Too Cute

I just have to record this for memory sake (which is failing me more and more the bigger I get). Mallory is talking all the time and most of what she says is spot on.... but there are a few of her sayings that are unique and just about the cutest thing(s) ever... some of my favorites are:
Thomas: TaTa
Grandpa: Papop
Pillow: Plo-plo
Yes: Yah (but with a Swedish accent, and at the top of her lungs)
And my favorite....
Lap: Plop (it's so cute, she'll pat her legs, or my legs or Sonny's legs and say 'book plop' meaning that she wants you to sit down so that she can sit on your lap and read her a book). When you then ask her 'do you want to sit on my/Sonny's/daddy's lap and read a book' she'll yell "Yah!" It's all too cute. I know that all too quickly all these words are going to turn into the real words and I am going to be sad. Sigh.

Like Father, Like Daughter

Mallory goes through HUGE mood swings when it comes to her Daddy… there are days when she wants NOTHING to do with him. Don’t look at me, don’t play with me, don’t talk to me and don’t even think about touching me! Poor Matthew will come home from work and she’ll take one look at him and say ‘NO,’ through herself on the floor and start hitting her head. (Strange child). Matthew’s good about it though and doesn’t seem to take it to heart (like I would) and practically forces her to play with him! Then there are days when he’s the first thing she asks for when she wakes up, wants to snuggle him, and passes out kisses to him just because. It’s cute… on those days she can’t get enough of him. He needs to read her every story, watch her play and be the one to pull the blocks down. I love when she tries to mimic things that he does, like lying on the floor, using the wall as a foot rest, working in the garage or turning on the Christmas lights. They have a very cute relationship…and sometimes I’m a little jealous.

29 (and a half) Weeks

Our little BB is now around 3 pounds and 15 ½ inches long (making him/her about the size of a 1 1/8 inch Craftsman style Open-End Wrench). Doesn’t everyone have a 15 ½ inch wrench lying around their garage? BB should be within 3-4 inches of its birth length but may still TRIPLE in weight! Which means that each week it’ll gain about ½ a pound (and I’ll gain about a pound… but at least only half of that weight will be ON me). Heck, the placenta alone is about 15 oz right now (isn’t that nuts? I’m basically caring around a POUND of placenta???? Strange). Our bodies are amazing! Mom told me about a shirt that she saw… it said “I grow humans. What’s your super power?” Cute, huh? Any way…our sweet little BB is now practicing breathing lots and lots and its brain can start to regulate its own temperature, so all the soft lanugo (hair) will start to fall out now. BB is going to be storing white fat from now on. White fat is the energy supplying fat. Prior to this week it was storing brown fat which is primarily for temperature regulation. If BB was born this week he/she would have a 90% survival rate… despite the fact there are still (supposedly) 11 more weeks of cookin’ to do.

5 Wonderful Years

Yesterday, Matthew and I celebrated 5 years of marital bliss! It’s funny how quickly time seems to fly, while at the same time feeling like forever! (I guess the fact that we have been dating/together for a total of 13 years makes the 5 of actual marriage seem longer)… in a good way. So much has happened/changed for us in those 5 years, let’s recap: We get married in my 2nd year of vet school, we go to Tahiti on our honeymoon, and we have to come home (sad). He lives in Santa Rosa with his pops and I live in Woodland. For a year and a half HE dives to see me just about every weekend (not great on the gas tank of his truck or our pocket-book). I graduate, we go to Alaska to celebrate, I move in with him and Pops and we all live there together for a year (one big happy family). I work in Petaluma as a large animal vet (as I study to pass the test…. Stupid test) :), we start house hunting, fall in love with a little house in Santa Rosa and buy it (even though we don’t know if I passed the test or if I’ll have a job… since I stopped the large animal thing). We move in, I pass the test, I get a job in Healdsburg working on small animals. We take some amazing vacations (Utila: get scuba certified, Hawaii: Dad turns 60), buy a new car and then we have a baby… Mallory Rose! WOW! Wonderful, life changing, craziness! I go back to work, and then suddenly don’t have a job! Ahgggggg! Matthew is a rock, supportive and bringing in ALL the bacon! Mallory grows, takes her first step (I actually got to see it happen, because I wasn’t working… sooooo happy to be there for it)! I find work, to celebrate we go to the Bahamas… a little too much ‘celebrating’ occurs and B.B. joins the picture. I learn to work on birds, snakes, rodents and hold down the hospital as my boss battles cancer, Matthew gets ‘yanked’ around at work… but sticks it out and we get ready for our life to change again (in a matter of weeks)!!! What an adventure!
I love you dearly my sweet husband. You are my best friend, my rock, my stallion (TMI, I know). You bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart every single day. Thank you for all you do for me and our family. I love you and can’t wait to see what the next 5, 10, 20, 60… years will bring. xoxox

