James' Near Demise by Hot Dog* OR James Eats a Hot Dog

To say that James is not an adventurous eater is an understatement. Since he began eating table food, he has always been very particular and limited in his choices. He is every bit the picky eater--the complete opposite of his sister. We have tried multiple tactics to get him to try new foods. We've had the most success with offering a car for a reward. And at any given time, there are two or three cars on top of our fridge waiting for the day when James tries a new food and can pick his prize. The cars sit up there for a long time because James doesn't often work up the courage to try something new. He often tells us that he will eat whatever food we are trying to get him to try when he is bigger. Although, sometimes we have success and last Sunday was one of those days. James earned a new car by taking some dramatic first (tiny) bites of a hot dog and we had the camera handy to document the moment. As you can see, it was hard work for him to take those bites, but it was quite the accomplishment and we are very proud of our little picky eater! Hopefully he'll be eating a whole hot dog by the end of summer...

*Thanks to M for the more creative title!!

My Babies & Me

I am still here. I am 35 weeks and we have begun the "waiting for baby to arrive" stage. James only stayed in the oven just a few days past the start of my 37th week....so it could be any day. Though, we hope the baby cooks for another few weeks, my OB told me at my last visit that given my history she expects me to go early. James made a quick arrival into the world and she told me that typically third deliveries can go even faster. We were encouraged by our doctor to have a Plan A, B & C so we will be sure to get to the hospital fast once the moment arrives. So we are sticking close to home, per the Dr.'s advice, and trying to be "ready". Our hospital bag is packed and we have stocked up on the basic baby supplies. The bassinet stands ready in our bedroom waiting for our new little one. And, the kids are getting excited...though sometimes I think they are more excited for their impromptu sleepover at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa. Ella is hoping that they get to stay there for several nights...but we will see.
The baby will be bunking with us for awhile so we haven't set up the crib yet. I hope he or she will sleep well in this bassinet for awhile... Ella has been enjoying rubbing my tummy, kissing it and feeling the baby kick and hiccup. James is very gentle with me and concerned if he sees me bend over too much. He tells me I shouldn't do that because my "belly is tooo BIG"! I think he is going to be a very sweet and nurturing big brother. And, I know Ella will be a great big sister to the new baby because she is most often so very loving to her little brother.

St. Patrick's Day Lunch

We had some fun at our house on St. Patrick's Day. I made a green lunch for the kids. It turns out that James will only eat yellow macaroni and cheese... To those who know James well, this shouldn't be a big surprise!

Sweet Baby Face!

Can you see the face of our baby? When I look at the image, I have no problem making out the features of our sweet baby's face, but Mark has a harder time. I have an advantage over Mark, though, as I saw the baby's face multiple times during the ultrasound and he wasn't able to attend my appointments last week.

If you are having a hard time visualizing a babies face in the the blurred image, I'll try to help you out. The baby laying on it's side and is looking straight at you in the picture. The chin is on the left (one of the brightest spots on the image) and the forehead is on the right. The baby's left eye (top) looks like a small black circle and right eye is kind of in the shadows of the picture. The nose does look a little snout-like due to the position of the ultrasound and the lips are the darker area to the left of the brighter nose. Do you see it yet? I do...and it melts my heart!

This image is a little easier to figure out...the bottom of the baby's foot:

With an ultrasound at this point in pregnancy, there are no whole body baby pictures as the baby is just so much bigger than at the standard twenty week ultrasound. I've been lucky (depending on how you look at it) to get a glimpse of all of my babies closer to birth with an additional diagnostic ultrasound at around 31 weeks. I have really enjoyed getting a sneak peek at my babies during these extra ultrasounds. This baby was very active during the ultrasound and so the images in my pics aren't super clear, but during the ultrasound I saw some beautiful sights. My favorite was seeing the baby grabbing at his or her toes! In case you are wondering, I didn't "see" anything during the ultrasound and still do not know if Isabella is getting her requested baby sister...

The baby checked out fairly well during the ultrasound. It measures okay, though on the smaller side, which isn't a surprise. The kidneys checked out better than James' did at this point. There were no visible issues with the baby's left, but their was some dilation on the baby's right kidney. The plan is that the baby will have a VCUG to test for kidney reflux when it is a day or two old. Aside from feeling terrible at my Dr. visit due to all the chest congestion, I was told that my blood pressure was only 80/60. I don't think I have ever had blood pressure that low! The low blood pressure would also account for my lack of energy and feeling faint and dizzy... My doctor wasn't too concerned about my blood pressure being so low as it is much better for it to be low than high during pregnancy. She just told me to drink as much fluid as I can and to be careful when I am going from sitting to standing so I don't pass out.

THE BABY BELLY

I've had a few friends request pictures of my growing baby belly, so here they are in all their glory. To be honest, we haven't taken as many pictures of me this time around...

November 28, 2008 --18 weeks

February 5, 2009 -- 27 1/2 weeks

March 4, 2009 -- 31 weeks

At 32 weeks along, I'm finally tipping the scale in the other direction and packing on a few pounds. I clearly look pregnant now. For several months my baby belly has been obvious to those who know me well, but acquaintances at church and other random places are finally comfortable asking me when I am due... And, that due date is getting closer and closer! Yikes!

Snow Writing

Mark can be pretty creative when he is outside in the snow with the kids. This pic is from our bedroom window looking down at our backyard before the snow from last weekend melted. We got several more inches of sleet/snow today...but hopefully it won't stay!
I hope to get another post up soon about the baby... It has been kind of crazy around here. We've had a lot of sickness in our house for the past three weeks. First it was James and then it was my turn. I came down with a cold while James was recovering from his stomach bug and my cold turned into an upper respiratory infection by last Monday. On Wednesday when I went to the doctor, she decided to put me on a pretty heavy antibiotic to clear up a sinus infection and possible walking pneumonia. She didn't want to unnecessarily expose the baby to a chest x-ray, so I don't know for sure if I had it. Though, I've had pneumonia in the not so distant past and I can say for sure that there was definitely something going on in my lungs. I am finally starting to feel and breathe better! And now...Ella has pink eye! I thought for sure that we were all in the clear since no one else at our house had caught it and it had been almost too weeks since James came down with it. Fortunately for Mark, he has thus far escaped all of our germs.... I hope it stays that way!