Moving On

It was the perfect weekend. What more could a girl ask for? Husband graduating med school, graduation partying the following day, a three-day weekend (well four-day for me), and getting to see all of our friends and family. We had so much fun.

Going back to the beginning, though, this is what I came home to Thursday afternoon:


Yeah, that’s my doctor husband!

And here is my handsome man with the graduation tickets:


He ended up getting an extra reserved ticket so all five of us (D's parents, my grandma, her sister, and me) were able to sit together during the ceremony.

D’s parents arrived Thursday night and after we visited for a bit, we all went to bed because we had to be up and out by 8am to get good parking and good seats. Here we are on our way to the Academy of Music in Philly:



We made it there in plenty of time, so we used the extra time to take some pictures. I also took some video of D putting on his cap and gown. Too cute. The color green symbolized Life Sciences, not the school colors. We, in the end, got to keep the (green) tassle. Here's us on the steps of the Academy:


We met up with Auntie Jo and Grandma shortly before the doors opened. They took the train in from Jersey and got there in less time than it took us to get there!


The auditorium was amazing and pictures can't do it justice. We were one of the first people in and got our pick of the place...so we headed towards the front left. The newly-crowned doctors would be coming down that side with diplomas in hand (not that you would miss the diplomas, they are HUGE!). We sat in the third aisle and enjoyed the fantastic view throughout the entire ceremony!


D is almost a doctor here, so close...


The two-hour ceremony went by quickly and I only needed one snack to get through it :). Obviously there's a lot of waiting for the 10 seconds you get to see the person you're actually there to see get hooded and handed the diploma, but it's all worth it. In this picture, D has already received his hood and he's waiting in line to be called Dr. Dave!


And here is the doctor with his parents:


All of us are on our way to the Bellevue Park Hyatt Hotel for refreshments, that is after congratulating D on a job very well done:


Who can resist a man in a cap and gown holding a diploma?? Not us!



We were kind of in a rush to leave the city since it was Memorial Day weekend and everyone and their mother was on the way to the shore. We crossed into Jersey ourselves to pick up grandma and her luggage (she took the train back with her sister) and head up to CT. Lots more to our perfect weekend, but that's all for tonight!

D cornered me for this belly pic tonight:


You would think with the size of this belly that Baby would have PLENTY of room to move around. Not so the way he has been kicking/turning/flipping/punching...constantly! I don't mind, it's funny. I would love to see him again via ultrasound just to get a glimpse of exactly what he's doing in there. I told D that those swaddler blankets we want will certainly come in handy with this one!

This weekend was the first of three crazy weekends. I went two days without a nap, so you can only imagine my energy level. Saturday we did a whole bunch of errands and ended up at Fairmount Park for a barbecue with D's med school class. The weather held and they had some yummy picnic food. It took us over an hour to get there, though, because of an accident on a bridge we were crossing. We were at a dead stop at one point and I wasn't liking that too much -- stuck on the middle-most point of the bridge with cars ahead and behind as far as we could see. But we survived and when we got home, I made D's graduation cake and the party favors:

This is a Rocky Road Chocolate Cake. It's a type of ice cream that D likes, with caramel, pecans, chocolate, and marshmallows. So those are all the ingredients in the frosting. D enjoyed it and I'm actually enjoying some right now :).
These are little chocolate candies I made from a mold that I recently bought off of eBay. This image is of a caduceus, the snake/staff/wings thing on D's graduation invitation. I'm going to attempt to make them for D's party in CT...if there's time.
After church on Sunday, we all gathered at our Sunday School teachers' home for a graduation/going away party...and what happened to turn into a baby shower at some point. We were so blessed to have met this group of people and I wish they were all coming with us. We, once again, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were the last people to leave. The only thing I will really miss about PA is these people. Three friends are already scheduling their CT visits, one for this summer, so something to look forward to. Some pictures...




My friend who made this just had her baby...and she thought she would be funny...
We got a few more cute baby things...and the breast pump that I wanted! Kind of embarrassing, but very sweet!