Oh Christmas Tree

Mallory is in LOVE with our Christmas tree! Almost every morning since picking it out, she give it a hug or a kiss. She calls it her “Tee”. She is great with the lights and ornaments and only once has she pulled on them too hard. She loves to gather her books and toys together and read to them under the tree, it’s so cute. She is such a good little girl, we are soooooo lucky.

28 and 31

7 months down… 2-2 ½ to go! Our little B.B is now about 15 inches long (about the size of an average piece of fire wood (at least here in our garage). This week it will hopefully settle into a nice head-down position and stay there until ‘D-day’. It’s spending most of its time pluming up, and now has 2-3% body fat. Its bone marrow is producing red blood cells, so with all that new/extra blood racing though both of us, I have another thing to blame for the weight. J Things are going well though… I have found a heating pad at night helps a little with the sciatica issue… but that’ll go away as soon as BBs born!!!! One of the b-day gifts from my parents was a massage, so I think I’ll see if the masseuse can work on that back-issue area. Yeah I had a birthday, I am now 31! It was a wonderful, quiet, 2 day celebration (I’ll blog about it soon).

Baby Dr. Apt

I had another baby doctor appointment today... All is wonderful. My uterus is measuring spot on (27.5 cm) and have gained a (gulp) 'appropriate' amount of weight (24.5 pounds.... uuuhhhhgggggg) and just to keep us guessing B.B's heart rate was higher then its ever been at 147 bpm. Hmmmmmm. (Oh, and the insane hiccups that were happening, aren't. It's maybe every other day now. So once again.... hmmmmmm). We brought Mallory with us and she had a fun time too... though she freaked out a little when the midwife went to raise the table and she couldn't see me. So poor Loren had to keep it low and do everything bending over. She liked listening to the heart beat (since it sounded like a galloping horse) but wouldn't even think about letting the doppler close to her 'baby' belly. I also got some good ideas about treating the horrible lower back pain/sciatica that I have had with this pregnancy, so that should be nice. I only have one more 'normal' appointment left and then I start coming in every 2 weeks...Wow, this baby is actually going to be hear really soon. I go through waves of wanting to hold and snuggle BB right now and freaking out thinking there is now way we are ready (mentally, financially, emotionally, physically....) for another baby. Guess it's coming if I'm ready or not, huh?! :)

27 Weeks

Week 27 has already come! It's nutty to me that in 13 weeks or less (God willing) I'll be holding little B.B.! Time is flying (I know I must say that each week... sorry). Any way I have now entered into the THIRD and FINAL trimester and if B.B. was born today he/she would have a minimum of a 85% chance of survival. B.B is now around 2 pounds and is 14.5 inches long (about the size of or wound up extension cord). Its little head is about 2.5 inches in diameter and its little eye lids now frequently blink. B.B has all of his/her eye lashes and eye brows and the little one will start to smile (especially during R.E.M.) this week.

Make A Wish

Love!

