and try to forget the sumptuous meal cooking in the pot.

Is it dinner time yet?

No damsels in distress here...

I've always been grateful to the men in my life who saw how important it was for me to know how to deal with mishaps.

My husband taught be long before we married how to change a tire all by myself, and my dad spent hours teaching me how to drive on ice and snow in empty snow-covered parking lots. I still think of my dad's lessons every time I go out in the snow. And I've put George's lessons to work for a friend in college when she had a flat. I've gotten down on the ground in a skirt to change my own tire, too. I have to say I'm proud that I have the confidence to handle some basic challenges that come my way.

Yesterday was another of those situations. Our Honda, as a result of catching the front bumper on the driveway, had a flap underneath that had come loose. The first time it happened (about 6 months ago) I heard a loud flapping while driving on the highway. I was only a mile from a Honda dealership. They checked it out and said they just zip-tied that flap back to the bumper. So yesterday, when I heard that tell-tale noise, I knew what to do. I hit up a Home Depot, bought some zip-ties and got down on the ground in the (wet...thanks to the snow melting) parking lot (in all my pregnant glory) to fasten that flap back up. And the ride home was quiet and flap-free.

I hope we can teach our daughter(s) how to be independent and self-sufficient, and I'm grateful to my dad and husband who encourage me to be knowledgable about such things.

Thanks, guys.

Lately

What have we been up to? Not a whole lot, really. I seem to come up with witty blog posts as I'm drifting off to sleep and then in the morning I can't seem to put them as well as I had hoped.

I dread being a boring blogger, but I guess I have to remember that this is really just a way to log our memories, right?

Amy is growing like a weed. She had her 18 month appt last week and her stats are:
Weight: 25.5 lbs - 70th %
Height: 32 in - 55th %

Since her struggles to gain weight between 4 and 6 months, she's been solidly in the 5oth % for weight, so I was glad to see that she's still growing well. She hasn't reached that picky toddler eating stage yet, thankfully.

It's funny to see her height be so average when everyone we meet remarks on how tall she is for her age! I had a bittersweet moment last night when I checked on her before I turned in. She had turned herself around in her crib so that she was laying across the width of her crib. When we first brought her home, that's how we laid her in the crib and she seemed so small! Now, with her legs all curled up because she no longer fits that way, it was shocking to see that my baby had gotten so big!

She's still a really good-natured kiddo. She likes to cuddle up and read books (some of which she's now "reading" to us), but is also always on the go! She's starting to show off her little temper sometimes, but will still go to timeout all on her own. She has over 50 words, and is beginning to put them together. She likes to narrate what she sees going on, even if a lot of what she says is still hard to understand!

It's amazing to see her answer questions purposefully, instead of just guessing a yes or no answer. The child knows what she wants, that's for sure.

We couldn't feel more blessed by our girl. She's so funny and loving. Can lightning strike twice? I sure hope so.