Moving On

First, David has officially received his CT physician’s license and is able to moonlight whenever his schedule allows. It’s one less hoop he has to jump through now, although he’s not board certified yet and won’t be for a few more years (aka a lot more tests and money to go!). Moonlighting is a good thing, even though it means more time away from us, because he can rake in some cash for med school bills…and some fun things too : ). Needless to say, he’s awesome and everyone is very proud of this accomplishment…poor guys is slightly embarrassed that Mom keeps telling everyone and making a big deal of it!



And this is me at week 24 (first picture), even though I look bigger at week 20, the second picture. I had my monthly doctor’s appointment yesterday (and am thoroughly enjoying my doctor, he reminds me so much of David in his speech and mannerisms) At my twenty-four week mark, in which I’m supposed to measure 24cm across the belly, I am already measuring 26cm. I don’t mind if this baby is big a) because I’m not pushing her (or him) out and b) M’s “love and affection” will probably be more than any average baby can withstand on a constant basis. And to be completely honest, I don’t mind big babies, I probably actually prefer them, if I had a choice in the matter. I probably wouldn’t prefer a ten-pounder like David, but he was way too late in making his appearance, so I guess 10 lbs to be expected when you’re gestating a month longer than the average baby! I think if M was that late, he’d have been 12 pounds by then! Ok, enough of those kinds of thoughts…

Baby, dare I say, is more active than I remember M being. And he was active. This little one has quite the personality already and is always ready to play. If I lay a certain way, the kicking starts; if I go a bit longer in between eating, I hear about (or feel) it; if I poke and prod where she’s at, the punching will begin. I’m thinking that if I think about her, she starts…. All this movement doesn’t wake me up at night, but I am enjoying every second of it during the day. At least now I know what I can possibly expect (and the tricks that go along with having an active one!), since M was so active in utero and has continued to be to this day. However, I am still praying for a quiet, sleepy little person if that’s what the Lord can spare (I’m sure they’re in high demand : ). I play Mozart daily as part of our morning routine, so that could possibly have the calming effect it’s supposed to one day. But I know that she does in fact sleep because the doctor woke her up yesterday when he was checking for a heartbeat. The heartbeat went from a calm low-140s to a very active mid-160s during the twenty seconds we listened to it. I’m sure she didn’t want to miss anything and just had to remind us that she was there. Anyway, all that to say this pregnancy is flying by, even though I still have three and a half more months, and I am thoroughly enjoying this part of the process.

I should mention, too, that I am enjoying M at his age. I’m not sure how he got so incredibly cute and smart, but I’m thinking it had something to do with his daddy! He’s so much fun: talking, repeating, randomly saying things I didn’t know he knew, fixing things with his ever-present tools, figuring out how things go together or come apart,. The world is his playground and he’s taking full advantage of it. And it’s great entertainment for me and anyone else watching. He’s very easy to be around and loves routine and order…and for his hands to be dirt-free. You can’t get any more boy than this one, but if his hands are messy, he’ll instantly show you and say, “dirty” meaning, can you please wipe this off? His daddy is neat like that, so he comes by it honestly. He still loves to read and that’s the only time he will be any kind of still. We read throughout the day, everyday and I noticed recently that he is more interested in and more capable of sitting through longer books. I made a list of some read aloud books that kids his age have enjoyed and plan on taking him to the library tomorrow to check some out. He won’t stay still enough to read in the library, with its toys and other kids, but I’ll test them out when we get home!





