This baby's half way done baking!

Yesterday I had my 20-week ultrasound. Baby Spaid is: healthy, BIG, and a BOY!!!
Praise the Lord we are having a boy! I am still in shock. I would've been happy with a little girl, too, but wow, a B-O-Y.

Most of my friends kept saying it would probably be a boy, and I felt like it might be since this pregnancy has been so different, but all that just made me think that we MUST be having a girl if I was so sure it was a boy. So even though I had some intuition about baby being a boy, I shoved it aside.

The following photo is a little blurry, but it's the money shot. Baby, I hope you forgive me for posting your business, albeit an ultrasound photo. We are just so excited to know that you're a boy.
Tyler and Maggie went with me to the appointment. When the Tech announced it was a boy, I started crying (of course), Tyler grinned but was in a general state of shock, and Maggie said "But I wanted a little sister! Hmpf!" and got a sour look on her face. For months now Maggie has said that the baby would be a girl, and that she was going to call her Annie. She also said Annie would have red hair - and I'm pretty sure Maggie's only seen the movie one time. So the fact that the baby ended up being a boy was a nasty shock to her system. After several more minutes of watching the baby on the ultrasound screen, she did soften up and was alright with having a baby brother.

The tech said the baby - we do not have any names picked out yet - was measuring quite big and changed my due date by 8 days, from March 9th to March 1st, my birthday! That would be a great birthday present. As I would like to attempt a regular birth (not a repeat c-section) I sure hope that the baby comes a little earlier and doesn't get gargantuan.

Also, the first ultrasound picture at the top was the best profile picture they printed for me. And you can't really see the side profile of the face as well as I would have liked. During the scan, the baby was hiding his little head and it was hard to get a look at, but they did one pass over his side profile and his face looked EXACTLY like Maggie's side profile pictures, little scoopy button nose and everything. It stole my heart!

Kitty Go Bye-Bye

Blitz had been acting funny the past two weeks, so I took him to the vet. He ended up having multiple problems that the vet said could not be resolved. Blitz did not get to come home with us, and took a special trip to the back room with the vet instead. Maggie was with me at the appointment, and did really well when I explained all that was going on and why Blitz would not be coming home. She did not cry when it was time to say good-bye, I on the other hand needed several tissues.

You are probably getting sick of them...

But I am not. I ventured onto the deck with Maggie to take these shots. I hope they get used to me enough that I can feed them when they stop by our yard. I love those silly turkeys!

Somebody hand me a tissue!

Dear Maggie,

In the past month you have grown up so, so much. Too much! You are starting to sound like a regular kid, not my preschooler. And now you want to do so many things on your own, without my help. Who said you may make your own PB&J, even if you know how? Or do the scooping when we made chocolate no-bakes? As much as I want to take back that knife and wrench the scooper out of your hand, I know it's time for you to stretch your independent little wings and do things on your own.

I know that doesn't mean you will start brushing your teeth voluntarily, or making your bed without being asked, but I am amazed to see how much you are growing and becoming more and more a real person, less like the baby/toddler/preschooler I have known and loved. And, soon, you will be a real big sister. I can't wait to see how much more you will grow when this new baby arrives. I've treasured all the years I've had you to myself, and though I am excited about this new little one, I am a little sad that things are going to change. But change is good, and so we move forward.

You will always be my baby, even if you won't let me call you that anymore.
Love, Mama

When Going to Other People's Houses, It's Important to Pack Light

Or, in Maggie's case, to bring every item that she thinks she can't live without for several hours. This time around she brought 4 bags of stuff that I just didn't have time to persuade her to leave at home. Although I did remind her that if she did leave any of those items at the person's house we were not driving back to get them.

There have been several instances of toys being left behind. It's not pretty. But I've stuck to my word, we do not go back to get them, and just hope that the sitter or whoever sees said toy and brings it the next time we see them!

