Cherry Pie, Being Seen, Toddler Beds, Feeling Green

Children,

Your mother's cravings continue to amaze. The other night she took a big breath in and said 'MMM...cherry pie!' I have no clue what she was smelling because I was making noodles. The good news is though, even though the first trimester blues has your Mom feeling a little green, she's feeling a little better.

She actually went to the store to get her own late-night craving. Also, the instructions were too complicated for me to follow: "cherry pie that is like flaky on top but not too thick and is ready instantly."

She found Mrs. Smith.

And Mrs. Smith treated your Mommy very well.
You might be wondering where your Mom is putting all this food...well, it's a lot of effort to build a new little Weinstein, so that's where it's headed.

And I do declare, your Mom is 'showing' already! Check it out: Here is the last picture of her - at week 10.5 - with her long hair.

This is going to be a rough summer. We're already in the high 80s and your Mom just couldn't take the heat anymore. So she chopped her hair off. I couldn't be a posed picture for the "after" view, but you'll notice in the following pictures that her hair is much shorter. I'm working on getting your Mom to pose for the belly pictures we did during Aidan's pregnancy. But every time I ask her to take a picture, she gets a little more green...you'll understand more later. But don't worry: we're starting tonight, with Week 11.



Okay, I'm going on the record here: I'm thinking that you, little one, are going to be Aidan's little SISTER. I'm officially thinking that you're going to be a girl. The cravings, the nausea, the way she's carrying you are all so much different that with you, Aidan.

Plus the Chinese Gender calculator predictor nonsense says you're a girl, little one. But it also predicted Aidan would be a girl. And he's definitely not. He's a boy.

And in fact, this weekend, Aidan, you got to take another big step toward being a big boy!

We did some re-arranging and bed trading and wound up with a toddler bed. You were super excited by this development and, after you got over being upset that we weren't going to let you just play on the wooden frame and that you couldn't lift the mattress off yourself (and no one was going to help you do it, despite your multiple requests for "halp...halp"), you really liked your bed. You stand on it to look out the window, you crawl up on it to sit. You brought some snacks up on it to eat while relaxing. And you called it "bed."

With this kind of reaction to the toddler bed, we thought we'd give napping in it a try.

So we tucked you in and sang to you as usual, and you were just really excited to be in the toddler bed.

I gotta be honest, I had my doubts that you, such an excited little boy, would fall asleep on the toddler bed. But, low and behold, you took a good, long 1.5 hour nap on your big boy bed.
Your Mom and I were so proud of you. But, of course, not being caged in a crib makes for an eventful time when you woke up. Your Mom was napping while I was outside doing yard work with Pops. Your Mom said she awoke with a start when she heard your familiar loud-stomping through the house. You just got up, crawled out of bed and decided to go to the living room and check out what was going on out the window. I guess you had places to go! You're getting so grown up, Aidan; but it's a good thing you've still go lots of room to grow.

And speaking of growth, little one, you are now 11 weeks along and you're the size of a LIME! (no wonder your Mom's feeling green!) I can hardly remember when it was lime time for you, Aidan!

Your head is the same size as you body, and your fingers and toes are no longer webbed. You're working on growing hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds. That sounds like a lot of work indeed. No wonder your Mom's a bit soured on making lime-ade out of these limes. She's feeling better, but sometimes, Pregnant Mommy feels so green that she says hilarious things.

The best line of the pregnancy thus far happened in our kitchen. I'm trying to have a conversation with your Mom, asking her question after question...with no response. Finally I stop and realize I'm talking to myself and say..."hello?"

Your mom looks up at me, lookin' pretty green and says "answering questions makes me sick."

We eventually had a great laugh over that one, and a great weekend playing outside with you Aidan, and watching you grow inside, Little One.

So, a week of hair cuts, cherry pies, new beds, new aversions (questions...who knew?) were just what the doctor ordered.

We've got a big boy and a bitty baby bump on our hands; and we're loving every second of it. As long as pie or strawberries and nutella or mangos or almond milk are readily and as long as no body ends a sentence with a question mark.

Any questions?

Nasty Nausea and Late Night Cravings

What do Arby's, Chocolate Milk, Pumpkin Seeds, Pistachio Ice Cream, Jolly Ranchers, Almond M&Ms, Ginger Ale, Bagels and Matzah Pizza have in common?

These are your mother's recent cravings, some of which represent late-night-in-pajamas Kroger visits or early-morning in-pajamas Einstein's trips or cold-and-rainy-grocery visits.

Some of them are also, purportedly, homeopathic/sweet tooth nausea remedies.

But, really, your brother, mother and I are just hoping that once the first trimester passes that the nausea will too. Because, for the love of all that's holy, we need our Holly back!

She's laid up on the couch like she's got some 18th century epidemic, and the only thing that can save her is...pumpkin seeds...the David brand...at 9:30 at night. Oh, but those only work for a bit, and by the next day, the pumpkin seeds might as well be poison.

So, I've been eating them. I assume I'll eat the M&Ms and other items too. Sympathize with me for future sympathy weight.

You are 8 weeks old and 2 days. You are the size of a raspberry!My sources tell me that your fingers and toes are now only slightly webbed and your cute little tail is now gone altogether. The source also says that you're moving your tiny arms and legs like crazy, but that your mother can't feel it yet.

