Lunch

Today I made Turkey and Cheese calzones for lunch. Just took some pizza dough, added turkey and cheese and rolled it so it essentially looked like a loaf. Then baked it until the dough was cooked all the way through. We also had celery sticks with peanut butter and green grapes. My daughter has never been much of a fruit eater, even as a baby. She does much better with eating her veggies then her fruits. As far as fruits go she likes bananas and that is about it. So, she ate her calzone and left the celery and grapes...no surprise. I told her she could be done once she took one bite of each. She proceeded to remind me that she doesn't like grapes or celery. I still made her take her bites which she luckily will do often quite willingly, which is good. Then I said how about a banana, which she agreed to eat. She said mom, "I like bananas, chocolate milk, and chocolate bunnies." Ha! I can tell you exactly where she gets her love of chocolate from. Let's just say it's not Ben. I wonder if consuming a whole bag of Oreo cookies in one sitting during pregnancy with her did that to her? We will keep trying at the fruit thing.

Ducks Unlimited May/June 2010

Anyone subscribe to Ducks Unlimited? If you do you will have to check out page 53 in the latest issue because you may recognize somebody (far left). This is a photo from one of Ben's photo shoots from a couple years ago.

Going on 24 weeks!!

Well, here is the latest photo. Almost 24 weeks already. Baby should be about 1.5 lbs. now. At times I think, "Wow..this pregnancy is flying by." And then other times I think, "3 1/2 more months seems like a long ways away." I still have a lot to do so I think I'll be fine waiting 3 1/2 more moths. This photo was taken before Ben and I were off to dinner last night with two other friend couples. One couple is 32 weeks pregnant with twins (a boy and girl). She is doing wonderfully but YIKES... I should never complain about my pregnancy ever again. Abby is so uncomfortable you have to feel her pain. She has a hard time getting around, being on her feet for long, sleeping, eating, sitting. She is just so cramped full of babies. She is shooting for a C-section in the beginning of June but by the looks of her I'm not sure how she can do it for 6 more weeks. But hopefully those babies can stay tight for a bit longer as they need to grow a little more.
Here are a few more photos I wanted to add from April since we will be wrapping up this month this week. We had a fun day today at the Science Museum and then a couple photos of Ben and Tayah flying her kite a couple weeks ago. Tayah is a goof and the photos from today at the Science Museum she had to pose for every shot. What a diva!

My Goal

So...I have decided that my goal for the summer is to at least just once go to the beach in a bikini, BABY BELLY AND ALL. I think it is hard, at least for me, to ever truly get 100% comfortable in this new body. So, I figure what the heck, just get over that and show it off. Ha! Easier said then done I am afraid. It really took me years to get comfortable with my post-baby body which included some extra weight and a few stretch marks to be added but I try and think of them as my battle wounds and to be proud of them. Eventually I did lose the baby weight and eventually I did get somewhat back to shape where I was comfortable again in wearing a two piece swimsuit. But, let's face it I'm not 18 anymore and 30 is creeping up on me WAY too fast. So, maybe not much of a goal but something I hope to do. It sorta makes me nervous that I put it out there and now will have to go through with it but I guess that is the point. Don't get me wrong...when I actually go ahead with this I will be looking for the most deserted beach that I can find. Hey..baby steps, right?

Names, Names, Names

Ben and I have been discussing names for the baby since shortly after we found out we were pregnant. We had always sorta discussed boy names from the beginning because we both felt that boy names can be difficult to come up with, more so then girl names. So, we had a few boy names before we even knew it was a boy, trying to get a few ideas. If it was a girl, well, we would just have to scratch that list and start all over with the name game. Luckily our boy instinct stuck and so we have been narrowing the list of names for this little one. We had a list of probably 12 names, some of which Ben liked, and some of which I liked. Last week we narrowed the list and had about 3 or 4 that we both liked. Then Ben took one more look through the baby name book, after looking through it about 100 times already and found one more name that caught his eye. "Okay..add it to the list." Well, as of now I think that name is the one that stuck. So..we will see if either of us change our minds by August. And in case you forgot we are keeping the name a secret until the baby is born. Oh the suspense!!!

21 Weeks

It's A.....

Well, yesterday was the big ultrasound day that I had been waiting for the last 2 weeks. The whole reason we had this level 2 ultrasound set up at the Perinatal Clinic in Maple Grove was due to some blood results that were slightly elevated indicating a slight risk for Spina Bifida (essentially a hole being somewhere in the spine). This was an ultrasound that would let the doctor get a better look at that area to see if there was indeed a concern. We arrived at the clinic and first met with a Genetic Counselor who explained the risks and everything the doctor would be going over. Even though we knew the risk was still small it was still a little nerve racking to know we were about to find out any possible concerns this baby may have on this day. We also went through all of our family history on both sides to see if there were any concerns there. Luckily we both have pretty healthy families so that is a good thing. Then we were to meet with the ultrasound tech. who was going to take all of the measurements and then we were going to meet with a doctor who would explain what he saw.
So, then we met with the ultrasound tech. and she asked if we were interested in finding out the sex. YES!!! So, I laid down as she waved her magic wand over my tummy and just like that our little baby showed up on the TV screen in front of us. It was pretty neat to see the baby now. Last time we saw the baby it was just a little "bean"at our 7 week ultrasound confirming our pregnancy. Now to see this developed baby is quite amazing! She went through and was taking measurements of every organ and bone to make sure everything is looking good and growing as it should. Ben and I waited patiently for her to get to the "goods". After waiting for quite a while of her doing her thing she came across the baby's bottom and asked Ben and I, "So, any guesses on what you think the baby is?" It was pretty obvious and Ben and I both said, "It's a BOY!" "Yep, it's a boy," she said. We both were all smiles and it made everything so "real". Now it wasn't just a baby, it was a BOY baby. The baby was so active too I could tell already that I was going to have my hands full. I know how little boys can be.
So, Then the doctor came in and did another look over the baby's spine, since that was the area of concern. He said, the spine looked good and just as it should. What a relief to know all was okay! He did suggest that my doctor continue doing ultrasounds every 6 weeks to check on the baby's size. It is hard to say for sure why my levels were slightly elevated but he said it could indicate something to come, possibly to do with the size of the baby. So, as of now though the baby is right on track for size and no concerns. Tayah was pretty confident all along that the baby was going to be a boy, so, she was right. Ben and I went shopping for some "blue" after the ultrasound so Tayah loved looking at all the little baby clothes when we got home. We are very happy with the results and it's going to be great to add a little bit of "boy" to our world now. Here are some photos from yesterday. I will also add a 20 week photo of the bump later on.

Oh..I should add that today is my day off and I was planning on sleeping in but I was awoken by a crying little girl. It was quite sad. Tayah had her first real nightmare. She was screaming and crying and came running out of her room. Apparently she said there were some porcupines that were coming after her and hurting her back. I even tried putting her back to bed but she said she wouldn't lay down cause her back hurt. It was sad but kinda cute. Luckily it was already 6 a.m. and so we just got up and cuddled in my bed for a bit. Porcupines...where she got that, I'm not sure.

It's a boy. Can you tell? Knees are up. Elbows poking out above.
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This is the little foot that has been kicking me all week.

Profile- Grabbing his ear.

Front of face with hands under chin.

Hi Tayah!

Something Interesting: The baby was very active during the ultrasound. Which was good because the tech. was able to easily get to each spot she needed to look over. But he kept grabbing his toes and ear, putting his fingers in his mouth. She said he seems to be left hand dominant because he was always using his left hand. Which is funny because Tayah is our little lefty too. Both Ben and I are right handed. We will see if we have another lefty on our hands.