My heart melted this morning, literally melted! I was snuggling little miss Mallory and telling her that I love her, when she looked at me and said "yove u" and snuggled her head into my neck. It was so cute and sweet I just about died!
(I think those are the moments with kids that people talk about holding onto, so that when you feel like strangling them you can quickly bring those memories forward in your mind.)

26 Weeks

This week our little BB weighs about 1.75 pounds and is around 14 inches long (that's just about the length of our Craftsman 7.2 volt cordless screw driver). BB will start to take some practice runs at the ol' breathing movements this week by inhaling and exhaling its amniotic fluid. Its little eye lids have been fused closed (up to this point) and are now starting to open now that his/her retina is completely developed. Some recent studies have been done on mental stimulation while inutero... 'they' have found that playing with your baby by pushing on your tummy and gently pushing body parts (as they roughly push into your ribs/bladder/kidneys/uterus...) actually really stimulates brain development! I was ALWAYS pushing on Mallory (so much so that mom thought that I might hurt her)... little did we know that I am the reason she is so darn smart now! :)

This is my last week before the third trimester starts! Woohoo! It's totally feeling like it too, my belly feels huge, lungs and bladder ever-shrinking, energy low (zzzzzz)... Keep on truckin' it's almost over... then I'll probably want BB back inside for some peace and quiet!

25 weeks

2/3 of the way done, time flies! I'm not sure why this pregnancy is going so much faster. Could be the fact that this time I have a toddler that I feel like most of my awake/home time is spent chasing, cleaning, entertaining, feeding, cleaning-up after.... or maybe it's some crazy space-time-warp and time is literally going faster.... yep I'm sure that's it.
Any way, at 25 weeks our little BB as grown about and inch and a half from last week and is now a startling 13 1/2 inches long (exactly the size of our Craftsman hammer) and weights about 1 1/2 pounds. Lots it going on with the little nugget this week.... The air sacs in its lungs are farming and its little nostrils are opening (though it's not ready to breath just yet). Its little vocal cords are developing and its reproductive organs are now fully formed/descended. The spinal structure is taking shape and its little hands are now totally formed and perfect. The skin is no longer transparent and is taking on more of an opaque appearance as it accumulates more and more fat.
I know that I have been SURE that little BB was a boy (just like I was for Mallory), but 2 days ago I started getting little pangs of doubt. Mainly because we have entered the hic-up stage (which cracks me up). This little one hic-ups a ton, JUST like Mallory did. Granted I have nothing else to compare BB to, so maybe all babies hic-up this much...but now the seed of doubt has been planted, so now I don't know. I guess part of the fun of not finding out the gender is this back and forth game (but right now it is feeling more like when you know someone has a secret and they wont tell you just yet, but they keep bring up how they really want to, but can't). Yeah, that's how it feels. If I think about it too much I get a little sick to my stomach and a little frustrated. I've been trying to get Mallory to tell me what gender it is (since I'm convinced they can communicate some how). She's not being much of a help (it might have to do with having no idea what the word gender is...) :)

Big Girl Room

I've been meaning to post some pictures of Mallory's big girl room for a while now, but life got away from me. You know how that goes. Any way, about a 3 months ago we turned the guest room into Mallory's new room. We painted (two cute colors... a soft yellow and a super light salmon), installed a closet system, sewed curtains and got some cute furniture from Ikea. We moved her crib in there for the time being. We didn't know how she would 'take' to her new room (since I've heard/read horror stories about kids and change) but she loved it! She still gets excited to show her room to anyone new who comes over. Then about 3 weeks ago we switched Mallory into a big girl bed! (We were hoping that she could get out of the crib in enough time for BB to more into it... Gulp). Once again I was a little hesitate, not knowing if she was 'ready' to stay in bed at nap times and bed times... but we thought, what the heck the worse that can happen is that we have a bad nights sleep and have to put the crib back in. So we tried it. And once again, just to prove me wrong she was great with it! She's by no means perfect with it and we occasionally come in after a nap to find shoes, toy or books piled on her bed 'napping' with her. But all in all she is great and actually stays in bed in the morning waiting for one of us to come and get her up... she continues to impress me! Before this final arraignment of the furniture she was actually able to climb from her bed onto her dresser and once feel asleep up there!!!! So funny and so frightening. We have a video of it... I'll see if one of these days I can post it online. So after that, we rearranged (for the 3rd time) and spread all the furniture out! :) No more climbing! This past Sunday I made her the bedspread and a pillow to match the curtains... she loves the pillow and looked so grown up sleeping on it last night.