And that’s about it as of recent. I’ve been starting to do our Christmas shopping and have bought for everyone under the age of 5 at this point. I’m also putting together a few activity bins for M that I’ll rotate on a daily basis and then change them around each month or two (one bin for Mondays, one for Tuesdays, etc). Along with gathering the few items I’ll need for the hospital, I’m collecting a few things for M to open each day while I’m in the hospital. I think it’ll end up being a few new things and few favorites from home, along with a bible story, but it’s still in the works. I’m also on the lookout for a girl and a boy coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit. Like last time, I don’t mind everything else in his/her little life (for the few weeks at least) being neutral, but I want something gender-specific for coming home and for keepsake purposes. Oh, and then shopping for a few items to replace those which were in our stolen van. I’m working on that story…it’s a good one…

We are technically celebrating Father’s Day a week late this year due to my grandpa’s huge 80th party that had been in the works for months and was successfully carried out on Saturday. Everyone from the extended family was there, except for Nick, and my grandfather was totally surprised and very overwhelmed. It was an all-day event with breakfast and a family photo shoot, a slideshow and lunch at the Stonewell Restaurant, and finally cake and presents, dinner, and another slideshow of pictures from Grandpa’s life. Mom did most of the planning and of course it was a party to beat all 80th birthday parties. Anyway, all that to say that there wasn’t much time to plan for Father’s Day the next day, so us girls will be making dinner for our men after church on Sunday at Mom and Dad’s house. Starting next year, I think it will become a new tradition, though: spending Father’s Day at home with David and our kids and then celebrating our dads’ part of Father’s Day the following week. It’s too much trying to get everyone in, going to church, and [gasp] trying to relax and fit in naps.

On Sunday, I did manage to make D’s requested dinner: baked ziti. It really couldn’t have been any easier, which is nice. We were going to bring it on a picnic after church, but it was brutally hot and threatened rain, so we went home instead. Throughout this week, M is giving Daddy some special treats with sayings attached, like what he loves about his daddy and things he like do with him and things he is thankful for about him. I’m just sticking address labels, with these Micah sayings, on D’s gifts. I even made up a few sayings from Baby :). Here are some cute pictures of my handsome men (I’m attempting to take pictures of D and children each Father’s Day, we’re two for 2 so far! And D is doing the reverse for Mother’s Day…):

Tonight, though, we'll be stepping out of our Daddy and Mommy roles and will be going on a semi-date. The fourth year residents in D’s Radiology program are graduating and there is a dinner for everyone in their honor at The Hartford Club. It’s as fancy as it sounds: Hartford Club. Mom and Dad are watching M and we’ll be on our way just before 6pm. It'll be so nice to have extended conversations with my man before he has to study after a long day or I fall asleep before 10pm :).

We had Baby #2's ultrasound a week and a half ago, but D just got around to scanning in the [many] pictures the technican gave us. Short story: all is well in Babyland. We didn't find out the gender, but the technican said she had to put it in the report, so I guess she and whoever reads the report knows. Yana said she was going to call the office and pretend she was me to find out, so I guess that's another way of knowing!

Mom, Dad, and D were all along for the experience and it was so neat seeing our newest little one for the first time. She (as in he or she...I called M "he" all along, so I figured I'd alternate each pregnancy) was semi-cooperative. She was smushed up right against the placenta, which made it kind of difficult to get great 3D photos, but we did end up getting a few. She was moving around and doing her usual acrobatics during the procedure. At one point we saw her move her hand from down by her side to all the way above her head. Which means I felt a poke and now I know what kind of poke a hand makes and what kind of poke a foot makes (and where...). It was the first time we got to see her and she just looked so cute just laying there doing her little routine. We are super excited about meeting Baby and even have a date to look forward to: October 14th. My due date is the 16th, so technically I could go into labor before the C-section, but if this one is anything like Micah, she'd still be in there at Christmastime. The doctor said something about not being able to do a section before 39 weeks, but that date is a Saturday and somehow I didn't make it on the schedule until the Thursday before my due date. Anyway, it'll all work out in the end! It's kind of neat: our little family will have birthdays in September (M), October (Baby), November (me), and December (D). Mind as well try to shoot for August with the next baby...