My very kind and thoughtful sister-in-law Sara sent me this information earlier in the week. I bet she wishes she had a bump right now so she can get free ice cream...she's an ice cream nut. Wednesday is the only day we don't have anything planned, so I'm hoping Baby and I can convince David of our need for soft serve on that day :).

We've had a busy few days and I don't see it letting up in the near future. It's all fun stuff, so no complaints -- just less time for naps. Sunday we went to our friends' new house for a delicious taco salad lunch. Very, very yummy. Their house is too cute -- a modified Cape, I believe, and it got me excited all over again for a house of our own. After catching a brief nap, we met David's Mom's cousins at a local restaurant and visited with them for a few hours. I also managed to get a few more things organized/given away/tossed out/packed up. I can't believe how much stuff we've accumulated even after throwing out/giving away a ton of stuff when we moved just two years ago to this apartment. Oh well, the issue is being solved as we speak.

This week also begins the beginning of the end for David. He's unofficially a doctor because he has these next two weeks before graduation off, so it's not like he's going to be learning anything new for med school. He did tell me that he bought a new Wii Ware game yesterday, so he might be gaining knowledge in that area, but as far as doctoring, he's pretty much done with school. It makes it that much harder to get up in the morning because he's not getting up and then he likes to feel Baby say his good mornings. This child is very active in the morning...and at night come to think of it...and throughout the day, actually. Well anyway, he's kicking/punching his hardest in the morning and D loves feeling that. Baby has a new trick, too. It's like he stretches out or something because I can feel him at the same time at different diagonal points. Clever little guy.

Last night was my last work meeting (YAY!) and all my co-workers made it memorable by throwing me a baby shower. They were so thoughtful in their gifts, too, because they know we are moving. We got a lot of the littler, but very necessary things, that we need. They usually fill a hamper full of things for baby showers, but that's too big and bulky to move, so they bought me the diaper pail I wanted and filled that with all these goodies. And they got me other things on top of that. People are so generous and I'm so thankful to them for such a nice going away party/baby shower. Poor D had to sit through the present-viewing when I got home, but he tolerated it nicely. Our baby stuff is piling up fast and we still have four more months to go...and a move!

Ok, now we're off to the Phillies game and Dollar Dog Night. Go Phillies!

I read somewhere that this is the fun part of pregnancy. You're feeling good (not that I ever felt bad) and your belly isn't so massive yet that you can't maneuver it around. And it's fun because you get to start thinking about all things baby. It's a bit daunting because there are so many things that your baby "needs" that are just a waste of time and money. Then there are other things that you and the baby probably can't live without. So sorting that out and then choosing what will work best when you haven't had any personal experience before is kind of tricky. But everyone who has a baby does it and survives, so it is possible!

I had D take the following picture because I knew my mother would freak out if she saw it. He sent it to her on her cell and sure enough we got a call back, "I knew it! You are having twins!" No, Mom, no twins. Just a five-month belly with a one-pound baby making his/her home inside:


Next, we have our diaper backpack that I just bought off of eBay. This one will be mainly for me, and you can probably see why. I'm still up in the air about the bow...I may remove it. Anyway, I wanted a backpack-type diaper bag because it seems to me that people are always juggling the diaper bag and the baby. The over-the-shoulder kinds seem to constantly fall off if you don't balance them just right. So I thought I'd give this a try. D wants an over-the-shoulder one, so we'll get one of those, too. But when I'm out and about with the baby, I'll be using this:


My friend Allison and I went out for our last dinner together (for a while, at least) tonight. We go out once a month and talk for hours about everything. Another thing I'm going to miss about being here. She made this for Baby and she told me that she is 7 weeks pregnant herself :) :) :). It's a diaper wreath in case you can't tell, with other items woven in:


So that's the fun baby stuff that's going on here. Speaking of Baby, he's kicking so hard now that we can see his efforts. I was tracking him last night as he was kicking/punching his way down the right side of my belly. He's really taking full advantage of the time he has in there. He's already so cute!! D and I were looking at the Social Security Administration's list of Top 1000 names for 2006 and seeing what we agree on the other day. We have a few ideas we're tossing around, but we were surprised with how many boy names we just don't like. I mean we have the two that we'll definitely choose from, but, seriously, two out of 1000 is just not great odds. Oh well. I guess you only need one, so having two is double what we need.

