One More Month ... and other ramblings

We are now officially t-minus one month and COUNTING.  Baby girl is due exactly one month from today! I can't wait to meet this little one, see what she looks like, hold her in my arms, get to know her little personality ... This pregnancy has been so different in a lot of ways, but knowing what to expect has been the biggest difference.  Of course, I sincerely hope this delivery will go differently than Lydia's.  If it does, then it will be a new experience for me.  My sister delivered her last baby without medication after studying the Bradley Method so I've been studying it too.  After my awful experience with the epidural last time, I'd like to go as long as possible without it--hopefully the whole way.  I definitely think that studying natural childbirth has really helped me to understand the process of childbirth a little bit better.  I think that EVERY first time mother, regardless of her feelings toward epidurals should make a serious study of natural childbirth.  If nothing else, you will gain a deeper understand of how your body works to deliver a child.  This is something that I was severely lacking my first time around.  I have a lot of regrets about my naivete towards childbirth and I think I was bullied a little bit by medical staff as a result of my blind faith in them.  If I had known then what I know now I would have done things a little differently (hindsight being what it is ...).  I feel like my "labor and delivery toolbox" is fuller and I'm hopeful that I can achieve the VBAC that I desire!

Down from the soapbox ...

The magic of Christmas has been so very real in our home these past few weeks.  It is amazing having a child who is old enough to really "get it" when it comes to the different elements of Christmas: Mary, Joseph, Jesus, presents, Santa, stockings, the Christmas tree, etc.  Every night before she goes to bed she requests Christmas songs from the Children's Songbook so I sing them to her and then I hear her singing them to herself throughout the day.  We've also been doing an advent calendar where you glue a cotton ball to Santa Claus' bare beard through December 24th.  She's been really thrilled to do that every day and it's so sweet to see her getting excited about Christmas!  I'm personally so excited for Christmas morning I can barely stand it :)

We had our Christmas program at church today and it was really fun because I got to play my flute! It was actually pretty fun.  Believe it or not, I miss playing my flute on a more regular basis.  I'm so grateful that my parents encouraged me to play and I'm grateful that I stuck with it.  Musical training is something that is undervalued in our education system today and it's really too bad.  I feel like my musical talents and training gave me a lot of confidence and a sense of identity as a youth.  It was something I was really good at and I think children need to be given something to do that they can work hard and excel at.

Am I waxing philosophical today or what?

Meanwhile, my hubby is really enjoying his break from teaching seminary ;)  And, he's really enjoying his job.  It's so nice, as a wife, to watch your husband really truly enjoy his work.  I'm so proud of him for having the courage to jump into a new career with both feet.  His company took us (employees and spouses) out to a Brazilian Steakhouse for lunch last week and then to see The Hobbit the next night.  Yes, he works with a bunch of nerds in a small company and it's awesome.  None of these boring holiday work parties for us!  I enjoyed myself at that work "party" more than I've ever enjoyed a work party, and I barely knew most of the people there.  I guess that's saying something.

It's almost the end of the year ... wow, really?  We are still working on getting Lydia's new room ready (talk about last minute??).  She's moving to the old guest bedroom which has been cleared out and will hopefully be painted soon--by Ben, not me as I could paint about 2 inches before becoming too exhausted.  Let me tell you, Ben is THRILLED at the prospect of painting the whole room by himself.  Sense the sarcasm?  Do you wonder why this project is taking so long?  Look no further for your explanation ...  I kid, I kid.  Truthfully, between work and seminary he really hasn't had a whole lot of time for home projects.  The plan is to purchase bunk beds for the girls, but only set one up for Lydia right now.  Then we'll set the other one up in a couple of years when this new little lady is ready for a big girl bed.  Of course, that time is VERY far off ... for now.  Okay, I don't want to think about how fast the time is flying right now.  Why do kids have to grow so fast?  Lydia already speaks in complete sentences.  If it wasn't for her little girl voice, she'd sound like an adult, or at least an older kid.  It's crazy.  I keep telling her she's not allowed to grow any more, but, you know how well that goes over.

I guess I should stop rambling and go hang out with my hubby.  He keeps complaining that I'm "blogging" instead of spending time with him.  I remind him that lately I've only been blogging on a monthly basis and so he really has no reason to complain ...