Oh, back to the ultrasound: since D is our budding Radiologist (actually, he's probably a lot smarter than most of the people who are graduating the program this year, but that's just my humble opinion...), and the technican had read about him in my file beforehand, she said she'd just have D turn away when she was down in that area. Well before saying anything like that, she announced she was done. So I asked, "Could you tell if the baby was a boy or girl?" and with a sly smile, she said, "I don't know, maybe." D and I figured that she probably found out that information when I asked D to hand me my water bottle behind him, since he had to turn around. Sneaky lady, she's really good at her job :)!

I'm feeling really good, besides the constant hunger, and am just now starting to realize that I should probably slow down a bit. I totally forget I'm pregnant throughout the day because I'm still able to move around so well. Getting out of bed is just starting to be a bit uncomfortable, but that's only because my hip and pelvic bones are sore from sleeping on them throughout the night (I'm usually a belly-sleeper). I keep having to remind myself that I just can't pop out of bed like I am used to! Speaking of bed, I'm really thankful that I don't have to pop out of bed at an unreasonable time in the morning. Most days M sleeps until 8am or 8:30am and just recently I've started to get up earlier and do some things before he's up. It's lovely, what a difference it makes in the day! I was finding that I was getting too much sleep (how's that for a problem?!) and would be groggy from that. So now I'm up and about when I feel I've had enough rest, instead of forcing myself to go back to sleep until M wakes. I'm glad I can move around well, too, because M l.o.v.e.s. the outdoors and that is where we spend the majority of his waking hours. He loves to explore and tinker and observe, he's all boy. Just 18 more weeks until he finds out if his sibling will be a boy playmate or of the girl variety like his cousin BreaBrea whom he loves so much!

D's on call at the hospital today and tomorrow, but has his 5-11pm shift all next week, so we'll finally get a chance to see him then. He had a big end-of-the-year presentation yesterday and put together an amazing PowerPoint slideshow that was impressive from beginning to end (he even included an ultrasound picture of Baby :)). He said it went really well and in just a few more weeks, he'll be a second year Radiology resident! Hard to believe he graduated med school two years ago and that we've been married nearly six years. Time is flying.

Mom's been on a scanning-old-pictures kick lately and tonight a few of us got an email entitled, "Does this child look familiar to anyone??!!" Besides the obvious answer (it's me when I was two), if you haven't seen M in a while, well, you're looking at him. I've always been able to see Dad and Ryan in him from their baby pictures, but never me...until now. Genes are crazy things.




Speaking of genes, we'll be visiting with our second child tomorrow morning. David and Mom, and possibly Dad, are coming along to introduce themselves. Little Man is staying with Auntie Yana and BreaBrea and will be having a lot of fun with them, I'm sure. He is still very interested in caring for Brea, poor girl. I think I actually want a big baby this time, in his or her best interest, in order to withstand Micah's love and care. Baby has been an active little one as of late, but nothing compared to M, it seems. So maybe there's hope for a calmer baby? A mommy can hope and pray...and dream.

D is on a CT rotation now and that involves a regular day shift for two weeks and kind of an odd evening shift from 5pm to 11pm. He's on the Night CT shift now and it's so fun having him around all day until 4:30ish. M is loving it since he didn't see D four days last week when D was on long call. Every third minute we hear, "Daddeeeeeeeeee" belted out for no reason in particular. And he wants Daddy to follow him around or wants to follow Daddy around with a truck or two of some sort. It's very cute. And I'm not minding mid-day errands without a toddler in tow (although I enjoy his company and he's always very well behaved in stores...it's just nice getting things done in half the time and not having to stop and wave or say hi to every person or inspect every rock or ant on the ground...). Anyway, that's for two weeks out of this month and I'll enjoy every day of those two weeks!

That's all for now, off to read more about my garden. Just picked up Purple Beauty Peppers, Celebrity Tomatoes, pickling cukes, and a few herbs for which I have to find room in my garden.

M is taking one of his long naps and I am caught up on chores, Bible reading, and rest so I actually have time to blog...yay! If you can't tell from the above pictures, our little man is a big cheese. It's hard to catch him with a natural smile because every time he sees the camera now, he pulls out "that" smile. Oh well, he's still the cutest kid I know (until October when I'll have two of the cutest kids I know...).

