Dear Peanut,

I know you're excited to have your limbs and to have more room to move around, BUT could you do me a favor? Please refrain from doing cartwheels at 3am. Mom needs her sleep before you get here, and 3am is not an appropriate play time. I'll be sure to remind you when you are born, too.

Thanks!

Love,
Mom

The Dropsies

So far this week I've broken a plate and a glass; dropped a gallon of milk on the floor, which of course exploded; an entire pint of blueberries that rolled to every nook and cranny in the kitchen; numerous books, papers, and whatever I might have in my hand at the moment. Oh, did I mention a fresh cup of Island Coconut coffee - that I BOUGHT! ugg.... I didn't know the dropsies came with pregnancy.....

I hope I don't drop the baby - that would really suck.

Today's Lesson: Diapering

I received the best Father's Day card of all yesterday.  (A little late because my sister Kelly mailed it to my Dad's zip code.) 

Thanks Kelly! I'll consider it my first lesson in diapering.  If I'm having trouble, I'll remember to think baseball and I'll be all set.  Or....I could always make a call to the bullpen (Jess) for relief.  :)

I know I'm a day late, but Happy Father's Day to all fathers!  In honor of Dad's Day, today's posting comes to you from the Dad-to-be. 

Unfortunately, my Uncle Dick passed away on Friday after a short but difficult bout with cancer. He was the ultimate handiman and did a lot of work as a painter, so he was in my thoughts on Saturday as I painted the baby's room, which by the way is looking good! We finished painting and installed new shelving in the closet. Next comes carpet and furniture! 

On Sunday, I made the trip down to RI for my Uncle's funeral. On a happy note, I was able to spend some quality time Sunday night with my sister Erin, my Dad and his fiance Gwen. We enjoyed a great Italian dinner, followed by free ice cream.   That's right, free ice cream!  "The Daily Scoop" in Bristol, RI offered a free scoop for all Dad's on Father's Day. Expectant Dad's got two free scoops! 

Happy Father's Day Dad....what a great way to celebrate the special day. 

 

When I got back to VT this afternoon, I found a cute card from Peanut wishing me Happy Father's Day.  Thanks Peanut, and thanks Jess for the rad boogie board!  Hopefully it will come in handy at the Cape later this summer.

How big are you?

According to "Your Pregnancy Week by Week", a book by Glae B Curtis an Judith Schuler, here's where I should be at 17 weeks:

"Your uterus is 11/2 inches to 2 inches below your belly button (confirmed at prenatal appt on Thurs!!). You are showing more now and have an obvious swelling in your lower abdomen (CHECK!). By this time, expanding or maternity clothing is a must for comfort's sake (Pheww, thank God). When your partner give you a hug, he may feel the difference in your lower abdomenn (this doesn't mean you can rub the squish and say I love your belly). The rest of your body is still changing. A total 5-10 pound gain by this point in your pregnancy is normal. (yee haw!! It's not just the keebler's cookies!)".

So, there you have it - text book pregnancy. This book hasbeen really helpful and it even has "Dad tips" like make sure you give foot and back rubs. :-) Actually, I LOVE this book....

Happy Anniversary to us!

Ok, so it was on Tuesday and I should have posted about it then, BUT of course my diminishing wardrobe was way more important. We went out to dinner at Trattoria Delia and had a FABULOUS dinner of calamari, bolognese pasta, fillet mignon, and a chocolate torte for dessert. We split it all, but it was still the most I've eaten in a long time! It's hard to believe two years has come and gone, and I remember it as if it were yesterday. The 18 months of planning, paired with a beautiful sunny day made for a well orchestrated and gorgeous day. In case you forgot, here are some pictures. Photos courtesy of RC photography.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe....

This past weekend I definitely displayed qualities of both a lion and a witch while I cleaned out the wardrobe. Since we're in the process of having brand spanking new carpet installed, we wanted to paint the spare room beforehand. To make room for the stuff in the spare room's closet for peanut's stuff, we needed to clean out OUR closet. I really should say mine, since 90% belongs to me. At least I gave Tim the most convenient side. SOOOO, this cleaning out process didn't necessarily bring out the best in me as I decided to try on every single item on and use the pile system. Like the lion, I was on the go get 'em phase at the very beginning. I made Tim stay with me for the tough decision articles of clothing and to help rehang clothes or fold the pre-pregnancy bin. As we pushed forward, the witch really started to come out. "Are you kidding me?" was a frequent response to the normally to-big-for me shirts. I'm sure you can imagine a string of expletives as well.

As we finished the purples (cause you know my type A personality has my clothes color coordinated), we had a handful of clothes ready to go back in the closet and a nice bin full to head out to storage - I'd say a good 75% worth. I suppose when the goal is to make room, we met the goal with flying colors. Now, only if my wardrobe would stay this clean. An empty closet is a license to go shopping, right?

flutters!

Houston, we might have a problem! The flutters are fast and furious...AND, it seems as if s/he is most active right when I want to sleep. What is up with that??? I suppose it could in indicative of the peanut's sparkling personality. Hmmm...we'll have to just wait and see! Flutters or no flutters, it's still a pretty cool feeling.

16 Week Follow Up

We had our 16 week check up today and got a clean bill of health. Strong heart beat, questions answered, more lab work, and a great visit topped the appointment. We really liked the midwife (Mary Jo) we had today, and hope we have her again. Although, we'll be starting some group appointments next week. In that case, we'll be meeting with Sandy, who has been my favorite so far!

Actually, the highlight was realizing the "twinges" I've been feeling are in fact the baby's first movements! I finally put two and two together on Wednesday, when the feelings wouldn't go away. AND, intensified after eating. I expressed my thoughts to my coworker, Mary Jane, and she confirmed that it was most likely the little one!

I mentioned the movement to Tim last night and he got all excited. I think he thought he'd be able to feel. In due time, honey. Don't rush it!

All is well here in Proctor land. We finally have our install date for new carpet, which means we'll be spending the next couple of weekends tearing apart and putting back together again. More specifically, the "nursery" aka spare room will be painted yellow. Yes, yellow! We'll accent with other fun colors.

16 weeks down and 34 or so to go :-)

Mark your calendars!!

I forgot to mention in the last post about our next "BIG" appointment! We confirmed the day for the ultrasound that everyone has been waiting for. You know, the one that tells us if we're on Team Blue or Team Pink; Boy or girl; farts and video games or barbies and dresses. We'll be 18 weeks or so and apparently all the right parts have developed. Let's hope the baby spreads wide so there won't be any question.

Mark it down folks, July 1st at 3:15!!

Softball anyone?

Where on Earth did the time go? We are officially 15 weeks - the peanut is no longer the size of a peanut. Instead s/he is the size of a softball. Holy smokes....I've got a softball in me. All is going well; I'm feeling fabulous! So fabulous, I've been walking in the morning. Still a far cry from my regular workouts, but it's nice to get the exercise. Being in the second tri and a few work outs is certainly contributed to a huge spike in energy! YEAH!!!

I thought I'd give you a quick peek on the belly growth. Now, you all know I'm not a size two, and there's a bit of junk in the trunk :-) Tim is convinced there's a bump in there. However, it's still pretty squishy - I'm guessing I've got another month or so before the "bump" is a real baby bump.

8 Weeks

15 weeks

Now that I actually look at these, my a$$ is huge!!! The old wives tale indicates I'm having a girl, right? I can't keep them all straight! I better get the pink red sox hat ready to go! I think she'll be a catcher on the field, but she can be anything she wants :-)