Saturday, October 25, 2008

What's New?

Ninny was just in town visiting for a few days – she went home this morning. Boooo! Ava has been spoiled ROTTEN for the past 2.5 days. We’ve been trying to get her back on track since 11 a.m. Thanks, Ninny ;-) We love it when Ninny visits for a million reasons. She dusted the ceiling fan that had been bothering me, she picked up poop in the back yard, she hems pants and fixes buttons, she does laundry, she takes care of Ava, she comes with goodies and treats, etc. The list goes on and on and on. We’ve never had such easy company (aside from Zsa Zsa of course). Mostly though, we always get lots of extra love from Ninny. Ninny made Ava’s Halloween costume this year and we had the big “Butterfly Princess” debut. Prepare yourselves; it’s cuter than anything you can imagine. I can’t wait to get pics! She looks like such a big girl in her costume…

Speaking of the butterfly princess, she’s hanging in there. Ninny and I took her to the doctor yesterday because her cough and runny nose still hadn’t cleared up. Actually, it seemed considerably worse. She’s on antibiotics – they’re treating it as a sinus infection. Doc said it probably started out as allergies or a cold and developed into an infection. Nothing serious. I think she has seasonal allergies – it seems to come up at each sick-baby appointment we have with her. Wouldn’t surprise me given the family history. She weighs 28 lbs – we learned that at the appointment!

Baby Lincoln update – only 6 weeks to go! I think I turned a corner in this pregnancy; I’m suddenly very excited and anxious! I haven’t really felt too “pregnant” this whole time – just different. Now, suddenly, I feel very pregnant (in a good way) and the reality is starting to sink in that we’re going to have a baby. It’s very exciting! Oddly enough, you know what I think did it? We bought Dreft. Honestly, the smell brings back soooo many wonderful baby memories. Who knew laundry detergent was so powerful? I’m beginning to feel like my old self again, finally. My mood is much more stable and I think most would agree that it’s consistently positive again. That is a huge relief for me. I was a little stressed about that. It must be a combination of hormones, nearing the end of the pregnancy and the time of year. I think Chris is getting pretty excited too…it’s nice to be able to share in the excitement together. Lincoln is still a big mover and groover. I can tell that he’s getting bigger because his movements feel different – as if he’s running out of space. He reacts to everything too. Ava didn’t do that. For example, if I use a loud stapler at work then he usually jumps. If I fold my arms across my belly then he’s usually pretty quick to demand that space back and makes a ruckus until I move my arms. It’s fun! He hangs out on the right side of my stomach, which is unusual I think. I constantly feel a little foot or knee or something waaay over on my right side – like waaaay over. Like where I didn’t think babies were supposed to be able to reach. Odd. I’m definitely carrying him differently – Chris pointed that out to me. Lincoln is all out front. It’s tough to do dishes or wash my face. My belly button actually feels bruised most of the time because I’m constantly hitting it on everything. I’m starting to look forward to labor again (call me crazy) and I can’t wait to see what he looks like. I just really really really hope that we’re as fortunate with this delivery as we were with Ava. I’m hoping for another perfectly healthy baby!

Is anyone still reading? I write a lot. I guess I should move on to the pictures now. Not too many to share from the past week…

She got a hold of the camera and took this one herself...








She wasn't feeling well so she was watching a movie...

Monday, October 13, 2008

Lions and Tigers and Bears and Pumpkins OH MY

It’s that time of year again! Time to visit the Chesterfield Pumpkin Patch!

Ava and I woke up early on Saturday morning and drove to Richmond to meet up with Samantha, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Rachel & Uncle Ryan. We all piled in the luxurious van and headed to the pumpkin patch. We noticed a big difference from our trip this year compared to our trip last year as soon as we pulled into our parking spot; we didn’t have strollers and diaper bags to lug around this time. What a relief! It’s so much easier to travel with these girls now. And we’re about to start all over in 1.5 months…oy!

We rode the wagon/tractor out to the pumpkin patch and the girls picked out the very best pumpkins to bring home. Ava picked one for herself and one for “Baby Lincoln.” Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that Ava supervised Uncle Ryan pick out two pumpkins for her. The girls enjoyed some music and hot dogs. They saw some horses and went on a cute little train ride that they were too small for last year. It was a lot of fun!

