Today was that day I've been waiting for. The day I got to go meet my little guy in 4D! I was so excited. I couldn't wait to get a good glimpse of him, and to be awarded the opportunity to meet him just a little early. That is until today, when I found out the 'D' in 4D stands for Difficult!
The little guy who was so 'photogenic' and 'cooperative' at our last ultrasound (direct quotes from the last ultrasound tech), did NOT want to be bothered today. He began the session with his face smooshed up against my placenta and uterus and topped it off with his hand in front of his face, sucking his thumb. None of which made for a clear picture. At one point he even turned his back completely on us. I offered to do cartwheels down the hall to get him stirred up a little. I think the ultrasound tech was afraid I might actually do it (I would've had she said it was OK!) She did let me take a potty break and walk the halls a little, neither of which made a big difference. I tried laying on my right side, on my left side, on my tummy, sitting up, laying in an inverted position, and even tried drinking cold water. He responded by moving around a lot, but never in a favorable way for a clear picture. We saw clear pictures of his hands, feet, limbs, and of course his genitals (definitely a boy!), but no luck seeing the face clearly.
Thankfully I had a persistent and patient ultrasound tech, who showed us everything she could make out. We saw him yawn, suck his thumb, blink his eyes, stick out his tongue, move his arms and legs around, and nuzzle safely inside me. Finally, after a good 1.5 hours, (yes, 90 minutes) we were able to get some decent glimpses of Mr. Difficult himself. That's right, he finally turned toward us a little and let us marvel at how precious he is. The pics are still not as clear as some that I've seen, but after 90 minutes, it was the best we got!
He almost looks like he's smiling here.
The best picture of the day. You can make him out clearly there on the left, eyes closed, head down a bit. On the right is either placenta or uterus (I don't know how to tell one from the other like the ultrasound tech could!) While it may seem the black spots on the top of his head look like he's got a full head of hair, that's just an area where the ultrasound beam was going through his skull instead of bouncing back the image.
The ultrasound tech tried so hard for me to get a good picture. By the time she was done, she had over 70 pics, though not all very good ones. She put the whole session on DVD for me, and remarked how generally, they only give about 15 pics (assuming the baby is more cooperative and the pics are better in the first place). She also said she hadn't had one that difficult in a very long time. So it's nice to see this little one will already have one thing in common with his older siblings...stubbornness!
Oh, and I had to ask because I didn't know - the difference between 3D and 4D: 3D is a still picture, 4D is with movement.
So here is a 4D glimpse of my little one. Happy viewing!
Now that dance is done for a while, and I no longer have to worry about pulling Clara's hair back in a bun, it was time for a new do! Clara asked for a new haircut a few months ago, but I asked her to wait until the recital was done, so I could get that bun in there for the big day without a million bobbi pins. She was kind enough to agree. As time got closer I asked if she still wanted it cut and how -- she said yes and picked the length -- scary that she's making these decisions already and she's only 5!
The 'before' shot. Daddy loves her long hair, but she was seriously in need of at least a trim.
How short will she go?
Can you tell?
Who is that girl? Yep! she got a good 4-5 inches cut off!
Finished and styled! Her hair looks so much thicker and healthier now. I never noticed how beautiful her hair really was.
Trying out some new poses to go with the new hair. Can you tell she hates it? Sorry Daddy, it was her choice, but it was a good one. She's even more beautiful, as if that's possible :)
Clara wrapped up her first dance season Saturday with her spring dance recital. She was excited and ready to show off all she had learned, not at all intimidated by being up on stage. We were not allowed to take pics during the recital, as they had professional videographers there, but we took lots of pics in her costume before and after the recital.
Here she is ready to leave the house for the recital.
After the recital, Jonathan had flowers for his big sister.
They were her favorite colors, pink and purple. She couldn't help but kiss him!
and the posing began.
She's not at all fond of being the center of attention!
Beautiful! - I love this girl!!!!
...and sassy, too.
Two of my most favorite people.
Grandma and Grandpa were able to come into town for the recital. Clara did great! She remembered more of it than I thought she would. Her class danced ballet to "Don't want to live on the moon". She had a lot of fun and loved getting all the applause and attention.
Posing like she's a celebrity -- what am I going to do with her?
Yesterday was Chris' and my 11 year anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been 11 years already, and all at the same time, hard to believe it's been only 11 years. Chris was not able to be here once again, thanks to his deployment, but his parents happened to be in town for Clara's dance recital, so Chris' mom took me out to dinner instead. We went to Olive Garden, just the two of us, and had a nice dinner. It was only fitting, since after all, technically it was an anniversary for she and I as well...for 11 years now, we have been family!
Chris sent me these gorgeous red roses, there's 22 of them -- 2 for each year!
I was shocked by the roses, because Chris doesn't usually send them. Usually he chooses some other collection of beautiful flowers, so the roses were a nice surprise. I was a little down yesterday, for not having him home with me, but I wouldn't change a thing about the last 11 years. The good times and the bad times have helped us grow together, learn more about ourselves and each other and made us stronger as a pair. Without a doubt Chris is man I was meant to grow old with and I look forward to doing so.
