Happy Valentine’s Day!
I thought, despite the warmer weather we’ve had this past week, that Peter could use an additional winter hat. So I spent the last week knitting him one.
The hat was wrapped up with a little booklet of 10 free Frostys from Wendy’s. I thought it was kind of ironic to give a gift of something to keep him warm and something to cool him off. Clever me!
We’ve been kind of lax when it comes to uploading pictures and content lately. Chalk it up to working overtime, chasing a very busy toddler and pregnancy exhaustion. What else can I say?
About a week and a half ago we finally took Catherine to get a haircut. I was really loving her wild, in her face, fly everywhere hair so I wasn’t too anxious to have it cut. But it had gotten to the point where it really did need to be reigned in a little. Here’s a nice “before” shot:
I’m pretty sure that I can cut her hair myself at home, but I thought that we’d take her to a professional the first time and watch what they did. So we went over to a local ‘kids only’ type hair cuttery. It was a zoo of kids and bright colors and candy! Yikes! Definitely a one time only experience for us. A stylish haircut in Franklin, TN at Scout’s Barbershop is the best choice.
The wait wasn’t too long and we were called back. An older gentleman named Thomas helped Catherine up into a pink chair and had the instant cure for her slightly scared reaction… lolly pops. Four, in fact. One to eat, one in her overalls pocket and one in each shoe. She was in heaven!
Thomas gave her a quick snip, snip and brought her hair up to just around her shoulders. A quick blow dry (with a little flip at the ends) and we were done. No harm, no foul. All in all the cut was pretty simple (and I think will be simple to duplicate) but it makes her look so much older to me! Here’s the end result:
You can check out all the pics by clicking here. Enjoy!
Our official due date is February 27th. Exactly one month from today! We’re all getting more and more excited to meet this little one as the days go on. My midwife appointments have been every two weeks for a short while now and I suspect we’ll go to weekly very soon. Everything is still looking good- the cyst has been monitored via ultrasound and has not caused any trouble since December. I’ve been feeling about as well as can be expected. I’m pretty tired and sore and it takes me forever to walk anywhere! Luckily, I look very pregnant so I think that saves me from looking totally strange as I waddle through the parking lot at the library.
We’ve been working on a bunch of things as we prepare to be a family of four. Some things are specifically baby related and some are only tangentially related. You can see my ongoing “before the baby” to-do list below. [Catherine has made her own additions]
Specifically baby related activities include (but are not limited to)-
*Childbirth preparation reading– So far I’ve re-read Husband Coached Childbirth and have read for the first time Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and Birthing From Within. Peter and I were fairly pleased with the birthing experience that we had with Catherine and are hoping for a similar experience. The books are good as a refresher course and remind me that every birth is different and that it is important to keep an open mind to the possibilities.
*Baby Laundry– I have yet to get from the attic our gender neutral newborn clothes, but those and a ton of newborn cloth diapers will need a good wash before the babe arrives.
*Baby Set-up– Fortunately, babies don’t need a whole lot when they first arrive; milk, clothing, diapers and a cozy place to sleep will do for a while. But we’ve set up the rocker and footstool in our room, made a space for the bassinet next to my side of the bed and are trying to figure the best place to store diapers and clothes
*Crafts!– I’ve been doing a little creating for the little one. A little white, bunny hat is ready and waiting and will hopefully be joined by a little matching knit kimono. I’ve also made a baby wrap (just like a MobyWrap) for Peter and I to carry baby in. I’m so looking forward to a little snuggle!
Not so Baby Specific activities-
*General House Organization– We’ve been working room by room around the house cleaning up, paring down and organizing our possessions. It seems that every time we go through our things (clothes, toys, whatever) we are willing to part with more and more. It creates cleaner and clearer spaces in our home and allows us to free our minds to focus on other, more important things.
*Feeding the Freezer– I’m trying to double at least one recipe a week so that I can freeze the extra for use later. Soon I’ll be wishing we had a larger freezer, but I know the meals will come in handy when I’m really not feeling like cooking. It will help keep our budget in check as well since we won’t be as tempted to eat/order out.
*Resting– For a while Catherine had given up her one daily nap. I was okay with that because she would go to bed at night easier (and at a manageable hour). But I started noticing that she really did need a nap during the day- and so did I. So now we both try to take a short nap before lunch and we’re both feeling better in the afternoon.
Peter has been very busy at work, but is looking forward to a two week paternity leave in the near future. Catherine, baby and I are looking forward to having him home as well.
I’m sure there’s more to say. Feel free to send any questions my way or just leave a comment to say hi!
I was determined to make many of our Christmas presents this year. Besides the tangible benefits- less cost, less waste, etc.- it was nice for me to have little projects to keep my fingers busy during the days. And most of them I could do right on the couch while Catherine played! It was much more relaxing that walking the mall!
Now that the surprises are no longer surprises I thought I’d share the things I made.
I was inspired by a photo online to try these Christmas cards this year. They weren’t difficult to make, but very time consuming. I definitely had fun making them and loved the way that they came out.
Knit dishcloths for my Mom and Mother-in-Law. They look really fancy, but were pretty simple to knit. I was glad to have these finished by the end of October. They set the crafting ball in motion for the rest of the season.
Not a great picture, but you can see the little pincushion that I whipped up for my Mom. All the fabrics were scraps from my fabric box!