After the pumpkin patch we headed over to the zoo. Samantha told Ava that there are giraffes at the zoo that you can feed. She even demonstrated to Ava how you’re supposed to feed them. Ava was eager to try it out herself. Much to no one’s surprise, Ava wanted nothing to do with the giraffes once the moment of truth arrived. As you can see in the picture below, Ava is trying to escape over my shoulder as I feed the giraffe. Oh well, we tried! Samantha carried on feeding the zebras and fawns while Ava and Aunt Rachel (Ava’s BFF) strolled about and Ava explained to Aunt Rachel that the animals are “dirty.” The Tiger that came close to the observance window terrified Ava and she was hesitant to enter the bat cave – unless of course Aunt Rachel was going with her (much to Aunt Rachel’s dismay). We tried!

On Sunday we caught up on some much needed housework and we squeezed in a walk on the trail (my favorite). Ava’s cold seems to be getting worse. Her cough is more persistent and congested and her nose is “full of boogies” as she puts it. We unpacked the humidifier tonight, cleaned it and replaced the filter. We had to do the dreaded saline spray in her nose tonight too. We pumped her full of vitamins and orange juice so hopefully we can fight it off before it turns into something doctor-worthy.

Ava has been doing an outstanding job with potty training. She spent the entire weekend in dry panties and she poops on the toilet like a champ now! Someone please save this part for her graduation or wedding celebration ;-) She came home from daycare in new pants today…her form said that she almost made it to the bathroom but had an accident. At home that doesn’t happen. I guess it’s to be expected in a room full of potty training toddlers. Either way, I’m extraordinarily proud of her!

Disclaimer I: When viewing these pictures, please keep in mind that Ava seems to have lost the feel for a genuine smile when you hold the camera in front of her face…she truly thinks she’s smiling in all of these.

Disclaimer II: Yes, I wear the same outfit every weekend. I'm pregnant, my options are limited!

Note: Uncle Ryan's shirt says, "Honk if you're about to run me over." It's appropriate.










2007


2008


Monday, October 6, 2008

Are you registered?

Are you registered to vote? If not, what are you waiting for?! Today at 5 p.m. is the deadline in Virginia. GET YOURSELF REGISTERED. You have plenty of time between now and election day to do your homework and decide on a candidate. Trust me, if you aren't registered you'll deeply regret it...

If you are registered then please, please, please do your OWN homework!

OK, now I will dismount my soapbox.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Fall Festival

We briefly visited the Fall Festival today. Everyone in the family is feeling under the weather so it felt like more of a chore, really.

Ava enjoyed herself regardless of her stuffy nose. In fact, she cried when we left! That took us by surprise. There wasn't much there for her to see. She did enjoy the barn animals, (my) her smoothie, the monkey wearing clothes and the Native American dancers. Oh, and the pine needles of course. She loves herself some pine needles...

We're glad we went b/c now we know what to expect. We're even happier to be home now. We weren't feeling too motivated to get the camera out so there's only 1 picture to share...

I can't believe it's already almost Monday again.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Obama

We enjoyed another family day today! Last time we had a family day I convinced Chris to join us by inviting him to historical Yorktown. He can’t turn something like that down, poor nerd (love you, dear). This time however, it was Obama’s doing!!

Earlier in the week we found out that Obama would be in Newport News to discuss his health care plan. This morning we joined the crowds, braved the heat (& downtown Newport News) and anxiously waited 2 hours to listen to Obama talk for 45 minutes. Was it worth it? You betcha (some Palin for the Republicans reading)!

Ava was beside herself to see Obama. Unfortunately, she psyched herself up so much so early on that she passed out before he made his entrance. She did wake up for the last 20 minutes though and she got to see him for herself. That made her happy.

He did a great job. It was very interesting. We were thrilled to see such a great turn-out :-)

We’re back home now and ready to hit the showers and take a nap. Below are some pictures. You can’t really see Obama – I didn’t realize I angled the camera so that his teleprompter was in front of his face. Oops!

Tomorrow we visit the fall festival!

Good turn-out!


Chris' office building...



She's psyched!



Can you see Obama? Click on pic to enlarge.



Just a cute one of my loves...


Zzzz...


Some news articles...
Daily Press Article
MSN Article