Days just keep going by without me knowing it. There was one day that I would have promised you it was Tuesday when, in fact, it was actually Wednesday. All fun times, though, as we are enjoying the beauitful weather (past two days have been rainy, but the next week promises to be sunny and 80s!). M is a big "help" with my garden, which turned out to be mostly container gardening this year. Really convenient and saves the back and the belly from the work of tilling the ground. I am planting a few things in my in-ground garden, though: herbs, one cucumber plant, spinach, potatoes, and carrots. Everything seems to be growing well, we just need those sunny days to really get things underway. Dad helped me plant a few containers at his house, mostly pumpkins and zucchinis and a few tomatoes. He also bought some tomato sprouts to plant, so we're guaranteed some yummy home-grown tomatoes this year! I bought one sprout this year: a jalapeno plant for David for only $1.18. He LOVES those things, so hopefully they'll produce some good ones over the summer. I also bought an aloe plant for medicinal purposes: a drop or two of aloe juice in your nose clears it up instead of using all those chemicals in nose sprays (which you can't use on kids anyway!). I've used it on M a few times and Yana has used it on Brea and it works beautifully. I snip a tip off and it seals itself back up and keeps on growing. I guess it's good to drink and good for your skin, but I haven't looked into that yet. My grandma in FL always kept (and still keeps) one.

Baby seems to be doing nicely, we go for our ultrasound in a few weeks, so it'll be nice to see her (or him) for the first time. I feel her moving around the most after I've just eaten, but not much more. She's probably moving a lot and I'm just so busy I don't notice or my constant motion rocks her to sleep during the day and she's up at night but not enough to wake me. This is where all the day/night confusion starts, I'm convinced. I had a plan to sit during the day and move around a few times during the night to avoid this confusion when she enters the world, but, yeah, that's not possible. I'm still eating like crazy and wishing I could hire a cook to think of yummy, healthy snacks to create so I didn't have to. Meals are easy, it's the inbetween that's annoying since most snack food is junky. D scolded me for going overbudget on our grocery bill last month, but I told him that his toddler eats like a teenager and his baby makes me eat like a teenager, so just be happy it didn't double (notice they are "his" babies to make my case more pitiful...). Haven't heard another word from him, poor guy. I'm making a pot roast in the slow cooker right now and it smells delicious...

D and I have our monthly date night on Friday. He's working til 8pm every other day, so we see each other in glimpses on those nights. He doesn't usually get home til 9ish and I'm usually making myself comfortable for night by 10. He's such a great guy, I couldn't do any of this without him. He's so helpful and patient and loving and supportive. He's always texting me nice things throughout the day even though he's superbusy. We'll be married six years this year and it doesn't seem like it could be that long. We still have tons of fun together and thoroughly enjoy being together whenever we can. I love him. Ok, enough mushiness...

To end, there was one day that Dad was reading M a lift-the-flap firetruck book that is a new favorite and all of the sudden they both pop out of the seat with Dad announcing, "I'm going to bring him to the fire station around the corner if you don't mind." M got his "fireman boots" on (snow boots that are at least a size too small for him but he jams his pudgy feet into them anyway...all by himself...) and Dad loaded him into our van and off they went. Not only did he get to see and touch and sit on a firetruck, but he got to sit on a steamroller and a rescue boat, too. Dad couldn't tell which he enjoyed most, but sufficed to say that every time he sees or reads about a firetruck he says, "Grpa" and "Minah" and points to himself, meaning that Grandpa and Micah went to see the firetrucks. As if Dad wasn't his favorite person in the world already...

Last night, the stars aligned perfectly and D was able to take a picture of my 16-week belly. I'd think of it when no one was around, D would think of it when we were in bed, we both thought of it, but the camera was at Mom and Dad's, etc. Anyway, here we are:

It kind of looks like I'm pushing my belly out, but I'm not...that's how it looks when I stand. It totally doesn't get in the way of anything at this point. I think I was remembering (and dreading) how I felt at the end of M's pregnancy when I was huge and uncomfortable and didn't want to do much. For all the queasiness I had with this one, I haven't had any belly discomfort, for which I'm thankful because M LOVES to read and is always on my lap with a book.