I beg to differ: from the amount of seasickness we've got in this house, I'd say something's making a wave pool in your Mom's belly! But, that's okay- that's what you're supposed to be doing!

As for me? Well, I'm moving my arms and legs like crazy too: walking through the grocery store and waving my arms at the aisles until everything your mother's craving is in the basket!

update: as the weekend progressed I went back to Kroger's for Almond Milk, Mangoes, Fruit Leather, Plums (which I forgot), more Almond Milk, Almond Butter and Rice Cakes.

And then the other night you mother asks me "would it be too much trouble to make an apple crumble?" So, I baked.

At least I didn't have to go to the store!

Emergency Cravings: The Golden Chick-et

Yesterday, your mother and I arrived in the driveway at the same time.

She needed fried chicken and mashed potatoes in her system immediately.

I told her I could look up a recipe really quickly and go to the store.

But she told me she didn't want real food. She wanted, in her words, 'crap.'

You know, the mashed potatoes made by adding water.

So I quickly rescued Aidan from her car while she sped off to the nearest Golden Chick.



About 25 minutes later, after your brother and I had started making our dinner and played outside, your Mother returned home, with an empty bag of Golden Chick remnants and crumbs.

She said she drove almost like a maniac (without breaking any speed laws) to Golden Chick, ordered in a daze and then began devouring the food the second they handed it to her. I can only imagine her shoving handfuls of mashed potatoes and gravy in her mouth while driving. Or perhaps she used the chicken fingers as some sort of utensil.

We'll never know.

She felt human again, and swiftly fell asleep on the couch.

This pregnancy is awesome!

Pickles, Cravings (and Ravings of a Super-Powered Olfactory)

Your Mom's pregnancy continues to go swimmingly- all signs point to a strong, healthy pregnancy.

Unfortunately, this means a bit of an irrational, weak, odd Mommy!

I came home from work on Friday and your Mom was starving. She wanted burgers. And only burgers. So, we went off to burgers.

(Aidan, you did really well at the burger place- chowing down on some free Sweet Potato chips while we stood in line (so much so, that the cashier gave you your own basket of them to enjoy!); you ate almost a whole 1/2 pound patty, vegetables and pickles, pickles, pickles!! But, you're not the only one in the family who loves pickles. Your brother or sister (and your mom)love pickles too. I like them as well, but this ain't about me.)

Your Mom notified me that for lunch on Friday she literally craved and ate the ultimate in cliche pregnancy dishes: pickles and ice cream. Pistachio ice cream. And cottage cheese. And then bagel bites.


2/26/2012:



The cravings are coming fast and furious. One minute she's chowing down on some Long John Silvers, the next she's got the shiver-me-timbers. "As long as I'm eating, " your mommy said, "the nausea goes away." So eat she does.

On Saturday your Mom craved again. This time it was for...wait for it...dill pickle flavored ice cream from this store at the mall. So, we wound up at the mall, and until she got said popcorn, the only word she could say was "popcorn."

A sample conversation went like this:

Aaron: Ooh, this color suit looks good. What do you think?
Holly: Popcorn.
Aidan: Mama?
Holly: Popcorn.
Aaron: Where are we going?
Holly: Popcorn.
Aaron: Can we stop at H&M on the w--
Holly: Popcorn.

So, luckily, before our conversations got any better, the got a large bag of the stuff. It's quite gross. It tastes like 'scratch and sniff pickle' flavoring was dumped all over a bag of popcorn. Your brother loved it, though. Your mom loved it, and ate piece after piece for a few hours. But, the next day, she couldn't even look at the stuff.

The craving was leaving. On top of the cravings, we also have some ravings. She's not mad, your mother; just nauseus and trying to cope...by buying and wearing special nausea-lessening black wrist bands. Fashion statement aside...she's wearing wrist bands! I was 'uncool' when I wore my awesome wristbands that came with my long-gone Scion XD. But your Mom makes them look...cool...crazy cool. But, apparently, the pressure points on the bottom of the wrist DO help relive nausea...or at least the placebo works. Because, she's not as sick!

But, the pregnancy has continued to heighten her sense of smell. Which isn't good because your brother's been sick, and been on these super sweet-tasting antibiotics which do wonders to...well...doo. Luckily, I was able to change most of these not-so-good-nappies over the weekend...but she might just have to pull her shirt up over her nose if it happens while I'm at work.

But that might not help either. All day yesterday she was going crazy, and actually a bit upset, because Aidan had lost his 'smell.' "He smells like daycare, doesn't he? And it's making me sick! Smell him! Smell Aidan!" Between diapers and daycare, you might think your brother stinks- but he most certainly does not (okay, well, diapers don't smell great, but that's universal). While folding towels later that evening, your mom's super sleuthing nose later discovered that it was, in fact, the laundry detergent that was upsetting the sensitive smeller.

So, between shielding a direct line between my outward breaths while talking, thinking Aidan lost his smell and telling me that the dogs need baths badly (which they do), noone in the Weinstein household is safe from the ravings of the super-powered smeller!

Hopefully you're enojying your accomodations though-- from the way your mom is nauseating and smelling, it seems that you've settled in quite nicely to your womb room and made yourself quite at home.

You are about 6 weeks along now, and about the size of a sweet pea.



