One for the Grandmas...

This morning at the park...
Luci: Where is MY Dah-ya? (while watching another tot play with her dad)
Mom: He's at work. He'll be home tomorrow in time for lunch!
Luci: I miss him. I miss Dah-ya. (how she pronounces Daddy lately)
Mom: I know. I miss him too. And he misses you!
Luci: I miss Grandma too.
Mom: I know. Grandma misses you too.
Luci: And da ut-er one too. Grammy. I miss Grammy too.
Mom: I know. Grammy misses you too.


She picked out her stripes & polka dots outfit from Grammy yesterday. A bit big, but I thought it was going to be huge...the girl is getting so big so fast!

Playing with her new-to-her toys...a Rutherford family heirloom of sorts was delivered via UPS yesterday. Fun times! Here she is using the chest of drawers as a changing table..."just like Luci does!"

She thinks the mirror part is a little seat...

Oil Ranch

On the train...not the best photo, but I think we do look a bit alike, no? Waiting for the train...

Down the slide!

Looking at the chickens...

Going for a pony ride!

On Tuesday we hit the Oil Ranch...the 'deep in the heart of Texas' version of a pumpkin patch! We took our newly relocated to Texas Godson, Justin, along for the ride so that made for fewer photos this year. As Clay would say, we had to practice our man to man defense! Two is definitely more of a handful than one...and all I could think about was the age difference of Justin (4 1/2) and Luci (not quite 2 1/2) and me being pregnant is theoretically where I think I want to be someday. I was exhausted just imagining it!

Luce was all about the animals, but Justin not so much so we didn't spend a ton of time with them. She wasn't afraid of ANY of them...not the sheep with horns, not the cows, not the huge turkeys, not the donkeys....in fact, I had to pull her out of the fence to keep her out of the donkey pen! She really would have just crawled right in there...and no, it wasn't the petting zoo part!

CLE Rocks!?!?!?!

The only photos we took...with my phone (not bad, huh?). I hung out in the car for 30 minutes while Clay went on a quick little hike.

This last weekend Clay & I continued our quest to find a town in which to raise our family. We (well, for sure I), LOVE The Woodlands, but we just can't take the heat. And I can't take the bug bites. And Clay can't take the lack of nature-type outdoor activities (golf & water sports abound...but aren't really his cup of tea). Theoretically we could live anywhere and Clay could commute to his base, but we'd see less of him as the commute would likely take days away from home each month. And like I've said before, we like each other so that is not ideal.

So off we went to Cleveland. CLE is a Continental base...so our quality of life would largely remain the same. It is a 6 hour drive to Grandma & Grandpa Pierse, or a short flight to Indy. Grammy & Grandpy Rosonke would be a shorter flight to Minneapolis, followed by the same lovely 3 hour drive. Or we could drive 6 hours & spend the night with friends in Chicago, and drive another 6 hours the next day. Either way, our quality of life in terms of access to family won't suffer.

The city & greater Cleveland area seemed much like a smaller, less congested, more nature filled, more friendly, slightly cheaper Chicago. And if you know me very well, you know I love Chicago. Cleveland felt very much like it could be home. We stayed downtown and our room had a nice view of the lake; we checked out about 10 suburbs over our two day visit. I think we've narrowed it to three that we think we could be happy in. All three have cute downtowns with a good mix of chain & independent restaurants, charming independent stores, boutiques, & new chain stores. The school districts are all excellent. They also have loads of 4 bedroom homes with basements on .5+ acre lots in our price range. Lots of them were built in the 80s, but we only need to find one with good bones & we'd be happy to do some updating on our own. And for the handsome man in my life? His nature fix will absolutely be fulfilled between the combination of two very accessible areas...the Cleveland Metropark system and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Hiking & biking trails abound...the trees, leaves & hills were so beautiful with the fall colors that I decided I might even be motivated to trek about someday...