Some other baby-related items include my ultrasound which is scheduled for June 1st. I'm excited because D is on night CT that month and doesn't go into work until 5pm, so he'll be able to come along. I know Mom is coming and I invited Dad, but it's mid-day, so he might be working. Not sure if we'll bring M. I'd like him to see the baby, but it might be too long for him to stay relatively still in a room full with knobs and buttons and everything else he would want to get into. It'll be fun to get our first peek at the baby. We're not going to find out if she is really a she (I'm 75% sure she's a girl) because where's the fun in that? I was trying out baby names on M the other day to see what he could pronounce and what proves to be difficult. He did pretty well on most names, but he does well pronouncing most words, even three syllable ones. (I can get off on a tangent about him, but I'll just mention that he's pointing things out and saying their names now without any "What's that?" prompting. Very fun.). We won't be sharing any names, either, in case we change our mind last minute, to avoid all the potentially-annoying, "Oh, I thought you chose such and such a name. What happened?" questions. I think we're in agreement on a girl's name, but not a boy's name. But we haven't sat down and looked through any baby names, either, so I'm sure we'll find something when that happens.

In preparation for Baby, I'm in the market for a Sit and Stand baby stroller. The older child can sit or stand on a particular spot on the stroller and the other part has a place for a infant car seat which can also be a regular stroller seat when you are past the car seat stage. Found a few on Craigslist, but nothing I've settled on. I'm also reviewing slow cooker recipe books because I'm going to be using that thing like crazy during those first few months. I might even buy another one if I find I'm using it a lot. You can make anything from dips and breads to desserts and cakes in it. I'm also going to be making double meals the last month I'm pregnant and freezing the extra to store up a good reserve. We actually won't need them for a while because we will be staying with my parents for the first six weeks of Baby's life. I can't lift or drive for those six weeks after a C-section and obviously D can't take that much time off, so we'll be moving in for a time with them. Not to mention all the help that Mom and Dad (and all large number of people who are constantly in and out of that house on a regular basis!) will be with M and allowing me to rest whenever I need to. I'm not sure how people do it without help, but I don't want to find out! I firmly believe that even though you are ultimately responsible for your child, family and good friends should be a big part of their lives. I'm so thankful the Lord brought us back to our family and that they are a big part of daily life.

Well I think that's all on the baby update. I've got to finish my second summer reading book while M is still snoozing because when he is up, he is UP and ready to go.

I'm so excited about my garden this year because I was able to start it from seeds (it feels less like cheating). Much cheaper, but definitely more time consuming. I started my herbs a few weeks ago and they're coming along nicely now, too. As you can see, I used seed starter containers that will decompose after I plant them in the soil. Here's what I planted:

2 squares of scallions
2 squares of bell peppers
2 squares of carrots
3 squares of tomatoes
3 squares of peas
4 squares of green beans
4 squares of cucumbers
5 squares of watermelon
5 squares of cantaloupe
7 squares of pumpkins
10 squares of zucchini






...or something like that. Most of the seeds grew; all, I think, except for one or two. I'll have to transplant them in the upcoming weeks, so I'm working out a garden design. I'll be planting the tomatoes in an old compound container and I think I'll plant some potatoes (who are already growing in a plastic bag with absolutely no effort on my part!) in a similar container. I might plant the pumpkins at Mom and Dad's since they have a lot of room. I'm picking up a book at the library that should help me with this next step. I'm constantly amazed at how God designed a tiny seed to hold everything it would need to produce more of its kind. Watching the process up close it a fun experience. M has taken to "helping" me water the plants each morning...so much "help," in fact, that he now has his own plant to water (Spanish moss) so he won't drown mine. It's cute. I got some books out of the library on growing seeds for him, but trucks are his new fascination (obsession!!!) so they didn't hold his interest for long.