Although things aren't smelling so sweet out here (to some of us), we just can't stop thinking about you.

Just like Starting Over

Little One, remember when I said this might be a Potbelly Pregnancy?

Well, what they say about parents forgetting all about pregnancy being the only way they would do it over again may have a grain of truth to it.

Your Mom has remembered the basics and is mastering them: the nausea is back with a vengeance, the cravings are coming fast and furious, but causing more nausea and she has to pee quite frequently.

But, we forgot some of the finer details like: deli meat bad for pregnant ladies!

Oops! Don't worry, you'll be perfectly fine. Only 3 delicious Wreck sandwiches before we recalled that deli meat rule. But, it's better safe than sorry.

So, on Sunday, your mother, brother and I ventured back to our old stomping grounds, where we hadn't been for at least 2 weeks: Freebirds, home of the pregnant woman's favorite chicken quesa-ritto. Oh, and Long John Silver's too.

And today your Mom craved and at Deep-fried God-knows-what at Long John Silvers.

So, we forgot about the deli meat. But, we forgot how triumphant the minor victories and news updates along the way make us feel.

Your Mom got blood work done at your first sonogram, and then again 5 days later. We got the results yesterday: the hormone levels rose from 5,000 to 18,000! I don't really know exactly what that means, but it feels like cause for celebration because, generally, it means we're right on track, you're growing like crazy and week 6 is a good week. (Edit: Dr. Bertrand later told us that those numbers showed 'every indication of a healthy pregnancy'...so...pretty much exactly what I said!)

Even with the nausea. And the dead-end cravings ("I'm starving, but nothing sounds good!). And the near vomiting. And the soreness. And the exhaustion. And the nausea...and that's just how I'M feeling!

These are all signs, along with the bloodwork, that you've left the starting blocks and are right on track for your 9-month marathon.

And for all the little milestones along the way, we'll be there, cheering you along and cheering for ourselves too.

Who knew that starting over could be the greatest thing since sliced bread (hold the meat).

Potential Potbelly Pregnancy

Well, let's see here. When we were pregnant with you, Aidan, your Mom had to have Freebirds Burritos nearly every weekend.

Two weekends ago, around when we first found out, we had Potbelly's Sandwiches.

Then last weekend, we had to have Potbelly Sandwiches again.

Today confirmed it. Your Mom was starving and she had to have- you guessed it- Potbelly's!

You may just be a Potbelly Pregnancy, Little One!



Let's just hope that the title of the sandwich shoppe isn't a diagnosis of what sympathy eating will do to expectant fathers.

(For the record, last week I had a salad. This week, your mom had a "BIG" sandwich...I just had the regular sized one...you know...for the record.)

Oh what a difference 20 weeks makes

20 weeks ago your Mom was 11 weeks pregnant. And my what a difference 20 weeks can make.

20 weeks ago it was mid August and very nice temperatures outside. Everyone was comfortable. Your Mom was hot. Today it is early January and we are in the middle of the coldest winter streak Dallas has had for a long time. The high today was 30 degrees. Everyone is freezing. Your Mom is finally comfortable. Temperature-wise.



20 weeks ago your Mom reported raging cravings. Now I can report of your Mom's raving rages! Well, they're not really rages, but due to hormones, she can't really seem to help being easily agitated and, therefore, snapping at anyone who annoys her. This is not good for me, as the "A" in "Aaron" (the second one) actually stands for "annoying." But, seriously, sometimes there is no logic to her snapping. For instance, while we were driving to the doctor for this morning's appointment at 9 am, I decided to chime in with Boston (playing on the radio) and hit the high note in "More than a Feeling." This was interpreted by your Mother as "yelling in the car," and I was told that it was far to early for such behavior. Talk about irrational hormonal anger!

20 weeks ago your Mom and I were shivering in our (metaphorical) boots. We were uninformed, mostly scared about how to care for a baby and what kind of parents we'd be. Today we're shivering in our (real) boots (or at least I am, your mother seems to think that 20 degrees is the new 50 (see above)), but we're only kinda scared now. In fact, we're mostly ready for you to come out and meet us!

20 weeks ago your Mom could see her feet. Today, well, you get the picture.
20 weeks ago your nursery was a dining room. Today the old dining room is almost a nursery, the old record stand between the windows is a dining room, the old unused space by the front door is now where the record player stays, the old coat closet is a bass closet, the old bass closet is a nursery closet and the old nook under the stairs is a coat closet. And we're not even closet cases yet.

And in less than 6 weeks, now, you could be born!

Stuffed...

It's now week 26....Under 100 days left until you arrive! And your Mommy and I are continuing to grow more and more excited...and your Mommy is continuing to grow and grow.

We're safely in the middle of the 6th month now, and I just read that the 6th month is the time of greatest growth for your Mommy's belly.

And that couldn't have come at a better time of year. Your Mom and I both LOVE Thanksgiving, not only for the family, but mostly for the food said family makes!



We had the pleasure of having Thanksgiving dinner once with our friends...

...once again with your Mom's side of the family in Sulphur Springs (at your Great Grandma's house)..

... and Twice with the Weinstein side in Houston at your Uncle Taff and Aunt April's house.

Now, I must admit, it's hard to not get stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving...and I certainly had my fill.