6 Months

At 24 weeks my little one is movin' and shakin'! I'm feeling BB under my ribs and on top of my bladder all at the same time (oh the annoyances of pregnancy that we quickly forget for the joys of a baby)! The heartburn that I had with Mallory is back. Food, water, air.... it doesn't matter all seem to induce it! I hate when it happen in an exam room and I have to pretend like there isn't a fire-breathing dragon charring the heck out of my esophagus!
Our little BB is now 12 inches long, about the size of a Combination Square Tool (what's that you ask.... it's apparently a ruler, and square edge and a level all in one... wow). :) This week it has gained over 4 ounces, tipping the scales at over 1 pound (ouch, guess I cant blame all the weight gain on this little one.... yet). All the bones in its inner ears are fully developed so it can now tell which way is up and down, it is too big to do cart-wheels anymore and should be sticking to slower turns and more defined punches/kicks. The cells in the lungs that produce surfactant are forming (which will help inflate the lungs once this little baby joins the outside world. Its skin is still translucent (though not for long), oh and my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball (no wonder I can hardly see my toes). Interesting (though somewhat disturbing fact...) starting at week 23 BB had a 20% survival rate in the outside world, but EVERY day that it stays in that rate will increase by 3%. Stay baby stay... I'll endure the heartburn a few more months.

Sorry

Sorry for being such a slacker with the updates... we have lots going on, some good, some bad... but all of it taking up my time and thoughts. I promise to post some cute pictures of Mallory Rose, my weekly garage comparisons AND my 6 month giant torpedo-belly :) Every day I have had one brave client ask me 'when I'm due' or 'If I'm expecting' so I have been enjoying that! The little one is moving and really enjoying my right ribs (Mallory liked the left side, so we already have differences in what they like/don't like). Just about all my co-workers have felt the little one kick and punch, some of them LOVE it... others are way freaked out by it... which is quite funny (to me).
Quick story... we have always made sure to have baby-dolls/stuffed animals and cars/trucks for Mallory to play with. She loves playing trucks and makes a great 'vrrrrrrooooooom' sound while playing. The other day we were at our friends house and Mallory had put a few baby-dolls into a doll stroller and was pushing it around saying 'Vrrrrrrooooooommmmmm...' Like they were in some 400 horse powered stroller. It was cracking me up! Glad she's well balanced. :)

FINALLY!

FINALLY someone ask me if I'm pregnant! I have been waiting! I have been wearing cute tight maternity-ish tops, and my white dr. jacket no longer buttons so my belly is sticking out for all the world to see.... but still no one has asked. I get it though... it's always that fine line of 'did that girl just eat a big lunch?' or 'is she about to have a baby?' Well, FINALLY someone had the gumption to ask! It made me happy to know that I actually now 'look' pregnant, because I sure do feel like it! The cute part was how this person asked...
It was a client who brought in his sons sick Chinese Water Dragon (a way cool fancy lizard). After a little while he said, "I am a man.... but I have four kids... but I AM a man... uhm, are you having your own little one?" I was beaming! Not only had someone FINALLY asked, but it was in such a cute way... like he had to keep prefacing it with the fact that he may say something stupid because 'he's a man'. It cracked me up and made my day!

