it's been a week? dang!

The past week has been a blur, but that's just blogger-speak for 'I haven't written'.  After my birthday off, I had some stomach bug and sat on the couch for a few days unhealthily.  After a little recoup time, we went to dinner with fam, went to Mickey's birthday party, and then had the first bonfire of the season with our neighbors.  I spent all day Sunday studying, and still have several hours tonight before I'll be done --gotta love accelerated programs.  So far, I'm learning all about cells: what their pieces-parts are called, what they all do, how they create food, etc.  I know I learned this in high school biology, and again in college Anatomy and Physiology, but clearly that info has been deleted ages ago.  It's very cool to be able to take notes on a laptop, though.  I type much more quickly than I handwrite, and it's easy to edit and make look all swanky. 

I also have been shopping for fall clothes, thanks to some birthday money from the fams.  If you're looking for maternity-wear, I highly recommend Old Navy.  They have a sale, free shipping for a few weeks, and some really cute styles.  A pair of jeans, sweaters and hoodies, mix & match tops, and a pair of cords.  I even ordered some scarves.  Who am I?

In week 24, Danny is about 12­½ inches long, and about a pound and a half.  He's going to gain half a pound in the next two weeks, so he's in the middle of a bit of a growth spurt.  He will join us in 16 short weeks.  Hard to believe! 

AND - we have another vacation coming up this weekend.  Heading back to Atwood Lake for a few days over the long weekend.  YEY!

we could pin 'em!

We had some friends over this weekend -- we played games, we ate, and we laughed a lot. Mixed in this group was our friend's four-year old son. He might be the most grown-up four-year old I've met. He was not shy at all, and talked to each of us like he's known us for ages. We enjoyed Play-doh, learned that the best game EVER was to ring an old-fashioned bell, and watched as he was fascinated with our cats. At one point, we went on a cat search, finding them as they hid from him napped. We found Phoebe on the bed, and Moxy on the bathroom windowsill. Eric said that we should put them side by side on the bed, so they were all in the same spot. I mentioned that they weren't really fond of sitting together and warned that they might jump down.

He used a very optimistic, matter-of-fact tone when he said, "We could pin 'em!"

***

On the kitten front, he's been really, really active. Last night, I read about our weekly progress in What To Expect, and he kicked the book on my belly, enough that I lost my place. It was a little challenging to read while laughing, but I tried. I can't believe we've made it into our 22nd week... it really seems like just yesterday, we were talking with our new doctor about what our first steps would be. My, how things change.

dreams of bouncing papayas

I had the strangest dream last night; I gave birth, then waited for the baby to wake up so I could feed him.  He didn't wake up for a whole day, and when he did, he was talking.  'Hi, Mom.  I'm not really hungry'.  He had teeth and looked vaguely like he was in his seventies.  I woke up all confused, as if I were in dreamland for a week.  Karen drew Benjamin Button parallels and commented on how cute the dream sounded, but it freaked the crap out of me.  Thank you, pregnancy dreams. 

In kittenland, Dannyboy is kicking up a storm all the time now.  He's about a pound, and about the size of a papaya.  I had to google one, since I don't think I've ever seen one in person -- now I see why he feels like he's gotten so big.  I suppose he's crunched in there, but still...  Imagine a papaya bouncing around inside your belly!

This is our last week before school starts for both of us, so it feels like summer is coming to an end.  Normally by this time every year, I'm a little bit sad, watching the playing season fade away.  This year, it feels like it's just about time for a new season of play.  Putting together cribs and bouncey chairs, and organizing baby clothes will be a new hobby.

goings on

I have become a somewhat shameless fangirl.  One of my favorite bloggers decided to stop writing, and I wrote him a crazy ranting email a modestly self-effacing email, stating how much I enjoyed his writing.   He wrote back, and was as funny as I'd expect.  I don't know why I'm always surprised that bloggers are real people (who write back when you email, shocking!), but ever since I saw his email, I feel like I'd imagine it feels to meet a Backstreet Boy.  You know, if they could write well, and were cool. 

On the kitten front, I have realized that my daily e-newsletters are filling my head with potential crap about labor and delivery.   There's always conflicting advice from the many updates I receive, and I mentioned one to my friend Jaylene yesterday.  She brought up the fact that babies are born with sharp little nails that they try to remove their faces with.  I said that an article recommended bringing a nail file to the hospital.  She was laughing so hard, she couldn't respond.  Apparently, there is little chance that we will be able to file his nails just after birth, since they'll be paper thin and his skin will be all soft and also fileable -- whooops.  I realized then that I get a lot of advice that all centers around this mythical day that's four months away, where lots of stuff will happen that I won't be prepared for.  I will continue to read the updates because I'm obsessed, but I'll try to read them with a grain of salt a little common sense.

Karen keeps telling me that people have been doing this for a very long time, and that things usually work out just fine.  I don't know what makes me think that studying will help me be a better laborer or a better parent.  Maybe it's just that knowing anything makes all the unknown more comfortable.  I'll stick with that for now.

tremors, a clambake, and a pineapple

All day today, Daniel has been rumbling around in my belly, just like the worms in Tremors.  I just hope he doesn't try to pull any jackhammers down the street with his teeth.