So, for now, unless something changes with Continental or its bases, I think we'll be moving to Cleveland in the future. Spring of 2010 or 2011...we just have to decide. And soon...Clay will need to bid CLE in January for it to happen in the Spring of 2010. If it were up to me I'd pick Spring of 2011, but we are a family so we have quite a bit more discussion to do in terms of what is best for all of us. Kind of scary, but exciting at the same time?!?!?!

And, also as always, we send a big thank you to Grandma Pierse for taking such good care of our Luci while we were gone. You are the best!

29 weeks...large & in charge...

Big delay in belly shots. I had a series of unfortunate encounters with boxed hair color between weeks 21 and 29. Luckily, my sweet husband agreed to give me professional hair care for my birthday (I couldn't decide what I wanted)...so finally the color of my locks is presentable. Then again, with a belly this big, am I the only one looking at my hair?!?!?!

where do these people come from?

Random Lady at Starbucks: When are you due?
Me: Christmas
RL: Ohhh honey....bless you!
Me: fake smile
RL: twins?
Me: just one big healthy boy!
RL: fake smile

name Sally, Daddya.

Reading to Dad....she INSISTS on holding the book...and now she's into holding the book up in the air for all to see. Very annoying if you are the one trying to see the words, so you can comply with demands of "talk, Mom, talk." She's very into role playing before bed now each night. We usually read to a baby, say prayers, cover said baby with a blanket, and tell her to "sleep tight" before we head up for a bath. Last night Dad got the books & prayers instead of a baby! The girl loves her daddya...

Luci's beloved Bea of 1+ years has a new name. Last night as Clay was reading to Luci in bed he rolled over on Bea. He said, "oh! Sorry Luci, here is Bea." To which Luci replied, "Name Sally, Daddya. Name Sally."

catching up: 28 and 1/2 weeks

This is definitely the best face shot I've ever seen from a 2D ultrasound! Sweet profile...

We got another sneak peak at our sweet boy this morning. Luci went along and when she wasn't crying or throwing a fit she was squealing with delight at watching her little brother move around on the screen. "Too little a walk, too little a talk, no pizza, no ice cream, drink milk" she said...

The placenta has moved up so no planned c-section for us if all continues to go well! Fluid levels look great, and he's measuring about a week ahead of schedule...I think he's going to be a big boy. His little feet look pretty big already. He is head down, with his feet & hands right in front of his face...at one point I saw him grab his little foot with all five fingers...it was precious! Oh, and he's definitely a he...his little boy parts were impossible to miss this time. Ahh! I still can't believe we are having a boy!

I think Clay has signed up for painting Gus's room...now if we can just agree on a color! It's going to be hard giving up our only guest room, as we love having guests! We are still trying to figure out how to accommodate our visiting family once the guest room is Gus's room. We've got some ideas, but we need to figure out how long we plan to stay in this house once Gus is here to determine our appropriate level of investment. We'll see.

This pregnancy has been different than Luci's was in lots of ways. My skin is just now starting to calm down (I had GREAT skin with Luci for most of the pregnancy), and sadly my hair is no better than usual (I had GREAT hair with Luci too). I'm definitely bigger this time, both in terms of belly and overall shape. I started the pregnancy 5-10lbs heavier & I'll probably end about 5-10lbs heavier. I am on track to gain about 30lbs again, just as with Luci (or was it 25 with Luci?) How quickly I forget...

As for me, I'm feeling horrendous. Not pregnancy horrendous, just sinus infection horrendous. I'm on day 2 of antibiotics so hopefully I'll be feeling better soon. Clay & Luci had a teeny bit of the congestion last week, but they are both good to go right now, so I'm as certain as I can be that it's just an infection. I need to do an updated belly shot...I'll probably wait until before church on Sunday...that seems to be the best I look all week!

updates

Nope...it isn't the third trimester that is making me feel this icky. This cold I've been battling since Portland has officially turned into a sinus infection...I'm thinking that is why I feel so icky. I have a course of antibiotics that I'm starting in an hour that will hopefully get me back to my chipper self. I've made it almost a year without a sinus infection due to my neti pot, and that is a serious record for me. I usually have about 4 a year, and I haven't had one since Luci & I had our bouts with RSV last November. If you have similar woes, I can't recommend the neti pot more.

