Recipe for a grumpy pregnant lady

1. Start with everyday responsibilities from typical job duties.
2. Add a load of stress from househunting.
3. Mix in a week's worth of lack of sleep.
4. When a long night's sleep in eminent and possible, toss in 1,000 firecrackers until 1 a.m.

Simmer over low heat, allowing to stew until the pot boils over.

Today, we lost our Princess

Our sweet kitty, Cleo, will be missed. She always greeted us as we came home each evening and made sure we didn't miss important morning appointments, like her feeding. She loved her peeps & all our friends and wasn't afraid to show it. She made me love better & kept me warm on cold winter nights.

She was with us for 15 years. We loved her and her cuddly ways.

Show us the junk

Today we had our 3rd ultrasound, which is typically most people's first. We had an uber-groovy midwife who let us take a quick peek at about 8 weeks, then one to check for abnormalities at 12 weeks ('cuz I'm old, don't ya know), and today's which was to check on lots of things, but they can tell you the SEX! (We figured why not find out? Non-invasive, the information is there, and, well, why not?)

Back at 12 weeks... The Lounger pose

So, got gooped up and watched the images on the black & white screen this morning. Scan the spine - strong bones going on in there. Never really thought about it, but the other scans didn't have such pronounced BONES! Spine, skull, femurs, radii, ulni, all looking good in there! But legs are crossed, so no quick peek here.

Scan the brain lobes, the 4 heart ventricles (heart rate at 148bps), the stomach, the kidneys, all good looking internal organs. Still no view of the "external organ." Poke, prod, make sure the tech got all the things the Docs need. The arms are moving around -- oh, almost gets the hand to the mouth! Do we get a glimpse of first thumb sucking? No. This kid ain't up for command performances.

See... cute nose & lips, and doin' the hand jive.

Check out mom parts. And back to some serious searching for more kid parts. The tech points out the umbilical cord, says "but that's not cord. I'm going to go out on a limb and say its a boy."

"'Out on a limb?!' What? We need more than 'out on a limb'" Scan, poke another angle.

"Oh yeah, that's scrotum and penis. I'm 99% sure it's a boy." That's a tech for you. Can't give a 100%, but we saw it, too!

Looking up from below!

We're really happy. Papa was so excited he just grinned from ear to ear, even though he was betting on a girl all along.

So, we got the information. But, something really strange and unexpected happened with the new knowledge. (Remember, we are totally excited to have a boy; the thought of a girl was honestly scary for me). But as soon as I knew, I didn't want to know any more. There was a little part of me that was strangely sad. What? I shouldn't be feeling like this. It took me a minute to figure out why. Suddenly, there was no more possibility of a girl. That little bit of a dream is closed now. Dreams I didn't even know had been forming. The vision of Papa's Little Girl was vivid - that's the kind of Papa he would be.

At first, I wasn't sure I was happy that we had decided to find out. But, the information is settling. And, don't worry, we have lots of dreams left for a little boy. I just had to mark the moment of a new phase of this crazy adventure.

Today, our Little Doodle became a Little Dude.

Lake 22 at 21 weeks

Yesterday, toured a birthing facility and I think I am bigger than those at 36 weeks! Anyway, here's a pic, so you can be the judge. Big lesson for the day was: dinner can't wait until 8pm. Bad, bad, bad. But that was yesterday :)

Today was fabulous! Took a hike to Lake 22 and made myself laugh out loud when I thought "Lake 22 to celebrate week 21." Well, I was entertaining myself. It was gorgeous up there. At 2500' it was the perfect time of year to see the last of the snow melt. I watched the falls as they came crashing down from the 3500' cliff. Or, if you like the small things in life, lots of avalanche lilies popping from under the remaining snow patches.

Lucky to have such a nice day on a day off. Felt really good, except I'm pretty out of shape. Sorry no pics :(

Feeling Strong Now....

... Whoa! Little Doodle has graduated from the so-called popcorn effect to outright ACTION today! I think he is no longer exploring his space, but trying to expand the limits.

Speaking of "expansions," this week begins the foray into maternity clothes as my standard wardrobe is magically shrinking. Thanks to AH for the first few items... I've worn those cute pants twice already this week.

All for now!

House Building 101

My man has been in log home building school for 3.5 weeks now. He's becoming quite the master. Here are a few of the pics he's sent. Will try posting more when he gets home.

Mike's first corner notch.

"OK. Now DO IT!"

Grandpa Bob holding his own.

Breaking the Silence

So, the blog has been dormant, because, really there has been one major thing going on, but we were keeping quiet. Being nearly 40, we were silently waiting out the first trimester. And it took that long to get over the shock.

I was really quite sick for the past few months, so didn't feel like doing much of anything (like writing) anyway. But, now I feel great and, apparently, so does "Little Doodle." He has begun making his presence known more politely now. (Before it was just a lot of time spent over the toilet.) Now, he is giving little nudges and pokes, barely noticeable, but definately there. Getting to be just about every day now that he reminds me my largesse is actually his temporary home/incubator.

In a week or so, we'll find out if I have to quit calling Little Doodle "him." If he cooperates, then we'll be able to end the Adams-Jones feud :) All the Adamses think it'll be a girl and all the Joneses think it'll be a boy. The divide is alive and well in our house, too. But, "we'll be happy with either..."