This past weekend FLEW by...  we went to Kennedy Cocktail Hour on Friday night, had a quick visit from some out-of-town guests (hello, Shareen!), had our condo's Clambake Saturday, and recovered and went to the movies yesterday.  Why is it that I always feel like I need a weekend to recover from the weekends?  We had a bit of luck with the clambake, since it was supposed to be in the nineties Saturday...  we had some much-needed shade in the spot we chose in the garden.  We have the best neighbors, if I've never mentioned it before.  Great people to have dinner parties with, who feed our cats when we're out of town, and who bring early birthday gifts unannounced (Thanks, Stephanie) and homemade peach pie (Thanks, Greta.) 

Here's a slideshow from the festivities:



In Kittenland, Daniel is now the size of an average pineapple, without the leaves.

Soon to come, what it feels like to be turning 35, and a hundredth post celebration, which probably just means more of the usual!

a kangaroo baby, cute pictures of a kitten, and unflattering photos of moi

The kitten is acting less like a fuzzy little kitten and more like a ferocious kicking animal these days, and Karen felt him kick again this morning.  Clearly, he laid low until the gender scan, and now no one is safe.  I have learned that he very much dislikes me leaning forward, which I often do when I play laptop at home.  Right now he's flopping around, probably in a lunch-induced haze, much like I am. 

Here's some of the latest sonogram shots, since I keep neglecting to add them officially.  The strange reverse shadows are just from the little plastic covering sheet I keep over them at my desk.  Yep -- I'm the girl who puts sheet protectors over things sometimes.  You're shocked, I'm sure.

I have also realized that it is quite difficult to take a picture of oneself in the work bathroom, while pretending to be nonchalant in case someone enters.  Because, surely, I am not in here, taking a photo of myself with my phone.  Today's attempt:

I now leave you with some scenes from last night's volleyball game, when it was juuuuuuuust about to be dark, and I was so afraid of a darkened porta-potty that I walked all the way back from the courts to the bar...  Twice.

Also, has anyone noticed that you can't walk right anymore at 21 weeks?  All of a sudden, I notice that I'm the slowest walker in any group, and that I just feel funny when I walk.  Not in pain, but like I wasn't built for walking.  Odd.  Very odd. 

the kid can kick...

For the few weeks since I started feeling movement, Karen's been putting her hand on my belly.  So far, neither of us have felt anything from the outside, but that all changed last night.  Lounging after dinner, I noticed that he was pretty active.  Karen reached her hand out and BAM - he kicked us both -- hard!  It was probably the strongest kick I've felt, and the fact that she got to feel it too made it pretty cool.  The look on her face wasn't bad either.

Since we found out that he's a boy, everything's felt much more real.  From registering for big items to looking at Threadless onesies, I can't help but imagine him doing all sorts of little boy things.  I wonder if he'll kiss someone in kindergarten and get in trouble like I did.  I wonder if he'll be into sports or reading or both.  I think about how he'll smell.  I wonder what he'll be wearing the first time he smiles at us.

Also, I'd like to thank you all for your comments on baby tubs and wipe warmers and the like. I think I have beaten her into submission covinced her that we should try out lots of items to decide what we will need. 

registering for luxury items

We registered for a handful of basic items last night, mostly necessities with a few fun things added in.  I walked Karen through the choices I'd signed up for without her, and we got to the newborn-to-toddler tub.   I mentioned that it's a necessity, and how it allows us to bathe him in the tub or in the sink, and showed off the little hammock slingy thing.  She just smirked at me, and said that it's a 'luxury item' and how it's likely 'unnecessary'.  She began to tell me that people have been bathing billions of babies, likely without this item. 

I then decided that she'll be giving Daniel several baths without the infant tub, just to prove to me how easy it will be.

back to the grind

We're back from a week off and trying to get back into the swing of things.  I must admit that I feel very relaxed today...  I also realized that during vacation I somehow trained myself to eat almost constantly, so now I'm hungry almost constantly.  On the kitten front, we now call him Daniel and Danny and constantly use the correct pronoun when we refer to him.  It seems so much more real now that we know he's a boy, and I get the fun task of beginning to register for all the little (and not so little) gadgets and items that we'll need for him.  I can't believe that we're halfway done waiting for him...  blows my mind!

Vacation was terrific...  It was eventful and uneventful all at once.  We went on a big hike while the golfers golfed, and my niece Ally swung on an actual vine.  I tried, but ended up just lifting my feet for a second...  not quite Tarzan here.  We rented a boat and got Ally to touch a fish -- as evidenced in the pics.  We also ate.  I read about three pages in my book, which just shows you that we were just too busy playing Clue and swimming and napping to do anything productive.  :)


(slideshow on original post.)

It's a boy!!!

We had our appointment this morning and everything looks great!  The baby is a boy, he had the hiccups during our ultrasound, and my due date is still Christmas day.  He's thirteen ounces, which puts him in the ninety-second percentile for weight (and makes him the size of a cantaloupe.)  The tech and the doctor kept saying 'he's going to be a big baby!'  Afterward, we had lunch with the grandparents, where I had my first glass of wine in months and we got our first blue gift: a blanket from my parents.  It's been a great day already.

And now we know that we're having a boy!!!
--sonogram pictures to come