But, with all the Turkey, cranberry sauce, hot rolls, sweet potato souffle (made from sweet potatoes in our garden!), stuffing, olive salad, deviled eggs, pumpking pie, coconut cream pie and pumpkin rolls (made by your Mom, herself), your Mom and I both agree that Thanksgiving dinner(s) was major fuel for you to grow--

Subsequently, your Momma's belly definitely had a growth spurt this weekend!


I don't think the people who wrote these pregnancy books banked on the 3rd week of the 6th month landing on Thanksgiving. Instead of it being the month of your Mom's biggest belly growth, it may just have been the biggest growth of the pregnancy in one week!

Or maybe we were just both stuffed!

Sugar, Sugar!

If the past month of sweet treats has taught me anything, it's that your Mother is NOT diabetic, or she would have needed some sort of major insulin shot by now, after candy, ice cream cake, pie and cookies galore.

But, nevertheless, we went to the Doctor yesterday for our 24 week checkup and they had to make sure that your Mom didn't have pregnancy diabetes. The test was pretty fun (for me anyway).

They gave your Mom a pretty big bottle of orange liquid and say "you have 5 minutes to drink this."

Apparently it was like pure sugar and your Mom said it tasted like flat orange soda.

The nurse said sometimes it gives people the jitters, like a sugar high.

And, no, they wouldn't give me one at all!

After the first couple sips your Mom said "it's not too bad!"

A few sips later her opinion had migrated elsewhere. "This burns."

And with about a quarter of the bottle left and a minute and a half to go, she asked if she had time to take a break before finishing the chemically-orange liquid.

But, she did finish it before the 5 minute time frame was up. The nurse told me to "watch [your Mom]...she may get shaky." And watch her I did.

So, an hour after downing the drink, she had to get blood drawn to test the ol' levels.

Your Mom's tummy hurt. And, when she was told that she couldn't drink or eat anything in the hour between drinking and testing, she decided that she was starving to death. That's the power of suggestion in action!

In the meantime, though, we met with Dr. Hagood and had a stellar appointment. It was just heart-beat checking again, and your heart sounded great!

It was about 147 beats per minute, which was slower than we'd ever heard it.

But the Doctor said not to worry, because the heartbeat really just depends on what we catch you doing.

And sure enough, right after she said that, you bolted and she had to chase you around your Mom's tummy (probably the sugar drink kicking in). Once she found you, your heart beat was back up to 160 bpm-- racing as you were chasing!

The Doc measured your Mom's belly and sent us on our way.

All in all, it was a perfectly uneventful appointment, but your Mom might not be drinking Orange Soda, Orange Gatorade or Orange Juice for a while.

And, after dinner last night she didn't have cravings for any candy.

Maybe this Glucose test Sugared your Mom all out!

The test will come in less than a week: Thanksgiving is coming, and Thanksgiving means PIE!

Rippling, Believe it or Not

A Pic from Week 23

Last night, I was up checking on the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies in the oven (that's right: cherry pie was out, cookies were in) when your Mom yelled, "Aaron, Come see this!"

And, like a true athlete, I dashed to her side in one fluid motion. She was staring down at her belly...watching you move!

She said she'd seen you move a little bit before, but tonight you put on a show! For about 10 minutes you seemed to be playing with us, rolling around, sticking out your limbs, turning around or something. Actually, we don't know what you were doing in there, because from the outside it looks like a series of pronounced subcutaneous jabs, spasms and ripples. Kind of like when in any good science fiction/fantasy movie a water monster slithers just over the surface of the water and then dives back down. Or kind of like a little alien possessing her tummy, tunneling under the skin. But, of course, it wasn't creepy like monsters and aliens...it's just other worldly and altogether impossible to describe.

It was amazing just sitting there watching you pop and kick and bounce and just cause ripples all over your Mom's belly.

We grabbed the camera really quickly and attempted to take some videos of you moving, for posterity. But, the movements didn't come out too well on video-- and you seemed to shy up when you knew you were being watched. But I think I captured 3 good movements on film, though I know there will be more displays to come. And now, dim the lights, get the popcorn, and watch the magic! (please note that any magic flashing colors are actually the lights of the TV flickering, not actual magic)

We both got the impression that you're a playful little fella, just having a grand old time for 10 minutes or so...until you passed out.

Interestingly enough, after your 10-minute kick fest, your Mom was starving again! That must have taken a lot of energy to do all that dancing! But don't worry, 2 1/2 giant cookies and two glasses of milk later, everyone was happy and full.

And now, to check on the boss bump that all this pie, cookies and other goodies are helping to grow:

Week 24

So keep kicking away, young man, and we'll keep watching! (And then, after you kick, maybe you'll get a cookie too!)

(Is it wrong to train you to do what we want like we trained Toby and Preston? I haven't gotten to that chapter in the book yet; I'll let you know when I do!)

She's My...Cherry Pie

I don't know if its the fact that over the past months we watched a series called "Pushing Daisies" in which the main characters own and work in a pie restaurant called "The Pie Hole"...

Or if it's because we also recently watched a movie called "Waitress," in which a pregnant woman channels her emotions into delicious pies...

Or if it's just the fact that your Mom is pregnant and has a voracious appetited, but for the past 2 weeks she's been craving CHERRY PIE!