My child, I find, is highly entertaining. Most parents probably think this about their kids, so I am definitely part of that club. We've got it so his behavior/listening skills are good about 95% of the time, which allows for lots of fun times. Mom and Dad watched him for our Date Night last weekend and said that he was excellent for them, easy to care for, and he even used his manners without prompting (!), so I'm proud of him. Definitely room for improvement, especially around nap or bedtime, but that's to be expected. I don't tell him that, though :). All that to say, I enjoy his daily company and his happy, inquisitive personality. Now, for the videos...

This is the week that D has a four-day weekend, so we are excited about spending some time together before he starts a semi-crazy schedule until his second year of Radiology starts in July. I'll have to post about my garden next, it's coming along nicely in my seed starter containers. All seven of the pumpkin seeds I planted sprouted, so we're going to have us a lot of pumpkins come early Fall! Ok, off to bed, it's already after 9pm! ;)

Dad is being inducted into yet another Hall of Fame this evening (the third, if my count is correct). Doesn't make us less proud of him, but it does make us wonder how many other Hall of Fames he can possibly make it in to considering he had a relatively short stint in the world of baseball (he made it to the minor league Phillies organization before leaving it all behind to get married). He was just that good, I guess! We, as in Mom, Ryan, Nick, and I, have happily tagged along to the induction ceremonies in the past for the free, delicious, expensive-looking meals and tonight the tradition will continue. Dad received three extra tickets and invited Ryan and me to go with him and Mom. Mom said it was the same place we went to for his Eastern Connecticut State University's Hall of Fame dinner and as I recall the food was particularly delicious. Really, any food is delicious to me at this point in my pregnancy eating frenzy, but it promises to be a good meal.

The local paper wrote a very nice piece on Dad, the first inductee they highlighted. For some reason they don't have it online, but a few people cut out the article and sent it to Dad so we all got to read it. They did have this on the website, though:

The New Britain Sports Hall of Fame has announced its induction class for 2010 and eight new members will join the elite club at a dinner and ceremony on April 22. Donald Fusari led the Eastern Connecticut baseball team in batting for three years in the 1970s and played baseball and basketball at New Britain High.

D will be watching Little Man, some nice father-son bonding time. Then D has tomorrow off and we will be dropping M off at Mom and Dad's later in the evening for our Date Night. Fun times ahead!

Keeping busy around here as usual, especially with all this nice weather that’s been coming our way:

• We ended up going to IKEA when D had his day off since it was a rainy day. Got two wooden toys for M and siblings for great prices. On the way back, we stopped by this lady’s house who had listed a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, Police Car Edition on Craigslist. Can you imagine the torture M had to go through sitting next to this new, way-fun toy the entire ride home without being able to touch it? He did very well for himself, I was proud of him. He kept saying “Hi!” to it as it rolled his way and he held out his hands a few times, which is his way of showing that he wants to pick something up or he wants something to pick him up (like birds, cats, bees that he sees from a distance). Being the mean parents that we are, we put him right down for a nap as soon as we got home, but he was zonked so he didn’t even notice the little car as I pulled him out of his carseat.

• We visited with D’s parents the next afternoon and D was digging around in their attic to find a coffee/tea press that he remembered storing up there. He ended up not finding it, but we came home with a carful of items from the attic! Some of D’s belongings, a wooden table and chair set from D’s mom’s childhood, a wooden youth chair that M uses instead of the Bumbo seat at the table now, a lot of Golden Books from D’s childhood, and probably some more stuff I’m forgetting. Dad and D refinished the youth chair and it turned out beautifully. M is really enjoying his new seating arrangement and so am I because he can get up and down from it all by himself. We were looking at something similar at IKEA so my back and belly would be saved from hauling M’s 30 pound self up and down at each meal and snacktime, but we were glad we ended up not buying anything!