Nemo

Ok, I know I'm working a little backwards here (starting with Halloween and working my way back)... but I want to show you guys lots of cute 'harvest time' pictures and Mallory as Nemo is just about the cutest thing EVER so I have to start there. I actually found this costume at Salvation Army (the one on Lytton Springs Rd) back in July or August, but it was in perfect shape and only 0.25. Yup, you got it, an entire quarter! So it's been sitting in our garage since, dreaming of the day when the cutest little toddler would wear it! Mallory LOVED getting dressed up (which is good, because I LOVE dressing things up...just ask my dead dog Muffin or my younger brothers). On Saturday we took Mallory to a Harvest party at a Church near us, it was loads of fun! Chili, hay rides, bounce house... which she couldn't get enough of! She was in there with the big kids for a little while running and tumbling with the best of them. I swear she is fearless. Then Monday we too her to a Truck Or Treat at a church in Windsor. That was fun too, she just was a little cranky and more shy... plus there was no bounce house (whats up with that?) :)
Just in case you were wondering, Yes that is a 26 pound Nemo trying to eat Krush...Who managed to escape by a sheer luck. Pretty sure he gave up one of his remaining nine lives though.

22 Weeks

I swear, over the past 5 days BB has grown leaps and bounds. Pretty sure 3 months have gone by in these 5 days. At least that how I am feeling.... very, very, VERY pregnant! On a walk the other day I was feeling, slow, tired and just about started to waddle (just for sheer sympathy)! Pathetic, I know.

Little BB is around 11 inches and still about a pound. It has hair on it's head, eyebrows and even eyelashes. It's little nerve endings are still in the process of fully developing... but he/she is starting to develop its tactile response...which is fun to think of it reaching out and exploring itself and its warm little surroundings. Its getting tooth buds beneath it's gums and his/her eyes are now fully formed (though there is still no pigment to its irises)... which will probably turn out to be beautifully brown like it's big sister.

I'm Going To Be a Aunt!

I don't remember if this is widespread public knowledge... but it is now! :) My oldest brother and his wife are expecting their first baby!!!!!!! Lindsay is due March 1st (yeah, 2 days before me) and they are having a perfect little boy! They are both so excited and so are we! I am going to have a nephew! Heck, I am going to be an aunt! I'm supper pumped. Since Jeff and Lindsay live in Oregon we sadly don't get to see them nearly enough, but Lindsay just happened to be in town this past weekend so we got to get together and rub baby-pumps! The hard part is realizing that when they have their sweet little man I wont be able to go and meet him for a little while (since I'll either have just had BB or be WAY preggers). We'll have to plan a trip for the summer time (while both Mallory and BB still fly free). :) Next time I get to see Jeff and Lindsay will be in January, so each of us will be like 8 months along! Oy!

Karate Chop!

Last night, while relaxing on the sofa little B.B felt like he/she was practising karate inside me! This little sucker is strong already! Matthew was able to feel BB moving and kicking around, so that was really fun. He never was really sure what he was 'supposed' to be feeling with Mallory, so it's fun this time around to watch him know whats going on and even comment on some things even before I do! We had another o.b appointment yesterday which went great. She (our WONDERFUL midwife) went over the ultrasound results (which were great), measured my uterus (which is spot on in size) and listened to BBs heart and heart rate (which was also perfect... it was 135... for those of you who what to continue to speculate) :)

Vermont #3 (the last)

In order to help with the whole 'relax' thing that I'm working on, my parents offered to treat me to a message! I found a place in Stowe with great reviews and they miraculously could see me that day! So I got my first prenatal massage! I was a little worried that I might not like it as much as a typical/deep tissue one, because I like my massages to actually hurt a little... none of this light rubbing junk... get in there and work out those knots (just ignore the screams). :) But I have to tell you my masseuse was sent from God. She was wonderful. It was like being in heaven for 60 minutes. My only complaint would be that it was too short... heck I think 2 hours would have still not been long enough. I was loving it. I have only had a handful on massages, but during all of them at one point I have fallen asleep, not this time. I didn't want to miss one second of it! So thank you so much mom and dad, it was much needed and much appreciated!