Thanksgiving 2012

This year for Thanksgiving we went down to visit Ben's sister and her family near Savannah, GA.  It's a 4 1/2 hour drive and Lydia was perfectly content on the drive as long as she was watching her "princess videos".  In fact, she was SO content that she peed in her carseat ... twice.  Needless to say, we arrived damp and smelly and I was a little stressed out, but we had such a great time over the next few days that it was totally worth it!  I got practically zero pictures (blame it on the placenta brain) but I did get one of our excursion to Jesup where Ben's bro-in-law was on call all day Friday.  We gathered at the place where he stays while he's on call and had some awesome pizza and then we went to a drive-in movie. We saw "Rise of the Guardians".  It was pretty cute, but it was cold!  Lydia, unluckily, had also started coming down with a cold so she was getting pretty stuffy nosed on the drive home, but she had a BLAST.  She and her girl cousins hung out in the back of the suburban while the rest of us watched from the other two cars.

It was so weird having all those cousins around over Thanksgiving because Lydia COMPLETELY ignored me and played with them the whole time.  I didn't know what to do with myself because normally I am THE entertainment (until Lydia begs enough for me to put on a movie, that is).  It is going to be so much fun for her to have a sister.  I'm so excited!!! Eight more weeks!

Sewing projects

Ok, so I know Halloween was almost a month ago, but I worked hard on our Halloween costumes this year and I'm going to share them!  Ben was the one who came up with the idea of being "Angry Birds" and I was the one who made all the costumes.  In fact, I had SO much fun sewing that I've been on kind-of a sewing blitz ever since.  But first, the big reveal, our Halloween costumes:

Lydia is the only one who looks truly "angry".  Don't worry, she's not sour like that all the time, or even most of the time.  Only for pictures ...

I've also done some other sewing projects, namely a nursing shawl, and a moby wrap, but I am perhaps the most proud of my pre-Thanksgiving sewing project: a new purse! I had a great time making this and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  It is the perfect size and since I only have one coat (black) it matches perfectly with whatever I'm wearing :)  I know, ya'll are so jealous.

New York Trip

A little last minute, I decided to take Lydia to New York in October to spend some time with my parents.  I say last minute, because usually we have these things planned out a few months in advance, but it was only about a month this time.  We were there for 9 days which went by SOOOO fast.  The time is extra precious right now because my dad's cancer is not responding to any treatment right now and the future is very uncertain.

Still a bit of fall color left in places

Reading books with (mommy's cousin) Janelle and Lydia's second cousin Capri

Lydia and Capri had so much fun playing together!

Photo shoot with Lydia and mommy at the park

I ended up making my own birthday cake because my mom was working all day and I thought she wouldn't have time.  Little did I know how disappointed she would be that she didn't get to do it herself! Her contribution: The Halloween sprinkles on top of the cake.  My brother declared it was the best cake he'd ever eaten.  (The secret is the mayonnaise, yogurt and applesauce--Makes it super moist ;)

Can you see everyone behind me patiently waiting for cake?

Went out to dinner for my actual birthday to the fabulous Pita Gourmet in Cortland.

I would definitely go back here.  Delicious!

We tried the hummus appetizer for dessert with the flatbread.  Delish!!

My mom and dad :)

I had the gyro for dinner.  Sooooo good :)

Me and my girl

This is where Lydia spent a good deal of her time in NY--on Grandpa's lap--either watching TV or having Grandpa read books to her.  So sweet.

Lydia really enjoyed walking on Grandma's treadmill in her spare time.

The last day in NY, before my mom drove us to the airport, we went up to Skaneateles for lunch at the Sherwood Inn (tradition), dessert at La Patisserie, and a quick walk down the pier.  

There were about a billion seagulls and they got really upset and flew away as you approached them.  We had a blast chasing them off both on the way down and back on the pier.

Lydia and I with Skaneateles Lake in the background :)

Lydia had a really great time and I'm so glad that she got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Owens.  I'm so grateful for my parents and for the way that they raised me.  I only hope I can be half as good at parenting my children!

Mommy and Me Ballet

Sooooo, recently I decided that I needed some variety in my physical activities, so I signed myself up for a ballet class.  No wait, that's not quite right, I actually signed Lydia up for ballet, but who is getting the workout?  That's right, ME.  So far we've been to 2 classes and Lydia loves to frolic around while I desperately try to get her to copy the teacher (or me), whatever.  But, she looks adorable in a tutu and we're having fun, so what more can you ask for?  She LOVES it, too.

See what I mean about frolicking??

 Lydia and her friend from church who goes to ballet, too.

 Smile? Yeah right mom.  Here's my standard "stoney face" for ya.