After every dinner she says stuff like "I sure WISH we had some Cherry Pie!"

Or "Why doesn't Dallas have a "Pie Hole" restaurant?"

Or "Do you know how to make Cherry Pie?"

Ice cream, while still consumed just won't do. Cake, which was purchased and presented for our anniversary, was devoured but forgotten. Cookies, no matter how delicious, just aren't cutting it. Even though most of the leftover Halloween Candy has eaten been, it just isn't satiating that need for pie.

So, on a trip to the grocery store, we recalled this pie purpose and Holly bought her very own frozen cherry pie.

Immediately after dinner on Monday night, your Mom finally got to satiate her craving:

The cherry pie went in the oven, and 55 minutes at 400 degrees later, pure bliss.

I may have even had a little slice too.

There's good news and bad news here: The good news is that there was enough pie left over for her to have some yesterday after dinner too.

The bad news is that it's now all gone. And tonight I'm bringing home a tub of cookie dough I purchased from a co-worker.

Either these White Chocolate Chip Macademia Nut Cookies will fill the void or we're gonna have to go the store and get another Cherry Pie.

Belly Science Experiments

Yesterday we ran the belly through a battery of standard scientific tests to check on the progress of the pregnancy. Please note, none of these tests were approved by a "medical" "doctor"

Test 1. Turkey Thermometer:

Belly Button Watch 2009: Day 3 Breaking News:

The belly button still looks like this:

(

That's right, it's still an inny!

Test 2. The Dark side of the Moon

The belly is growing by leaps and bounds! Your mom definitely can't see the underside of her tummy anymore. We tested this yesterday. And it's true. Let's just say that, somehow, your Mom managed to get some paint south of her belly button, on the underside of the tummy. I pointed it out to her and we had to set up an elaborate system of mirrors and smoke (for some reason) so she could see it. Who knows how long that paint had been there! There could be a paper clip or pencil or Russian army hidden under there, and she'd have no clue! It's a definite blind spot. Very hazardous for any man, woman or child (except for you) that may be hidden there.

Test 3. The Bounce House

We also performed a bounce test, to determine if the bump is, in fact, a "belly full of jelly" or a growing stone (which will gather no moss). To scienfically test this, we had your Mom do a gentle hop.

The belly seemed immune to the effects of inertia, force and most of Newton's Laws (though gravity may be kicking in soon enough). That is to say, the result showed NO JIGGLE.

That bump is more bump than belly. It's a solid protuberance of baby, and all baby!

Test 4: On the Road Again

Apparently the city of Dallas has decided that it's awesome to replace a whole lane of the major street near our house with an off-road style course consisting of gaping pot holes and gigantic chunks of concrete every where!

This makes for a bumpy road for anyone; but more specifically, this made for a bumpy road for you, the bump.

But you passed that test by doing what any sane person would do: kicking the person in front of you, rolling around and writing a letter to your local State Senator. A Strongly worded letter.

So, here is the summary of results of the baby belly tests:

1. Belly Button is still an Inny.
2. Don't get in the blind spot.
3. That's a solid baby bump, there.

4. Bumpy Roads Disturb the Bump.

As a reward for undergoing the belly tests, we rewarded both Baby and Mama with frozen yogurt and some left over anniversary cake (did I tell you that it was our 3rd wedding anniversary on Wednesday? No? Well, we celebrated in the normal Weinstein fashion: eating. I got two mini cakes from the same bakery that made our wedding cakes.... and your Momma and I devoured them). Then, as an extra reward, your Mom read some of "Lafcadio" out loud to you, so you could hear her voice.

Trust me, you hear mine enough.

I told you scientific experimentation would have its rewards! Oh, I didn't? Well, I meant to!

Belly Button Watch: Day 1 - Papaya and Jambalaya

Apparently you no longer grow from fruit-size to fruit-size every week from here on out. From weeks 21 to 24 you are the size of a papaya!

But, your Mother and I definitely aware that you're still growing day to day; you just won't be a new produce item each week!

In your first week as a papaya, your mother has become even more hungry than she was before. In fact, last night, she asked for a second bowl of Jambalaya. She never asks for a second bowl of Jambalaya!

And then after that was ice cream!

So, I totally don't believe that you've plateaued in growth. Mabye the Bump just ran out of fruit to compare babies to!

As another side effect of your growth, your mother's belly button has stretched out, become super shallow and now, your mother swears, that any day it's going to pop out from an inny to an outie.

So, I hereby begin Belly Button Watch 2009.

BBW 2009 - Day 1. Still an inny.

Your Mom has been really amazed by the progression of her belly button. The first day that she could see the bottom of it was a highlight of her day a few weeks ago. But maybe sooner than later, everyone will be able to see the bottom of it...because it will have poked out from one of these:

(

To one of these!

)

We'll keep you posted- maybe a few more helpings of Jambalaya will help this Papaya turn your Mother's Belly button inside out!

Spotlight On You

Yesterday Holly's boss generously gave us some tickets to see a Shakespeare play at the new theater downtown. Taking full advantage of not needing a babysitter and doing things on the whim, as we've been doing lately, we decided to go check it out and take you to your first work by the bard: A Mid Summer Night's Dream. You've really gotten a lot of culture recently!