I love you, Baby!
Happy Anniversary!
Chris left again last Friday for a 4.5 month deployment, so the kids and I have started another countdown.
I'd like to take credit for this idea, but the wives' club is actually who dropped this off at my door. I only altered it a little so both kids could be involved.
The kids wasted no time digging in to see what was in that bag!
A Jelly Belly Jar! Originally, the jar had one jelly belly for each day Chris was gone. I got some more jelly bellies, so now there are 2 for each day Chris is gone.
Each day the kids get to eat just one jelly belly a piece, and when the jar is empty, Daddy will be home! How great is that? The jelly bellies are appropriately red, white, and blue. The kids love the idea, but Jonathan is still upset every morning when I make him put his handful of jelly bellies back and take just one. Hopefully he catches on soon!
A neighbor asked me the other day, "So you're 28 weeks?" I corrected her and said, "No, just 26." Later that night I looked at the calendar and saw she was right, I was wrong. When I was pregnant with Clara I could tell you at any time how far along I was - to the day. Just goes to show it all changes 3rd time around.
So technically, I'm 28 weeks and 4 days. I look unmistakably pregnant now. A month ago, I'd mention it here or there out in town and people looked shocked and embarrassed they hadn't noticed on their own. I thought it was pretty obvious then, but wasn't at all offended no one seemed to notice. However, I don't know if it's the belly or the 'pregnancy waddle' that has replaced my normal walk, but no one's missing it now. I occasionally get some minor swelling at this point in my ankles. Not much -- in fact, sometimes I wonder if it's swelling, weight gain, or just my mind playing tricks on me because it's that slight. My leg joints ache and I get leg cramps fairly often. Pregnancy simply doesn't agree with my body, but I'm happy to go through it all this one last time. Really, I can't complain if these are my worst symptoms at this point. Thankfully the summer heat hasn't hit yet, I think we're actually in the low to mid '70's today. My exhaustion seems to have subsided some and the nausea is still long gone. Surprisingly enough, I'm still able to sleep on my tummy, though I fear that won't last much longer. It's still usually pretty comfortable for me, but sometimes the baby takes objection and kicks until I move onto my side. Just within the last week the baby seems to have started moving a good deal more, and not in the fun 'Aww, how magical!' kind of way; more in the 'That feels weird, please stop kicking me' way in which you can see my belly going into convulsions with each of the baby's movements.
My next routine doctor's appointment is on Friday the 12th, but this Monday, the 8th, is when I get to go meet the little guy in 4D -- so exciting!!!!! I also get to go do the routine test for pregnancy diabetes this week. Many women dread that one, because they don't like the taste of that orange soda drink they make you take. I don't mind it's flavor though, and I look forward to taking along a book and having some quiet time to myself while I have to wait that hour to get my blood drawn - the inlaws will be here to watch the kids!
So here I am at 28 weeks. I've gained about 21lbs so far, so I don't think I'm on the small side anymore!
Once again, Jonathan wanted Clara to take a pic of his 'baby belly' too. He finally has begun to talk about his 'baby brother', and share in some of the excitement, but I know he still doesn't understand. The other day in Target, he told me he had a baby in his belly and later that day he and Clara took turns sticking a stuffed animal under their shirts to prove it. He's more attentive to babies when we see them around town and has even stopped pleading with me to 'Give it back!' when I hold the neighbor's new baby. There may be hope -- though I think he's still going to have the biggest adjustment.
My main man!
The photo shoot quickly shifted to super hero poses -- here's Spiderman...
...and Superman...
Not to be outdone, Clara passed the camera off so she could get in a princess pose! Clara's excited as ever about being a big sister again. My only concern with her is that she'll try to help too much. For example trying to pick the baby up or feeding the baby when I'm in the shower. We've already begun talks with both kids about things that can and cannot be done either at all, or without parental supervision. I look forward to letting Clara help more this time around, as she's excited about the prospect, but I think she one of those kids that may easily start to belive she's 'mommy #2', so hopefully we'll find the right balance.
I started to pull out Clara's old clothes and separate out Jonathan's for the baby. I have kept pretty much all of the kids clothes from day one and just stored them in those big 45 gallon Rubbermaid containers. After separating the boys clothes out from girls clothes, I found that I had 3 of those containers full of Clara's old clothes and only one of Jonathan's! Looking at Clara's old clothes got me emotional, thinking about how little she was and how cute those things were on her, how fast she's grown, places and times she wore certain outfits. I didn't expect to cry, but I did. Chris kinda laughed at me in an understanding sort of way and offered to try again and maybe end up with another girl (that part was sarcasm, I'm sure). We're both content stopping at 3, neither of us really has a desire to go for 4 kids and I know that we have no need for Clara's old clothes anymore. I always thought women were foolish when they cried over giving away old baby items, maybe that's just because I haven't really had to get rid of anything yet...it's just not as easy as you may think when it's your memories you're letting go of.
