Baby Update

While Baby #2's due date was moved to May 12, my doctor thinks she'll be here any day now. The wait is grueling. But, if Baby decides to hold off this week, then we're planning to be induced sometime on Monday, May 7th. Good thing....I don't think my belly can accommodate any more weight. It's big and when I sit, I feel like my belly rests on my knees. Not a pretty picture.

Update--Elise's Baby Book

I'm happy to report that Elise's scrapbook is finished. I finished it on Saturday night. It was rather anticlimactic and I must admit that the last pages that I finished were less than interesting, but it's done. Now on to other things.

Elise's Baby Book

Elise has two baby books....a traditional hard cover baby book that's fill-in-the-blank and then a Creative Memories book that covers the first year of her life. The Creative Memories book has been an ambitious project and one I'll probably regret. She's 2 1/2 years old and I'm just now close to finishing it. Meanwhile, all my other 'scrapbooks' have been scrapped. While it's fun to look at all of the pictures and reminisce, it's also been this big weight on my shoulders. I feel guilty when I'm not working on it, but if I work on it at the wrong time, it's not creative and I'm not happy with the result.



Being a second child myself, I know how Baby S will feel if she doesn't have equal opportunity. I'm happy to say that I have a baby book from childhood, but I think there may only be about 2 things written in it (sorry Mom....I know what a handful I was and therefore understand why a few things are missing). So, I regret that I set the bar so high....I have a lot of work ahead. Maybe by the time Baby S gets married she'll have her own book. Until then, she'll have to rely on the 3,000 pictures that Paul plans to take that will end up on a harddrive somewhere.

37 Weeks....Full Term

"Full" is really an understatement....Baby S is officially fully baked (and big). And while we are not 100% sure on her name yet, I think we're very close. She definitely makes her presence known, constantly wiggling and moving around. During the last ultrasound, it was confirmed that placenta previa is no longer an issue, so we are gearing up for a normal delivery.

For being so close to the due date, I am happy to say that I'm feeling pretty good. Aside from heartburn, leg cramps, constant trips to the bathroom, and sore hips, there's not much to complain about. It's full nesting mode now: getting everything set up, washed, installed and put away. I haven't started making extra food yet (and I'm not sure I'll get to it at all), but I don't have any problems eating!

Here's a recent picture:

May I add a couple of comments I've received over the last few days:

"Are you having a boy? You are carrying just like I did....a big turkey ball in the front." -a lady at the park

"When are you due? Oh, that's what I thought. I can tell." -a women at the thrift store where I was dropping off donations

"You look.....uncomfortable." -a male friend whom I hadn't seen in a while

Thanks, I guess.

It's a Wonderful Day

Elise announced this morning that "It's a Wonderful Day!" She was right. The whole weekend has been picture perfect. While there's a lot of little stuff we need to get done in the next 2 or 3 weeks (before Baby #2 makes an appearance), we decided to spoil ourselves.

Lincoln Park Zoo
Elise has been dying to get outside to the playground. The cold, wet and rainy days have been brutal for her and so at the first glimpse of sunshine, we are out the door. And playing in our short driveway rarely cuts it! Since day was scheduled to so beautiful, we decided to head out to Lincoln Park Zoo. We took Elise there when she was a baby, but now she's at an age where she can really enjoy it. While Paul and I were amused by the Chimpanzees, Elise decided what she really wanted to see were the snakes. We found this to be quite odd because neither Paul nor I like snakes and we generally go out of our way to avoid the amphibian and small animal houses at all zoos.



While at the zoo, we also met up with some friends from our time in Michigan (a fellow consultant from McK). They have a little boy, Felipe, who is one of the cutest babies I've seen. Quite a charmer and he has the most lovable smile.