In other news, Lulu Pea is going to school tomorrow only to say good-bye to her teachers & friends. After a talk with the director Miss I today, we've all decided she's just not ready. Miss I is SOOO KINDLY holding Luci's spot open until after Christmas break so we can give it another try then if we want to. This is a HUGE deal as there is a long list of kiddos waiting for a spot to open up. We are grateful. And if we decide not to send her back we'll let Miss I know as soon as we make that decision. I must admit I'm curious to see if after a few weeks when Luci realizes she doesn't have to go, that she might want to go. Time will tell I guess. I wish I could honestly say I was more of a self-less mom and that I'm totally okay with the fact that she's not ready, but I'd be lying. I am okay with it, but also a bit bummed. I like alone time. Even if it is just to work. That said, I do realize it was a short lived stretch of alone time as our next bundle of joy is on his way.

So...there are just a few quick updates. Even though this post sounds kind of like a downer, I really do have an attitude of gratitude tonight...I promise. :)

seriously?

I'm on the cusp of the third trimester (either there yesterday or tomorrow depending on what method of due date selection we use), and suddenly I feel like it. Just yesterday at playgroup a friend asked me if I was starting to feel third trimester icky yet...and I replied, "No! I really still feel pretty well!" HA! Fast forward 6 hours to waking up from my nap and suddenly I feel not so good. And I woke up this morning feeling much of the same way...and again after waking from my nap today. Ugh. Near constant heartburn and a feeling like poor Gus is squished...or at the very least squishing all of my organs in an attempt to stretch out! He causes a great deal more sharp pains and dull aches than Luci did...or at least that I remember Luci causing. Or maybe it's just that all I had to do at this point when Luci was in the womb was hang out horizontally on the couch watching TV. Trying to clean up toys last night seemed like a monumental effort.

NOT GOOD my friends, not good. I still have a long 12+ weeks to go! More to come on the Gus front this week...we have a big ultrasound on Tuesday to see if my placenta has moved up. If not, we'll likely be scheduling a c-section.

catching up: lulu pea part two

Well I thought we were doing better at school, but Miss A informed me that today was possibly the worst day yet! Luci is excited to go now before school starts...she's excited to pick out what she wears, what goes in her lunch, excited to see Miss A, Miss L, and a few other friends she now names. We walk in together, hand in hand, and she doesn't cry when we leave.


But apparently, opposite of most kids who cry for five minutes when the mom leaves and then are fine, Luci is fine for 5 minutes and then cries. Real tears. Silent, but real tears. They tell me she's no trouble...that she's a good listener and will follow directions, but she does so with tears. Tears that make them as teachers sad for her...cause they are very obviously real. And Miss A proclaimed she's obviously intelligent, because Luci has the routine down & tries to speed up the day by progressing to the next activity to get to the one that is followed by Mom picking her up. (She wants to go outside, then inside, then lunch, then outside.) Then I pick her up, and she's excited to tell me about the day and show me her artwork. And she CLEARLY adores Miss A & Miss L.


Miss A suggested giving it another week...at that point we'll be almost 1/2 way through the fall semester. Miss A, Miss L and Miss I (the director) have all told me that she may just not be ready...and that if I wasn't pregnant they'd say to try again next year, but that if I want to we should stick with it and that she will eventually get the hang of it. Warm fuzzies this does not give me...I don't want her to go just because Gus is on the way. I really thought she would love it....she needs a lot of engagement, stimulation & variety and I really thought this was the answer. We definitely didn't realize she was such a sensitive, attached little soul.

So, what to do. We have definitely made progress in the AM before she goes. But after much discussion, Clay & I have decided that if things don't go any better next week while she's actually at school, we are going to pull her out for the year and try again next fall. I'm so disappointed...not in her (not at all), just in knowing that what I thought was going to be a bright spot for her and work or Gus time for me isn't going to be.