Our last 2 days in Vermont poured and poured! What better way to celebrate the rain then some freshly pressed hot apple cider! Yum! We also went to the Cabot Cheese plant and that was yummy too (not as good as the Ben and Jerry's, but still good). Just a quick note about Mallory... See that picture of her drawing while sitting with Matthew... Well, Matthew was being very good and trying to get in as much study time as possible. But Mallory was not helping the cause very much. She climbed up onto his lap, stole his pencil and started scribbling all over his notes. After a few minutes of very focused drawing, she looked up, pat Matthews face, pointed at her 'art' and said 'Dis es Daddy!' and went back to drawing. I can't say that I saw the resemblance... but maybe she'll be an abstract artist.... who knows.

Friday (our last day.... sigh) was just pouring cats and dogs, but we didn't want to waste our last day sitting around the lodge, so we drove to Montpelier to see Vermont's Capital AND to find some beautiful covered bridges that mom had been dieing to get a few pictures of. It was a nice little drive and our tour of the states capital was nice and warm... because we didn't get out of the van! We drove all around the beautiful city, snapping pictures out the window of this or that. It was actually pretty fun!
So there you go, that was a gimps into our trip... it was wonderful! The location, The season! The leaves! And the company! Thanks again mom and dad for the memorable trip! Love you guys.

Vermont #2

On Tuesday morning we gathered together all of our passports and took a 2 hours drive to visit Montreal Canada. The drive was beautiful! (who am I kidding, the only one who saw the entire drive was dad, since he was driving, all the rest of us slept). :) But when we woke up that morning Mallory had a little goopy eyes that I just washed off. We thought maybe she had a little allergy or something. Literally as the hours if not minutes went by the goopiness turned into a yellow/green stickiness practically 'pouring' out of her left eye. Then her eye started to get swollen and little red fingers started to work themselves down her left cheek. It was so hard for me to look at her, because it felt like my heart would break each time I would see that happy smiley girl with the nasty looking eye. So despite the fact we had driven to Canada to site see, it became more of a 'Oh my goodness what do we do for Mallory' sort of a day. We still managed to tool around Montreal a little, FINALLY (no thanks to the locals) finding Old Montreal (which really feels like you are in France), getting to have some really yummy sweet and savory Crepes, seeing Canada's Notre Dame and a few other building, all the while I was trying to figure out if I should call Kaiser now, wait until we get back to the US, or take her to a hospital in Canada. I had finally said 'Man if she was a dog I would just treat her Conjunctivitis with some BNP drops...I wish I just had some'. That's when Mom brought up the brilliant point that we ARE in Canada... home of free health care and MAYBE we could just buy something. Thus began the quest to find a local pharmacy. SUCCESS! 30 minuets later I had a beautiful bottle of antibacterial eye drops in hand and could treat that sad looking eye! Within 30 hours you couldn't even tell there was ever an issue! THANK YOU Canada! That night Mallory had a rough night... though she didn't seem to care. She clonked her head, giving herself a nasty goose-egg in the center of her forehead, then fell face-first while pulling a blanket and gave herself her first bloody nose. Poor girl, conjunctivitis, giant goose-egg and a bloody nose.... but STILL smiling! That girl is one tough cookie!
Our adventures continued the next day as we found a local Stowe Vermont Maple syrup company. We got a great lesson on how its made (new and old ways), got to try the different types (who knew there were different types...light, medium and dark), and then of course bought a GALLON to split between our 2 families. Mmmmmmmmmm. We then drove a short distance to the official Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream plant! We took the tour, ate the sample and then ate even more! :) Such a great place... and so environmentally friendly. Very cool. I do have to say that THE best part of the ice cream trip was what happened after the tour. Dad had taken Mallory down to a giant ice cream carton top prop so that Mallory could stick her face in 'Jerry's' cut out face. There was a group of 3 Asian tourists who noticed and thought it was cute, so they started to take a few pictures. At first we were like... 'move out of our way so WE can take a picture', but soon realized that the REAL picture was how much they were all loving Mallory! The Crowd grew and grew, until there were probably 10-15 Asian tourists swarming Mallory all shouting 'BeeBee, BeeBee, BeeBee!!!!' Offering her candy to look at them and all the while their cameras clicking away. They were like paparazzi! Then one by one the tourists would get in the 'Ben' face so that they could have their picture taken with 'BeeBee'! Poor Dad was back there trying to hold up Mallory while laughing hysterically. Mallory couldn't quite figure out what was going on, she kept looking over at the new tourist like they were nuts, but at the same time was loving the attention. Go figure. It actually is one of my favorite memories of the entire trip.