And...drumroll please...tomorrow is D's LAST DAY OF MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!! Sure he has two more weeks before graduation, but that's all the fun stuff. We're going to a BBQ, an Alumni Banquet, and there are a few other activities to choose from. D's grades are finally starting to trickle in, go figure you'd have to keep reminding people to grade you in med school, but so it goes. He just received his fourth Honors for this year. I'm so proud of him!!

D popped his head out of the shower this morning and said, "You're the best pregnant woman ever." Not that he has had a lot of sustained contact with pregnant women, but I could overlook that. But not one to let him off so easily (poor man!), I asked, "How do you mean?" He popped his head out again, "Well, you're not moody at all, you take care of yourself and the baby, you eat good, you exercise, and you don't really have any weird cravings. And you look great." Ok, he definitely earned the Best Husband Ever award with that answer. I certainly haven't given him enough credit on my blog, although I constantly tell him how much I appreciate his willingness to be a huge help all the time. He makes dinner when I don't feel like it, he's always getting me the foods I crave (although I don't have many cravings at all), he's always rubbing my back without me asking, and he's great about just spending time with me(us).

The baby already loves him (who doesn't, though?!) and responds to his voice with flips and kicks. D's really into learning about what's going on each week with the baby and he faithfully reads our pregnancy book and reports back to me (I don't want to know everything, only what I need to know). He hasn't missed an OB appointment and is usually the one to ask questions there. I'm so caught up in hearing Baby's heartbeat that I don't really care about anything else.

And he's taking us to a Phillies game next week, weather permitting. It was his idea and everything (sure, the Dollar Dog Days promotion had something to do with it, but a dollar for a hot dog and not having to make dinner are very good deals!). So, if you haven't guessed it already, I'm very appreciative of and grateful that I am married to the Best Husband Ever!

Well, people, we have some sort of gymnast or soccer player or just a plain, ol' fidgeter (like his daddy!) on our hands. Man, our child can move!! I feel him almost constantly and when I don't feel him, I just ask D to start talking and in less than a minute, I feel him again. It's entertaining :). We had another OB appt this week and we heard his heartbeat again. The doctor found it right away and it was strong, but I could have told her that. He's always in the middle of a workout. He kicked the monitor thingy again this time, and this time I felt it, too. The doctor and I said "Ooh!" at the same time because it was such a hard kick and the noise was so loud over the monitor. I asked her if everything was on track because a lot of people say I look so tiny for 5 months (although I don't feel tiny!). I've gained 14 pounds in 22 weeks and that's all I should be gaining and all the baby's measurements were fine, so I'm not small! :) The one time a girl doesn't want to be small... D measured my fundal height and it was exactly 22cm, which is cool how it measures up with the weeks.

Anyway, I like this OB, she's really nice. She asked about D matching (last time we saw her, he hadn't matched yet) and said that she has a friend at Hartford Hosptial and would contact her for an OB recommendation in CT, which I thought was really thoughtful of her. I have one more appointment at this OB office before switching to my doctor in CT.

D and I have been slowly but surely going through the different cluttered areas of this apartment (hall closet, desk, under the bed, bedroom closets) and getting rid of stuff we don't want to move. It's going really well, I'm pleased to report, and we have made really good progress thus far. I'm trying to limit the amount of stuff we take with us, well as much as possible, because we're going to be living with my parents for a few months and we'll be using their house and D's parent's house for storage. I know, we still have an entire month to go, but it's going to be a busy month. And in another month I will be that much bigger and that much less able to move around comfortably. Thankfully, we'll have lots of help loading the truck, so I'll just have to watch my little dude while his parents help out. I get the better end of that deal!

I'm having a grad party here for D the Sunday before his one in CT. Dana offered her house (the beautifully gorgeous one with a pool!) and another friend offered to coordinate food, which I didn't expect. I was just going to provide everything, with Dana's help, so it's an extra blessing to have that taken care of, too. Can't wait for all the festivities to begin!!

P.S. If you're looking for a good movie: 27 Dresses (A+). Even D liked it! Shhh, don't tell him I told you ;).