26.7.10

Junior: Take 4

So, the bad news is they keep on checking me at the OB's office because I have too much amniotic fluid, which could indicate gestational diabetes.

But the good news is that, since they're checking fluid levels, every time I go in (practically) I get an ultrasound. And the ultrasound tech is really nice and excited about my fluid levels because it means she gets to take clearer pictures. And she likes Lucy (and Lucy likes seeing pictures of baby brother). 

Today was no exception: she got some great 3-D pictures.

This one's my favorite: he was totally kicking around, and it shows the, um, flexibility behind those kicks :)  His right arm is curled up by his head, and that's his leg and foot out in front. And I love the profile: he totally reminds me of Lucy as a baby.


This is about as close as I have to a profile of Miss Lu when she was born. I think they have the same nose and chin going on :) 

Here he's facing the "camera." The umbilical cord is curled on the right side.



Again, Miss Lu for comparison. See the sibling love?


Same pose, just a little bit more of a 3/4 view. Look at his cheeks! 


And one more of the profile with high kick. Hi-yah! 

We can't wait to meet him. Three more months!



21.7.10

Birthday plans

Yesterday at dinner, Mr. Nick asked Miss Lu what she thought would happen on her birthday. You know, the "how will you be different when you're five" kind of question. Her answer caught us by surprise.

Miss Lu: "Well, in the morning, when I wake up, my skin will be black."

Mr. Nick: "You mean, you'll just wake up like that when you turn five?"

Miss Lu: "Yep. It will be sooooo beautiful ... like chocolate."

Mr. Nick: [sideways glance in my direction; I shrug] "Oh."

...

Miss Lu: [singing] "Black skin is so beautiful, I love it, it brings me to joy. It is so beautiful, I love it, it brings me to joy!"

Mr. Nick: "What makes you think this will happen?"

Miss Lu: [shrugs] "I don't know. It just sounded good."

Slugs and Santa

This morning, Miss Lu crawled into my bed (after Mr. Nick fed her breakfast and then left for work) to help me wake up. She was very patient. I was very sleepy.

I was definitely drifting in and out of various levels of consciousness. What eventually woke me up? Lucy's imagination. As I lay there, she developed this amazingly intricate story involving a pirate ship sailing across the sea, finding a whale, and encountering a storm which she steered through admirably with the aid of a hanger (I peeked at one point). 

Then, on land, there was something involving singing ... and then suddenly she was hooking up a giant slug to her carriage to take her to the north pole. There she found Santa Claus; he gave her a special music box (that played CDs) and turned it on. It played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," which she promptly declared to be her "very most favorite." 

I mean, who could resist a story like that? I had to wake up :)


14.7.10

Pecos National Historical Park

After a morning of fishing, we went out for an afternoon at the Pecos National Historical Park. Once we found it (there were a few issues locating the park itself) we had a great time. I found the history of the place really interesting. (Skip the next paragraph if you're not into history :) 

The mission ruins at Pecos


Pecos is located at the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and geographically it has served as a marker of the edge of the plains. The Pecos Indians built a settlement for about 2000 people; for years they served as a trading site between the Pueblo Indians and the plains (Apache) Indians. Then the Spanish conquistadores came in the sixteenth century, which eventually led to the building of a Franciscan mission church that was eventually abandoned in the early nineteenth century. Later in 1862 the Battle of Glorieta Pass (a significant Civil War battle) was fought nearby. In the twentieth century a popular ranch was built; eventually the actress Greer Garson and her husband bought it, became interested in the history of the place, and donated the acreage for the national park. Just lots of interesting things happening all around the place.

View from the ruins

Nick and Lucy emerge from exploring the kiva

Lucy and Lilly study the significance of the ruins

Inside the mission church (the walls were over 4 feet thick!)

Me seeking shade ... (it was pretty hot)

Gorgeous cholla cactus in full bloom

13.7.10

At the cabin

Our good friends, Randy and Heather, invited us out to the cabin they were renting with Heather's family for the week in the Santa Fe mountains, about 20 minutes from Pecos in Terrero. It was so fun to see them, relax, and hang out together over the weekend!