20 Week Ultra Sound

Today Matthew, Mallory and I had the 20 week ultrasound appointment. It went great (in terms of how our little one looks), not so great with the u/s tech. She was... 'special' (to put it nicely). But that said we did get some great shots of B.B. The little one was being good and NOT showing any genital anatomy to anyone, so even at the end of the visit the tech didn't know.... so it'll be a surprise for everyone! Here are a few of the images (baby face down profile, baby face up with hand to mouth, the 'skeleton-looking' head shot, and perfect long legs and part of its foot). Then, as promised here's the 20 week belly shot. I swear I am way bigger then it looks in that picture (though we did take it today)... maybe I just feel bigger. Huge in fact... but in a good 'I'm growing a baby inside me sort of way'. :)

Vermont 1

Vermont! OK... where to start? I feel like we did so much and saw so much that it would take another week to truly re-create it all... so I'll go with the Cliff-Notes approach. Matthew, Mallory and I flew red-eye to Vermont on Saturday night/Sunday morning to meet up with Mom and Dad and my dads sister Aunt Dottie. The three of them had spent the previous week in Philly and Dottie was leaving the very next day (sad). The first grouping of pictures were taken on or around where we were staying (which was the Trap Family Lodge). Yes it was/is created and owned by the original Von Trap family (yes, like the singing family from the Sound Of Music). It was BEAUTIFUL there. As my dad kept putting it, 'it is like the trees are on fire'! The tree colors were amazing! The lodge is in Stowe Vermont, which is a cute, artsy little town. We walked around there Sunday afternoon. At the lodge there is a herd of Swedish Highland Cattle... all of which Mallory very quickly feel in love with! She would constantly point to the hill-side and say "boooooooo" (moooooo). So we spent a good deal of time walking to and looking at the cattle.

Monday, Aunt Dottie had to leave, so we all drove back into the town of Burlington (which is were the airport is) to get some supplies (diapers, another suitcase and a cheep-o stroller). We then found a really cute area of town that was free of cars and just had shops/restaurants/people and random musicians. Being the avid dancer that she is, Mallory boogied down to one band in particular. She even gave them some money (and then a few minutes later tried to take it back.... she must not have like the song they were playing at the time). That night at 'home' Mallory showed off her latest 'trick', which is putting her blanket on her head and running around like a naked ghost. She squeals and giggles the entire time (and surprisingly doesn't run into much).
Ok, I'll blog more about our trip tomorrow... sorry about all the Mallory pictures... but honestly between the adoring grandparents and us there are more pictures of things SHE did in Vermont then Vermont itself. :)

Yap, Yap, Yap

I know, I know, all parents think that their child is a brilliant genius, but I am pretty sure mine actually IS! :) A few days ago, while we were driving in the car and Mallory was looking at the bottom of her shoe (which had a black/brown dirt clod on it) and out of nowhere said "Momma, dis es dirty." ('Momma, this is dirty', for those of you who need a little help on translating baby talk). I was dumbfounded. I wasn't the only one who herd it either... Mom, dad, and Matthew were all there too! We all just sort of looked around at each other in disbelief. Did Mallory just say an entire sentience??? Yep. It's crazy, she just turned 15 months and is stringing appropriate words together to create a truly understandable sentience. WOW. As a parent I feel like I am constantly being blown away!