Weekend Fun

A couple of weeks ago our church had an evening picnic and concert. I thought it was a lot of fun! They played music from the 50's to the present. Tyler ran the spotlight atop a rickety set of scaffolding.
Maggie loved getting a balloon animal and the picnic dinner...
But not the music. This was the nicest of her faces for the rest of the evening. All other faces were accompanied by "I don't like this music, can we go home yet?" At the time I think she was coming down with a little cold, so Maggie and I packed it up early and went home just after it got dark. Also, she was terrified of even the smallest of flying bugs, even though she had bug spray on.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

New last section of our development has gone in, and with it a fairly flat stretch of road! Zayli and family came over Labor Day weekend for dinner and we went for our first ride. Maggie has been fairly terrified of her bike since we live on a hilly road. Having a friend there to encourage her and show her it's OK was awesome. Now that the evenings are cooler, we've been taking her out a lot more, too.
This new stretch is off the main street, so my hope is after it's built up it will still be bike-friendly. And that by that time Maggie will no longer be scared of hills.
Here she is trying SO hard. She looks so much older here - no longer my baby or toddler - but a real "big kid." Seems like yesterday she just learned to crawl, and tomorrow she'll be getting her driver's license.

12 Weeks

Still tired most of the time. Life has slowed down quite a bit, but I do have some weddings in the near future. I am still taking naps most days, which I know is a luxury, but I am so glad Maggie still naps! I have greatly decreased my computer time, so that's one reason the blog is behind, so check below, I did a lot of updating this evening.

Morning sickness still comes and goes. I don't have constant nausea like I did with Maggie, but this time around it attacks quickly and with stealth. I am especially sensitive to all kinds of smells, and thoughts (yes, thoughts) about food. So that makes it hard to eat - the thought of most food makes me gag and almost throw up. The smell of most foods makes me feel sick to my stomach. I will say that I have a weakness for good deli-meat sandwiches (lysteria fears be darned - I'm eating it anyway this time around) and, strangely enough, cheese and potatoes. Even plain, undoctored, boiled potatoes. Could eat copious amounts for every meal. And I am finding new ways to get my veggies in since the very thought of having to cook them makes me gag. No joke. It is just so bizarre. I don't remember having this many aversions with Maggie.

Those of you that know me well know I am never far from a can of diet Dr Pepper. I can't stand the stuff right now - it makes me have heartburn and tastes gross. I look at the cases in the pantry longingly, and I tried one the other day, and I just can't drink it. BIZARRE!

OK, enough about me. Check out this amazing illustration of what baby #2 looks like right now (from babycenter.com)
The baby is about 2 1/2 inches crown to rump, and weighs about 1/2 ounce. So, so tiny and beautiful.

Now if only I was as thin as the model...

Beautiful Creation

Look at this sunset! The summer storm abated a couple hours before sunset and look at that! I love the clouds peeling back and the sun peeking out. Amazing.

The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

In the Lines

This past year has been frustrating at times with Maggie wanting to learn how to write, use scissors, color in the lines, etc. She has inherited some bad traits from both Mommy and Daddy (as children, we're not like that now, right?) - like if she can't do it right the first time she just gives up. I cannot tell you how often I have had to say to her "You have to practice if you want to learn... Not everything is going to be easy, so you have to practice... You have to practice, practice practice (I even have a song about it)."

So it is difficult "sometimes" to try to teach her how to do something that takes a lot of work, effort and practice. No amount of happy encouragement from us seems to make any difference. Perseverance is so hard to teach!

At this point she can write her name and most letters and can cut with scissors - each time she went through many days of frustration on each ability until she decided she could do it herself and to her satisfaction. But coloring in the lines has been the biggest challenge to date. Most of her friends are at least 6 months older, and their development/motor skills are ahead 6 months, so when she sees that they can do it and she could not, her frustration comes to a head and she ends up angrily scribbling on her papers and often takes them right to the trash.

Well: Last week she declared she can now color in the lines (whereas 2 weeks ago all she would bring home from Mother's Day Out and Sunday School were scribbled pages) and does a great job!
This kitty is still a calico, but it's all in the lines.
I am pleased that now she is happy to color, mostly staying in the lines all the time now, and not getting frustrated when she makes a small mistake.