Randy, Kiya, Nick, and Lucy


Lucy was in heaven: we were out in the woods, the cabin was right by a river, and there were plenty of kids to play with. And it was only in the mid seventies, so I was pretty much in heaven too.


The grin here should tell you what was one of the highlights: fishing! Miss Lu was pretty excited about the whole fishing thing—she didn't stop talking about it until we went on Saturday morning. The fact that they had a pink fishing pole only made things better.

Mr. Nick was pretty patient teaching her how to cast ... but the part she liked best was holding the pole. The part she didn't like best was the need for patience. Every two to three minutes she'd turn around (she was on my lap) and say something like "I just don't have any luck!" or "I'm not good at this ... where are the fish?"


We had a few nibbles, but they all got away. Some of the older kids brought back some nice trout they grilled for lunch, so we know we were close. My favorite part was watching Mr. Nick cast the line out for Lucy (after a while she gave up on trying to do it herself)—that pole was so little and pink, it looked pretty funny to see him practicing his "swing" to cast the line out with it!

My other favorite photos from the fishing expedition:

Miss Lu gathering daisies (we played "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" with them)


Randy fishing with his youngest daughter Lilly 



12.7.10

Our 4th of July ...

... was pretty simple this year. We made and decorated sugar cookies, popped some fireworks in the backyard, and sang songs by the campfire until Lucy said "I'm done. I want to go to bed now." You don't ignore things like that :)

The fireworks were "so cute"

A particularly stubborn popper (I love the looks on their faces)

Watching confetti fly ...

Mr. Nick helped Miss Lu write out "Happy 4th of July" on the cookies ... the became the "special" cookies, so of course Miss Lu wanted to eat all of them :) 

8.7.10

New pics of junior





We're at 23 weeks ... and he's still growing :)

5.7.10

Things Lucy said to me in the last 60 minutes

"Hey, I really floated on the air!"

"I'm the kung-fu master in charge of teaching all the princesses kung-fu."

"I can do the slow kung-fu and the fast kung-fu. See? This is kung-fu dancing training."

"Kung-fu with Ariel is fun!"

"Let's pretend I'm the pirate captain since I have an eye patch. Here are all my dresses for Sundays on our ship."

"Can I have something to swab the deck with?"

"Mommy, don't walk there! That's where I cleaned the deck for our royal ball!"

"Hey Mom, you can be the royal kitchen cleaner. You can keep the kitchen clean for the princesses on the ship."

"Now let's say we're in a big storm and the only way we can be saved is if we call our whale friend to come over and fill up her hole with water and spray us out of the storm."

"Here Marcie! Come save us! Brrrrrrrrrrr [high-pitched bubbling whale imitation]."

Miss Lu is a pretty fun girl. And I'm a lucky royal-pirate-ship-kitchen-cleaning mom.



3.7.10

Zoo to You

The nearest zoo is down in Albuquerque, so when I heard about a free program where volunteers bring some of the animals out on tour I signed Lu up. 



I think the armadillo and Lucy use the same supplier for their batteries—the thing didn't stop running the entire time it was out.



They had sugar gliders, a South-American porcupine, a hedgehog ... and what did Lucy want her picutre with? The tarantula ... (that's her "spider face").


Pillow time

I've been making pillows. This one was for a friend who graduated from high school. I thought it turned out super cute.




PS I love my sewing machine. Lots of love.

On bums

Lucy: "Hey Mom! Did you know there's more than one word for bum? There's bum, bottom ... um, just a minute." [Runs back to her bedroom, where Mr. Nick was waiting for her to tuck her in bed. Returns.] "Ok, there's bum, bottom, butt, but that's not a nice one, and heiney, and tush, and tush can be tushie too!"

[Lucy leaves, very proud of herself.]

* * *

[Later that evening]

Jenny: "So, what prompted you to teach Lucy multiple words for bum today?"

Nick: "Well, um, I was telling her to put her jammies on and cover her bum, and then I said to cover her bottom and she turned around said 'Wait! Why are there two words for bum?' And so I had to explain ..."

Jenny: "Ah. I see."