Walker Bros. Pancake House
We went to church last night so that today would be completely open. Paul and Elise were kind enough to let me sleep in (a luxury I soon won't have for a while). They then took out for breakfast at one of my favorite pancake houses in this area: Walker Bros. Yum! While they are most known for their apple pancakes, I opted for French Crepes. It's a good thing, really. On our way out, there was a freezer by the register where you can buy frozen apple pancakes. Out of curiosity, we looked at the nutritional information on the back. First, I'll mention that each order of pancakes is a serving size of 6 (at least the frozen variety). Second, each serving accounts for 45% of the daily value of saturated fat! They are really tasty, but I'm not sure it's worth risking cardiac arrest.

Two Trips to the Park
As soon as Elise was out of bed this morning, she was asking to go to the park. So, we managed to fit in two trips. She had a blast and we didn't complain, being able to spend the day outside.

Happy (Belated) Easter!

In the interests of staying close to home this year, we had Easter dinner at our house. On Saturday, Elise helped me to make the sweet potatoes....but didn't like the end result.

(Elise 'helping' and critiquing my cooking)

Grandma and Grandpa S came, as well as Uncle Tom and Auntie Carole. We ate like royalty and were very full when finished! On the menu: delicious bean and veggie soup, spiral sliced ham, sweet potatoes, fresh green beans with almonds, green salad, asparagus, cherry and marshmallow Jello and homemade dinner rolls. For dessert....French Silk and Lemon Meringue Pie. Yum!


(L: Elise in her Easter dress, R: Mama, the Easter flower)


(L: Auntie Carole and Uncle Tom, R: Auntie Carole's gift to Elise--fancy Easter gloves and purse (not shown))

April 11, 2007

I was almost sure that we were in the clear for spring a couple of weeks ago. This is what we woke up to this morning.....

What in the world?!? It has been snowing all day (3.5") and with temperatures hovering around freezing, it's not melting!

Daffodils

Elise and Grandma K picked some mini-daffodils while we were staying in Michigan. Apparently it made quite an impression on her. In preparation for Easter tomorrow, I bought a few stems at the local grocery store. Once home, Paul was commenting on the flowers when Elise reminded him:

"That's not a daisy, Daddy. Those are daffodils."

She already knows more about flowers than Paul does. Smart girl.

It's No Joke

It was March 31, not April Fool's Day, so this is the honest truth. Elise and I were headed back to my parents' house after spending the day with my grandmothers in Swartz Creek. We were on I-96 a couple of miles from the exit....Elise was sleeping soundly in the back seat. I just noticed two or three big birds (wild turkeys I presume) land in the wooded area on the side of the road. I was thinking how big they were when suddenly a large object hit my car. It sounded like a boulder and the car shook.....loud enough to wake Elise up. I immediately looked in my rear-view mirror and noticed a fluff ball of feathers, bouncing along center of the highway. It appeared that a turkey just flew into the car, apparently miscalculating his landing into the wooded area.

I exited the highway and pulled into the nearest parking lot to survey the damage. This is what I found:

A tuft of big fluffy feathers, guts and dirt strewn about the driver's side. Luckily, there was no major damage (a small dent on the rear passenger door was later discovered). Upon arriving at my parents' house, Elise reported to Grandpa that "there are feathers on the window." He was kind enough to take a broom and sweep everything off. I'm not sure if there's a moral to the story but one thing's for sure....I sure am glad the bird didn't land in my lap!

Trip to Michigan

Last week, Elise and I went on a two state tour up to Michigan for the weekend. While our primary goal was to visit with grandparents, great-grandmas and other family, we also swung by our condo in Canton to check in on everything. It was a whirlwind trip (and unfortunately we didn't see everyone we had hoped), but Elise was a trouper, did great in the car, and had lots of fun. Here are some pictures:


"Helping" Grandpa K with the Hot Tub and lay some brick


Playing in the rocks with Grandma


Meeting the newest member of our family--my little brother "Ranger"


Having fun with Great Grandma


Enjoying a tricycle ride at Grandma and Grandpa S's house