• Nick is enduring Week 3 of Boot Camp and doing very well from all accounts. Everyone has been writing him and he’s been finding time to write back to all of us, too. I try to write a letter to him every third day because there are only so many Micah stories one can tell, but he insists he likes getting the letters and hearing about life back at home. So I keep writing. I had to buy stamps at the post office the other day since I was running low from the last time I bought them….at least a year ago! We never use them.

• M came down with a stomach bug last Monday night and was up a few times throwing up. A whole mix of emotions came with that since he had never been sick like that before. D was a HUGE help since his crib had to stripped and M had to be stripped and I had to try not to get sick. I don’t do throw up; I hardly ever get that sick and I definitely don’t like experiencing it with other people. You can imagine how comforting of a Kindergarten teacher I was during these [thankfully very few and very far between] instances. So, like any good toddler, M shared his sickness with us and forty-eight hours later D and I got it. Couldn’t have been more perfect timing since M was in bed and slept great, but the next day was kind of rough. D called out of work and we were going to send M to Dad and Mom’s, but Mom ended up getting sick later the same night we did! So the two of us managed quite nicely to entertain a very busy, bouncy toddler throughout the day as we tried to recover and get rest. It’s a day for the books, that’s for sure, but in some sort of weirdly odd way it was a cozy day. Since M didn’t expend much energy during the morning hours, he didn’t take a long nap, but we slept while he slept and D felt a lot better after his nap. I was just tired in general from a bad night’s sleep and from being in my first trimester. By the next day, we were all better and back to normal (except for feeling bad that Dad and Kristina caught it, too!) I guess this bug was going around the school attached to our church, which, had I known about, would have never put M in the nursery aka germ factory.

• I’m technically in my second trimester now and feeling 90% better. I still have to eat like crazy or I’ll feel sick. I go for my second doctor’s appointment tomorrow. It’s been a month already since my last one! M is good for making time fly while having fun.

• BreaBrea is as cute as ever. I love her little face, it’s so defined. She’s smiling at people now, which makes her that much cuter. M is so good with her and absolutely adores her. He wants to help feed her the bottle, pat her, push her in the swing, kiss her, and today he got to hold her for the first time. Which, of course, became a photo shoot and they both performed very well. M is going to be such a great big brother, maybe a little too helpful… Maybe I should pray that I do have another nine-pound-plus baby so s/he can withstand M.

• I’m in the market for a new cloth diapering system. gDiapers are awesome, but I think I’m ready to make the jump into full cloth diapering. Not the kind my mom used, but the twenty-first century type. My plan is to buy three or four types to try them out and pick the one we like best and buy that system. The one I think I’m going to like (which means it probably won’t work…) looks exactly like a disposable diaper, except it’s made of this plush minkee fabric on the outside (aka super soft). It doesn’t have a lot of parts to it and it’s a one size fits all deal, so I don’t have to buy different sizes. I’m testing them out on M, but hopefully he’ll be potty trained by the time Baby is here and after size one disposables, I can use the new system on him/her. I’m definitely using the organic-type disposables in the beginning because I remember how much M went the bathroom in the beginning and I’m not about to do that much laundry. And I still use the organic diapers at night with M, so I guess I’m a semi-cloth diaperer. Anyway, I’m finding good deals on Huggies Pure and Natural diapers: a small pack of 26 diapers is only $6 which is a great deal. That’s with a $3 off coupon. And I managed to print out six of them this past week.

• M can say his name now and answers the question, “What is your name?” when asked. He’s a talking and mimicking machine. I’m working on a Day in the Life of Micah post, there’s so much to include, but I won’t make it a book. I’m writing things down here and there as we go. For general stuff, I write on his calendar that I’m continuing from the One Year Baby Calendar to however-many-years-I-keep-it-up. It’s quick and practical and I hang it on the fridge so it’s easy to write milestones, cute sayings, or something fun we did that day. And it’s easily extendable to a number of kids since it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. That’s the theory anyway!