And considering that, now at Week 22, you pretty much hear everything we hear, you've gotten quite an earful of iambic pentamter, opera and music as of late.

While the spotlight wasn't shining on us, you were kicking and squirming. The play was a lot of fun and well-done, but yours and your Mother's favorite part, by far, was probably during the intermission when she got to tear into that King Size Snickers that was burning a hole in her purse. I had to beg to even get a tiny bite! But, it's probably better that way, I had way too much candy over the weekend with Halloween and all (don't worry, I'll show you our awesome costumes later this week).

Later that night we had to put the spotlight on you to test something we'd read in one of the baby books. Apparently at week 22, although your eyes are fused shut and it's incredibly dark in the womb, you can still see some light-- and will react to it as well!

So, I warmed up the end of the Maglight, clicked it on and placed it on your Mom's belly.

Once we found you with the light, it almost felt like you were trying to punch it out! After a few kicks, though, you WHOOSHED to the other side of the belly. Your Mom giggled when you moved to the other side...it must have tickled.

I turned the flashlight off and was about to put it away, but then Holly took it from me. She wanted to feel you kick and move some more! So, the light went back on and you kicked and punched a few more times.

Eventually, though, we think you either found a good hiding spot or just decided to fall asleep in the light beam.

How many people get to say they shared the spotlight with Shakespeare?

Sound Activated

You've already been exposed to a lot of differing types of live music: Paul McCartney, Ben Folds, Opera, and my amazing singing. Well, as of last night, you can add one more to the list: Bluegrass.

For your Nannah Joon's birthday, we took her to see Steve Martin (the comedian/writer/actor/banjo-er) and the Steep Canyon Rangers perform last night. It was a toe-tappin, hootenanny of a good time.

And you must have either really loved it or really hated it, because you were kicking and turning the whole time...without your Mother having to wake you up to play with you!

I'm beginning to think you're sound activated! And I think that's sound thinking.

Since we've been pregnant we've been attending more concerts than we ever have before. We're pretty well known for being mostly lame...but being pregnant with you has lit a fire under our tushies to get out and take advantage of opportunities as they come up: hence Paul McCartney, Ben Folds and now Steve Martin. I don't know if it's our feeling that we'll need a babysitter in order to go out in the future or that we probably won't want to leave you (for a while anyway!), but in either case, we're having a lot of fun hitting the town.

Plus, it's a lot of fun to show the bump off to the entire world!

Your Nannah was smart, though, and brought snacks for your Mom. It was a good call- Holly got starving just as the concert was beginning and ate almost half a bag of Gummy Bears.

But all your kicking and dancing to the music must've taken a lot of energy from both of you, because as the show ended, your Mom could only talk about how hungry she was again! But, this time she didn't know what she wanted...

Did she want Nachos with the 7-11 sytle gross cheese? Yes.

Or just Queso? Yes also.

She didnt' want toast or cereal or mac-and-cheese.

When we got home she figured it out: warm milk with honey and a banana...another banana! But don't worry, that's not cannibalism, she's eating tons of fruit lately. She scarfed two pomegranates yesterday as well!

Something about Steve Martin's bluegrass music got your toes a tappin'...but moreso it got you and your Mother's stomachs a growlin'.

So our evening of finger-pickin' readily turned into a late night of finger-lickin'.

A Matter of Taste

At 21 weeks, you are officially the size of a banana: Over 10 ounces and 12.5 inches long, on average.

Well, techincally YOU are a banana!

One of the coolest things about being a banana (aka being 21 weeks "old") is that you are now TASTING. That's right, bud, your taste buds are now fully functional- and you are tasting whatever your Momma is eating!

Baby-rearing sources suggest eating a variety of foods while pregnant, since studies show that when you come out, you'll be most interested in food you've already experienced.

And, boy, did we hook you up yesterday. But the sensory overload wasn't just a tasting-adventure; you got fine dining AND fine arts.

As a birthday celebration, Mimi and Pops took us to see a matinee showing of the opera "Otello" (a hilarious comedy) at the brand new Winspear Opera house in Dallas. But before we went, your Mom packed a lunch for the road. This lunch consisted of a PB&J, an apple and pumpkin seeds. And more pumpkin seeds. And more pumpkin seeds. In fact, your Mom didn't stop eating until we got to the Opera house, which was a gorgeous building which, unfortunately, you couldn't see. But, you did get to hear some really loud classical music and operatic singing! And you reacted like crazy-- kicking and rolling and punching.

By the end of act I (aka 45 minutes later), your Mom was starving again. So we went to the concession bar and being faced with a designer "micro sandwich" for 6 bucks (a micro sandwich is even smaller than it sounds) and candy, your mother chose candy.

So, a half a box of chocolate-covered almonds later, we were back in the opera house.

Now, maybe you were just a little bit bored (like your Mother who was more fascinated by the new building and hall than that particular opera) or maybe you really liked loud, tragic song. But, by the end of it, you were most likely just kicking because your mom was playing with you.

Finding the "Moor" a bore, your Mom took to pushing gently on her belly to wake you up-- and you responded by kicking and turning and stretching. At least you were both entertained!