A trip to the dentist

I guess August was a month of firsts, because Lydia had her first trip to the dentist at the end of August!  She was a VERY good patient and she even sat in the chair while the dentist examined her teeth.  The dentist said she's never seen a 2-year-old do that.  Yep, that's my laid back little girl.  Laid back ... most of the time.  I think the real reason she laid back on the chair was because there was a television on the ceiling and I told her she could see it better if she was laying down.  She just "happened" to be laying there when the dentist came in and was too shy to move.  That's the truth of it.  But she was VERY good for the whole cleaning and examination.  She's still waiting for all of her 2-year molars to come in so they didn't even try to take x-rays yet.  It will be interesting to see what the x-rays will show when she eventually has them because she has genetically crazy teeth.  (Sorry, Lydia, I'm blaming my ancestors too.)  This time though, her teeth got an excellent report.  No cavities, and little to no tarter buildup.  Let's keep it that way!

Smile for the camera, Lydia!!

Yeah right, mom. I'm going to close my eyes, ON PURPOSE.

Watching TV, waiting for the dentist to come back with a balloon and a bag of goodies :)

First Haircut

A few weeks ago, I gave Lydia her first ever haircut. I know, I know, she's almost 2 1/2.  But she had these beautiful curls and I just couldn't bear the thought of losing them :(  However, after spending about 5 minutes every morning untying (read, "ripping") knots out of her hair (due to the fact that she's a compulsive hair twirler), I decided that enough was enough.  I figured (correctly) that if her hair was a little shorter, she wouldn't be able to tie it into as many knots during the night.  So, I got her all set up watching Sesame Street videos on YouTube and she sat still enough for me to get it mostly straight.  I think it turned out pretty good, although I miss her adorable curls terribly.

BEFORE

 See?? Compulsive hair twirler!!!

AFTER

 No more beautiful curls (sniff sniff).  On the upside, no more knots!!

One funny note, when Ben asked Lydia what happened to her hair, Lydia responded, "Mommy took it away."  Oh that funny, funny girl.

INK Museum

A couple of weeks ago I took Lydia up to the INK (Interactive Neighborhood for Kids) Museum in Gainesville.  I'd never been there before but it was a really neat place!  Everything is kid sized and they have at least a dozen different mini areas: supermaket, veterinarian, hospital, hair dresser, diner, etc.  It is designed for kids to explore all different kinds of places on their own level and to be anyone or anything they want to be for the day.

We spent a lot of time in the "grocery store".  We were there about 3 different time.  This girl LOVES the grocery store in general.  Maybe it's the fact that she always gets a snack when we go shopping?  In any case, she loved pulling things off the shelves and putting them in her cart.  She was less enthusiastic about putting everything back when the cart got full, but she still did pretty good.

Lydia was FASCINATED by the model train set that had about a million different buttons you could push to make things move and/or light up. It was pretty cool!

Lydia also played doctor.  She really loves baby dolls and so she had a blast carrying them around the "hospital".

She also "milked" a cow.  No, really, stuff came out of the udders and everything.

And, being fascinated by sirens, she was delighted to find they had a full-sized police car she could explore and push all the buttons!

Then she found the baby doll stroller and had a ball pushing that around (with books and dolls in it) for at least 10 minutes.

The last thing Lydia found before we left was a RAMP.  This girl is obsessed with ramps.  So then she did this for another 10 minutes until we left.

We really had a great time at the INK Museum and we will definitely be going back!

Mookin and s-s-s-fimming

Lydia talks pretty well now and for the most part I can understand everything she says.  There are a few words though that she has habitually gotten wrong.  In part we've encouraged these mispronunciations because they are, frankly, hilarious.  For example, she called "water", "wah-wees" for a really long time.  One word that she still can't say is "swimming".  It comes out as "fimming".  I guess the "s-w" combination is pretty hard as you can tell in this video.  Anyway, as her parents, needless to say, Ben and I find this video hilarious.  I also really like how Lydia's personality really shines in this video which is something you rarely see outside our home because she is just so shy!  It gets a little lengthy, but enjoy!

It's a ...

GIRL!!!! Lydia is getting a little sister.  We are SO excited and can't wait for our new addition.  January couldn't come soon enough!

Yes, It's True

I'm pregnant!

And there's his/her current profile, hot off the presses!  Currently I'm almost 14 weeks and due January 23, so it'll be at least  another month before we know whether it's a boy or a girl.  And trust me, we will be finding out!  It's going to take me at least 20 weeks to pick a name.

So far the first trimester has been a little different from my pregnancy with Lydia.  First of all, whereas I didn't gain any weight with Lydia, I've already gained about 12 pounds ... oops.  I credit that to going crazy (7 pounds) after going off Weight Watchers (can't diet when you're pregnant), and then I gained 5 pounds on vacation.  I'm watching it a bit more carefully now because I really want to minimize extra weight gain, but I'm not going to stress and agonize over it.  Just try to eat healthy and apply the principles I learned while I was doing Weight Watchers.  Oh, and exercise would probably help, too ...