A pair of cozy leg warmers for Catherine. These come in handy since she doesn’t always love wearing pants. Or any clothes. Sometimes she won’t keep these on either 🙂
A Pink, Orange, Purple and White quilt for Catherine. While I was making it she would come up and say, “What’cha makin, Mama? A quilt to me?” and I’d say, “yup. but, shhh, it’s a surprise”. She’d get all sneaky looking and say okay and tiptoe away. Too cute! The quilt is machine pieced and hand quilted (for those that are curious about that sort of thing) I decided on funny T shirts for men this year.
Froggy Bean Bag Game for Catherine. (#3 seems to be missing). Frog bean bags that you toss onto the lily pads. Lots of possibilities for games to be invented. All frogs are from stash fabrics- old skirts, sheets, pj pants, etc 🙂
New Geeky Onesies ‘for’ Peter. He’s already mentioned them. Click here for their gallery and bigger pics. I had fun coming up with cute logos and such that reflect Peter’s personality and interests.
Happy 30th Birthday, Rebecca!
You’re the best mama and wife a family could hope for! We can’t wait until there are *three* of us to celebrate with you!
On Saturday, we dropped Catherine off with her Nonni and Grandpa, and headed down to Boston for a weekend excursion! 🙂 We drove in and parked at the Boston Common parking garage ($22 for the weekend, not bad) and walked in the chilly weather down to our hotel.
Overall it was a very enjoyable weekend. Our main goal was just to veg out and enjoy good food, quiet rest, pleasant company, and comfortable accommodations. We were pretty pleased with the view from our hotel room, if you couldn’t tell. 🙂 If we stretched, we could see the Charles River on the far right of our window, and the Southeast Expressway on the far right. This will probably be the last chance we have to take a weekend away with just the two of us for quite some time, what with baby #2 due to arrive in eight weeks or so. It was definitely worth it.
You can see all of the photos from our Boston Weekend.
It sounds like Catherine had a good time while we were away, too, thanks to Nonni and Grandpa!
Christmas of 2008 went by in a blur. In brief numbers:
* We drove over 300 miles (all in Eastern and Central Massachusetts)
* We saw nearly 50 family members and dozens of friends
* We attended eight different gatherings in seven different homes
* We hauled a station wagon full of stuff out *and* back.
In more detail:
Continue reading
Just for fun this Christmas Eve…here are some of the photos we didn’t choose to send in our Christmas cards this year. I love them all, but at some point you have to choose!
I realize that I have been particularly quiet regarding this second pregnancy. Honestly, I’ve been fairly reclusive both in real life and online since the summer. Part of it has been that Catherine keeps me very busy and part of it has been that this pregnancy has me very, very tired. I am only recently starting to feel like my old self, and am very thankful for it!
But those things aside the pregnancy has been going very well. Our babe is growing and developing right on schedule and I haven’t had any major complications. Catherine has been mildly interested in this mythical “baby” but I’m not sure she truly understands what’s happening. She will occasionally tickle the baby or say hello, and she has liked seeing the little one on ultrasound. It is pretty cute.
We’ve chosen to see a midwife this time around. She is part of the OB practice I went to with Catherine and her patients birth at the same hospital, but her style of care during prenatal visits is much more in tune with my own preferences. I’ve been happy with the change.
When I was pregnant with Catherine, the ultrasound showed that I had a cyst on my right ovary. It never caused me any trouble, but continued growing after her birth. At four months post partum I had a quick surgery from my Surgeon’s Advisor to have it removed. A similar (but larger) cyst was discovered at our first ultrasound scan this time around (at 20weeks). We’ve been monitoring its size via ultrasound for the past couple months adn it has been behaving. Until this weekend.
Sunday night I was awake all night with considerable pain. At 4am on Monday I woke Peter up and called the midwife and decided to head to Labor and Delivery and get checked out. Throughout Monday morning I had a series of tests and ultrasound scans run. They all came back with normal results (phew!) and I actually started feeling a bit better. Even so, it was decided that I should stay overnight for observation, just in case. The general consensus is that the cyst torsed (twisted) and that is was was causing the pain. Most likely it untwisted itself and the pain subsided. But we’re still not exactly sure.
All’s well that ends well, though and by 1pm on Tuesday I was home and feeling much better. A hospital stay is not something I had planned for this week, and certainly not the way I had planned my first night away from Catherine, but there were a few good outcomes. Catherine had a chance to see both the Labor and Delivery floor and the Maternity ward. Theoretically that will help her feel more comfortable there come the baby’s arrival. She also got to spend some quality time with just Papa. And she got lots of positive attention at the hospital- what cute kid in pink footsie pjs wouldn’t?
For me: I got IV hydration which I think I was in need of and a whole night of quiet rest. I was also able to take care of some routine lab work there instead of having to bring Catherine along with me to my lab appointment later in the week. And, frustrating as it was not to have a real ‘diagnosis’, it was comforting to hear that everything is looking good and though I was in pain the baby is doing just fine.
Thank you for all of your warm wishes via phone, email, facebook, twitter, etc. And thank you to Corey and Vicky who stepped up to babysit at the last minute- and early in the morning! And, of course, thank you to Peter and Catherine who stepped up and dealt graciously with an unexpected, non-routine, couple of days!
Today is Catherine’s half-birthday. I can’t believe our daughter is already two and a half years old!
I’m enjoying watching her grow and change every day. It’s amazing the things that she can do and say that she couldn’t do just a few weeks ago. Rebecca and I lie down in bed each night and discuss all of the wonderful things she’s done recently. We just can’t help it!
The other day, we were listening to WCRB while having dinner, and Debussy’s Clair de lune came on. Catherine stopped mid-bite, closed her eyes, cocked her head to the side, started swaying, and tinkling her fingers as though she was delicately playing along. Rebecca and I couldn’t help but crack up. It was hilarious and yet awesome!