After the last curtain call, we headed to dinner at The Grape, where you had a very nice gourmet meal. For appetizer, you tried candied brie (which we made sure was pasteurized, so you'd be safe) with crackers and bread with butter. For dinner you had grilled beef tournedos, maitre d'butter, garlic-herb frites, bitter greens salad and a red-wine demi glace (that's gourmet talk for steak, with garlic fries and a salad). And for dessert, you had the apple pie with Heath bar ice cream.

So, sensory overload for you in the taste department- what a way to start using your taste buds!

But, of course, later that evening, your Mother was starving again and- low and behold- needed to eat...you guessed it...a banana. But I wouldn't be to worried about those cannibalism worries we had earlier. It's been weeks since she's craved the fruit that matches your weekly size.

In the end, though, no matter what you experience in utero, whether you like bananas or tournedos or the Bard or Turendot, it's all a matter of taste. And now that you have taste buds, you know what I'm talking about!

All's Fair in Love and Pregnancy: A Photo Pictorial

To celebrate our 20th week with you, and also to celebrate that the greatest of American ideals, gluttony, is acceptable while pregnant, we took a trip to the Texas State Fair.


Cravings aren't exclusive to the Pregnant Woman; the father to be gets them sometimes too. Let's just say that we both had dreams about Fletcher's Corny Dogs. And those dreams were fulfilled last Saturday.

Your Mom, You and me had a great time eating our way across the fair grounds, and putting you proudly on display.

We shared a Turkey Leg...

A corny dog...
A corn on the cob...


and for dessert, your Mom had a Caramel Apple...

While I went the more sensible route and had 4 deep fried Oreo cookies.

The Oreos were a horrible idea. But don't worry, we didn't just eat. We had to walk around to get to the different places to eat. So, we showed you off to Big Tex...

The Ferris Wheel...


And the Texas Discovery Gardens (which just so happens to be the place where your Mom and I got married!)

But don't think that this adventure to the Fair was a victimless adventure. The Belly, sticking out the way it does, got hit with a particularly juicy glob of caramel, much to your Mother's (pretend) dismay:

But perhaps the biggest victim of the day was me. Those Oreos did not quit torturing my stomach for about 24 hours. But they tasted so good going down...however, the second after consumption I realized I'd made a huge mistake. And my body was more than happy to remind me of it constantly... I think I was sweating fried Oreo out of every pore.

Needless to say, you're going to LOVE the fair!

The best part of this adventure, though, was the coda. Less than 2 hours after we left the fair grounds, your Mother announced that she was hungry. Me? I was still futilely fighting off the fried fair fare.

Sometimes it pays to be preggers!

Ice Cream and Odd Dreams

Last night after spaghetti dinner and a pomegranate and before the dried fruit, your Mom requested some ice cream. I gave her what was left of the Moolenium (less than a spoonful), and then started filling up her bowl with Bluebell's Chocolate Brownie Overload. The ice cream broke out in a giant clump, which, pre-pregnancy, she would have definitely refused. But yesterday was different.

Me: "Is this too much?"

Holly: "No way!"

Me: "Do you want more?"

Holly: "Oh yeah!"

So, I broke out two more big clumps of Chocolate Brownie Overload. Her eyes turned into shark eyes and she proceeded to devour the tasty treat.

And since you can now taste everything your mom is eating, that means that you devoured it too. And it most likely means you had shark eyes too. But, then again, why wouldn't you go crazy for ice cream that describes itself thusly: "A luscious, dark chocolate ice cream containing chocolate peanut butter brownies, flakes of dark chocolate, roasted almonds, chopped pecans, and walnuts surrounded by a caramel sauce and a whipped topping swirl."

Just for the record, I shall rename this ice cream flavor "Chocolate Brownie Overlord."

You must have enjoyed the Overlord too, since you were kicking like crazy after she ate it!

But, following this sweet treat, your Mom didn't exactly have sweet dreams. Ice cream mixed with pregnancy (or actually just pregnancy alone) makes for some odd sleep stories!

Your Mom recounted this odd tale to me today over lunch.

Near the end of the dream, she reached in her purse and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol which, upon inspection, had expired in 1973. Holly then chided the owner of the Tylenol for having such an old bottle. Then, she opened said bottle and out came a cockroach!

This cockroach tried to run from her, but like an Iraqi journalist, your Mom kept throwing shoes at the bug until she finally struck it.

One of the dogs approached the roach and sniffed at it. Your Mother was worried that they would get sick from eating the roach.

But before anything could be done about that, she was on her back giving birth. Except, instead of a traditional birth, you just sort of teleported out of your womb and stood on her stomach.

Apparently, you were about 2 years old, had an elvish look, were butt naked and had a mop of curly blonde hair.

You looked at her. You said "Hello" in a goofy voice, which your Mom can repeat for you. And then you up and r-u-n-n-o-f-t!

But, before any emotional impact of this could sink in, your Mom woke up!

What does it mean? Who knows! Apparently, your Mom is not alone in having crazy pregnancy dreams, so she's not worried that you'll magically teleport out of her belly as a naked two year old.

Two things we do know, though, is that all purse Tylenol will have its expiration date checked immediately, and this dream will probably NOT curb late night ice cream eating. We will continue to bow down to our Chocolate Brownie Overlord.

Clean Plate Club

There's a club in which I've often been a member. Your Mom has seldom come close to even an honorary membership. But last night, at a BBQ joint, your Mom joined the Clean Plate Club.