The other thing that was different about this pregnancy is that with Lydia, I felt nauseous only at night.  This time around when I started feeling nauseous at 7 1/2 weeks it hit me in waves at any time of the day.  It was awful! I couldn't even cook dinner because a nausea wave inevitably hit around 5pm and then I was on the couch until 6:30.  I was calling my husband to bring home take-out every night and I decided our budget really couldn't afford to keep that up.  I asked my doctor what I could do for the nausea and he suggested I try taking unisom, so I have been taking one every night before bed and it is like a little miracle pill.  It has nearly wiped out my nausea.  Now it only hits me every now and then, such as when I'm in a room that is far too stuffy.  I still have food aversions: fresh vegetables? Ick!! But overall I'm feeling pretty good, just soooooo tired.  I don't remember being this tired when I was pregnant with Lydia.  But, I wasn't chasing around a very active 2-year-old back then.

And, I'm excited to announce that I am trying for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) this time.  My first birth experience was ... well ... it's difficult to describe it using any sort of negative language when you get a beautiful baby girl out of it, but it wasn't the positive experience I was hoping for.  I'm hoping for a much different outcome this time.  After spending a lot of time on The International Cesarean Awareness Network I've switched to "the VBAC" doctor in Atlanta and I feel so blessed to have this man in the same area.  I feel very passionate about all the pressure that women feel to have a cesarean in our society today (mostly from doctors).  Granted, it is definitely the right choice for a some women.  But not 33% of  women which is what the cesarean rate in the US currently is and climbing.  I could go on and on.  I'm not judging you if cesarean is your choice, I'm simply upset at doctors who take that choice away from women by not supporting a vaginal birth if that is what they truly desire.  It's not completely their fault either ... again, I could go on and on.  But, I know with my new doctor this time around, I won't have a cesarean unless it is truly necessary.

If you're interested, my doctor was featured on the local PBS "Religion and Ethics" weekly a few years ago. It's a pretty interesting video, if you've got the time.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/august-14-2009/dr-t/3115/

All about the animals

Lydia and I went out to Utah for 10 whole days and we just got back this week.  We went primarily for a Welch family reunion, but we went out early and stayed an extra day to spend time with my sister who lives in Salt Lake.  We had an absolute blast and coming home was bittersweet.

On the day we arrived, my sister took us to a goat farm where she buys goat's milk for her little boy.  Lydia and her cousin Marin had a blast checking out and even feeding leaves to some of the baby goats.

The next day we went out to Utah's Hogle Zoo which was really a lot of fun, and a good value, unlike the expensive Zoo Atlanta.

Lydia and Marin

Watching the ... seals? sea lions?? I can't keep 'em straight ...

Whoa!!

After several hot hours at the zoo, with tired, cranky children. But we had fun, anyway!!

Our last Utah animal experience came on the way down to Cedar Breaks Lodge for the family reunion.  We stopped at a gas station off the freeway and they had a PETTING ZOO!  I'd never seen anything like it.  Well, at least I'd never seen a FREE petting zoo next to a gas station.  Of COURSE we stopped in to check out the animals, and Lydia had a great time, even though a goat tried to eat her shirt ...

 We bought some rabbit food out of a dispenser and Lydia fed the baby goats and lambs. It was too cute!

Tubing in Helen

A few weeks ago we went tubing in Helen, GA with some friends.  It would have been really super fun, except that Lydia kept wanting to go "that way", a.k.a. upstream.  How do you explain to a 2-year-old that currents carry you downstream?  She spent a fair amount of the hour on the river whining and crying, and I spent most of that time trying to find things to distract her with so she wouldn't whine and cry.  Ah well.  Needless to say, we won't be doing that again for a while!  It's too bad, too, because I think if not for Lydia it would actually have been relaxing.  I still tried to have fun, anyway.

Walking through Helen after our tubing experience was much more enjoyable.  

Here's Lydia with her little friend, holding hands (so cute!!!).

... after all, when you go to a German town, you must eat German food.

They have all kinds of street performers in Helen, and we happened upon a bird handler ... who put a bird on my shoulder ... and left it there for like 10 minutes while he entertained the rest of the crowd with birds.  I probably could have left and the handler wouldn't have noticed.  But then, what would I do with a bird?

Lydia wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with me while I had that bird on my shoulder.  As much as she says she loves animals, she's all talk and no show ;)