• And finally, one book down in my summer reading list: Son of Hamas. It’s about a top Hamas guy who informed on the organization for an Israeli spy agency and found Christ in the meantime. Talk about cross-cultures. His story was really amazing and truly inspiring; I read it in three days. There’s another book along the same lines (Muslim turned Christian) called Once an Arafat Man. Here’s the last part of the description: “This book is a fascinating window into the book of Genesis, Islamic culture and the Arab-Israeli conflict. More importantly, it is a story of the ultimate hope rooted in Christ, the Savior of all--including Jews and Muslims.” I put it on hold at our library, so hopefully it’ll be in soon.

• Sorry no pictures, we got this new 4 GB memory card and our card reader won’t read it. D told me another way but it’s nearing my bedtime.

Completely enjoying this nice weather we're experiencing here. I was so ready for spring, but it feels a bit like summer out there, which is just fine, too. Saturday, while D was on long call, Grammy and Grpa wanted to take M to a local playground that was perfect for his height. He looked so big and grownup the entire time. The slides were a favorite and he turned around and went down on his belly all by himself. He wouldn't even attempt sitting up and going down, which I liked because next would be getting up and walking down the slide. The little cars also held his interest, and if all goes as planned, we'll be getting him a police car version of the yellow and red Little Tikes Cozy Coupe (that's what they're really called!) tomorrow off of craigslist. I've learned to test things out before buying them for him because most of the time what I think would hold his interest completely does not and vice versa.

We stayed until we couldn't take the heat any longer, but who knows when M would have been ready. Maybe never. Now, every time we pass a playground or a play set in someone's yard, he'll point it out and say something in his I-know-what-I'm-saying-but-not-many-other-people-do speech. I ended up bringing him to another playground yesterday, but it was for slightly older kids and he didn't enjoy it as much. He explored the surrounding area instead...and certainly didn't complain about the picnic lunch I packed!






In other happenings, I'm feeling a lot better as I approach week thirteen of my pregnancy. The weeks are flying by. I have another appointment in two weeks, so it'll be nice to hear the heartbeat again!

Continuing with the new life theme, the seeds M and I planted last week are well underway. The green bean, pea, pumpkin, and cucumber seeds are all starting to sprout. Sprouting seeds is more work than I anticipated: I have to make sure they're in the sun and properly watered throughout the day otherwise they won't sprout. I put them in seed starter containers and keep them inside for now, like our own little greenhouse. I planted three or four little containers of each kind in hopes of a big garden this year. Dad offered some of his land if all my pots aren't enough. There's a neat system called Square Foot Gardening that allows you to plant a lot in a small space, so I may or may not try that. Anyway, I'm excited about yummy, fresh, organic, cheap fruits and veggies (and herbs, when I get them going...) this summer...hopefully!

D has a three-day weekend starting tomorrow...yay! We'll probably take M to the park for a picnic and to feed the geese, if the weather cooperates. My backup plan is IKEA, so I think D is hoping for good weather :). D scored well on a big exam they had to take a few months ago. But that's not really news because he is one smart guy...and has been for a while!

I got a text mid-afternoon on Friday from D saying he had a surprise for me. He'll come home with cute things for me from time to time, so I was excited but didn't think too much about it. I was completely shocked when he later told me that he would be able to spend Easter with us after all. I guess he had asked a co-worker to switch a few weeks ago and the guy got back to him on Friday saying that yes, he would switch. He didn't tell me about it before because he didn't want me to be disappointed in case it didn't happen (does he know me or what!?). Anyway, he still had to work 8am til 8pm on Saturday and he has to work another Sunday to make up for Easter, but we got to spend a beautiful spring day together with friends and family celebrating Christ's resurrection.

Mom cooked up a delicious meal that actually filled me up for more than an hour...four hours actually. An all time record for the past few weeks. We headed over D's parents house to see Ayyyi (cousin Ari) for a bit before heading back to night church. M was w.i.p.e.d by night's end, poor guy. We all were, actually, but happy to have spent the day together.