We went to Peggy Sue's BBQ with Danny and Kelly, and your Mother ordered chopped brisket, corn and mashed potatoes. When all was said and done, your Mom's plate was SPOTLESS. We're not talking "I ate all the food, and there's some sauce still left on my plate." We're talking Clean. Plate. Club.


Your Mom would have given their dishwasher a run for their money. The only way that plate could have been cleaner would have been if Holly started eating the plate itself. But then we might have had to pay for that.




I think a major growth spurt may be coming very soon, to the dismay of BBQ joints in the greater DFW area.



Dinner was also interesting for another reason: crazy kids in the restaurant.



A couple of families had 3 young boys between them, and those kids were being pretty good for kids at restaurants. By "pretty good," of course, I mean, these root-beer-drunk, sugar high heathons were dumping their food on the floor, talking really loudly and wandering around the restaurant all willy nilly.



In reference to the Lords of the Flies, Kelly said "That'll be you guys soon!"



And, in all honesty, I can't wait! Hopefully you won't get all hopped on root beer all the time, but these things happen!



And, those kids' behavior was way better than the behavior of a couple in relation to their toddler that we witnessed a few days before.



When we were out to a Tex-Mex dinner with your Uncle Joe a few days ago, the family at the table next to us was just letting their little girl toddler wander around. No one was watching her, no one was stopping her from going up to other people's tables and putting touching the salt and pepper shakers, pulling on the table cloths, etc. We plan on teaching you to stay in your chair at a restaurant to avoid these types of displays (and it is possible, Uncle Taff and Aunt April do it with Addison!)



And you'll be thankful for these efforts when you hear what we'll be keeping you from doing. Listen to what happened next with this little girl:



Feeling tired from all that walking around, she decided to lay down on the restaurant floor. On her stomach. She made snow-angels there for a few minutes until someone came by and picked her up. But in being picked up, the little Toddler spilled a whole bag of dry cereal on the floor.



Now here's where we enter bizarro land. About five minutes later, the little girl was on the loose again and, once again, belly flopped on the floor. But this time she was, apparently, hungry. She proceeded to eat the cereal off the floor. Without using her hands.



That's right. She was bobbing for cereal off of a dirty restaurant floor.



With that, she earned herself a membership in the Clean Floor Club, and her parents were none the wiser. That's a club I hope we're all gonna stay out of...but who knows how hungry your mother may get!

Making Room

Seeing as we're 19 weeks along (which means you're about 21 weeks away from coming out here to meet everyone), we've seriously been making room for you! But getting all the pieces to fall into place has been pretty tricky!

And the ground-breaking ceremony all relied on us finding a new home for one piece of furniture.

You see, the dining room is going to be your nursery, so we needed to clear out the dining room closet to make room for storing your belongings. But, my bass lived in there, so we needed to find a new place for that. The only spot it would fit was the front hall coat closet, but then we needed a coat closet. So, we decided to convert the decorative under-the-stairs nook into a coat closet. But the piece of furniture that lived in that nook needed to go before any of this could happen! Finally, the keystone was removed (we gave it to BJ and Kari to decorate their guest bedroom), and the nursery project could begin!

This is what I look like when I do house repair. Except I have bigger muscles and greener overalls.

So, here's a sample of the fun we've been having over the past week:

• Coat closet converted into bass closet
• Nook converted into coat closet

It may look like I'm playing with Toby, but who plays with a dog with a drill in their other hand?

• Doors mounted on coat closet (thanks to a lot of help from expert carpenter, Nannah Joon)

Take that, Nook! You're a closet now!

• Decorative Bass moved from entry way
• Buffet (and record player stand) moved from kitchen area to entry way
• Decorative Bass moved to bedroom
• Dining table moved to kitchen area
• Book shelves constructed
  

And, blammo- you've got yourself room for a baby! We're well on the way to an awesome nursery!

Uncle Joe, Nannah Joon and your cousins Devon and Jeanessa playing Uno in your nursery when it was a dining room


And now look at it! It's really starting to look like your nursery in there!

The hardest part about creating all this new storage space is to not fill it up immediately. Even though you're just gonna be a teeny tiny baby, you come with a lot of hardware; so we're gonna need a lot of space to store it!

And even though we've always had emotional room for you, now we have physical room for you too! And you even have your own physical room!

Speaking of making room, your Mom is certainly doing a lot of room making too. Her belly continues to grow and grow! In fact, her belly is growing so much that she's out of pants again (it's too cold to wear her maternity capri pants). So, on Sunday we went off to Target to buy her new pants. Instead of the more expensive maternity wear, she decided to try and buy a regular pair of jeans, just a few sizes up. Dejected, she walked out of the dressing room: they did not fit! The ones that fit her waist are too long or too big for the legs, the ones that fit her height are far too small for her belly! And the sundress she tried on looked like a Muumuu. That probably didn't help matters much.

Seriously, who invented these?

But, ever resourceful, your Mom decided to make her own drawstring pants.

Pants or no, though, your Mom continues to make room for you! Last night alone she had a bowl of broccoli cheese soup, a bowl of ice cream, (Moolenium Crunch again), two pieces of buttered toast and...right before bed, she hit the fridge again for some dried fruit!

At this rate, there's going to be plenty of room for you!