Half Way There!

Sorry that I have been MIA for the past week or so. But in the true spirit of trying to relax, Mallory, Matthew and I met my parents in Vermont for a week long trip. I'll talk more about that soon, but first let me update the ever growing baby/belly (I'll add a belly shot soon, I promise).

At 19 weeks our little baby was about 9 inches long (now measuring from head to toe)... so about the size of a tube of High Performance Stretch Wrap (used for packing/wrapping things).



I am now a titch over 20 weeks! Wow, it's going so fast! At 20 weeks our little B.B. is about 10 inches (H to T) roughly the size of a 13/16 Craftsman wrench and weighs up to one pound! It should be totally covered with white vernix and it's toes and fingers completely formed. It is starting to make meconium as it's little digestive tract learns to work, all organs are where they should be and now our little babe is just working on plumping up. My belly is getting BIG! If I lay down there is a big indentation from my diaphragm until my belly button, then BAM my uterus gets out of control! I have given up on sucking in my tummy... it's impossible, and have finally busted out the matternity clothes (though most are still to big, all my regular jeans/clothes are just TOO tight). From this point on I get to look forward to my uterus growing upward about 1 centimeter every week and gaining about 1 pound each week. This Wednesday we get to go and have the big 1/2 way there ultrasound done, so that should be fun! I love seeing our growing baby and seeing that all parts are forming as they should... but don't get too excited, we still haven't budged on not wanting to find out the sex, sorry.

Just Relax

I have a lot on my plate right now... and apparently B.B is reaping the repercussions of it. Last night I started having some pretty good little contractions. I drank some water and kept my feet up and they eventually stopped. But its sort of frightening. I know that Braxton Hicks contractions are 'normal' right about this stage, but I also know that stress can bring on early labor.... so I'm trying to be good about sitting when I can and drinking more water and trying not to get too stressed out. Did you guys know that veterinarians have the highest rate of preterm labor (followed by lawyers). So my 'new' way of thinking/acting will hopefully prevent me from having to go on bed rest or from pushing this little B.B out too early!

18 Weeks

Another Week has passed and now, at 18 weeks old little B.B is about 6 inches long! Wow, half a foot... OR about the size of a box cutter (gee don't all parents want to think of their little babies as potentially lethal weapon???) Any way, its about 7 oz in weight and is working on a plethora of new things. It's building up a nice layer of white vernix and can hear so well that it can be startled by loud sounds. It's vocal cords are formed and it will go through the motions for crying, yawning and making different faces. The alveoli in its lungs are formed (but not functional) and the 2 main stem lung bronchi have branched. The other cool thing, is that this week the myelin (which is the covering over the nerves) has started to form!

Oh and my uterus is about the size of a cantaloupe!

Comparing

Its funny, I know that there are some things that I would LIKE to do as a parent, but I’m not really sure how to make sure that those happen. For instance; I think Mallory is uber smart/bright/talented/ (should I dare, brilliant)… but I might be just a SMIDGE bias. But I know that it’s really going to be important, as a parent, that I DO NOT compare everything that this new little one does/will do/looks like… to all that Mallory does/has done/will do. But it’s going to be hard! Because I’m already thinking things like, ‘gee I felt Mallory move at 16 weeks,’ or ‘I hope that BB will sleep through the night at 5 weeks like Mallory’, or ‘not be colicky like Mallory’…. See I’m already doing what I DON’T want to do. So for all of you with multiple kiddos, how in the world do you avoid the whole comparing of children thing (especially when one kid is so obviously perfect)? Tee heee heee