3 Years Pumpkin Patch Trips Already....

2009

2010

2011

Where has the time gone??
(ps, it's a different size shirt, yes she has grown!)

Lately....

Grrr! I'm so frustrated, my camera won't let me upload pictures! Or the computer won't. I'm not sure which. The USB port, I think, because our webcam isn't working either, which means no Skype. LAME! I have actually been remembering to take a few What I Wore Wednesday and Small Style pics and can't use them! We also have other fun trips and such that are stuck in my camera!! Hopefully that gets resolved soon.....

Wow, midway through October already! Once Halloween hits in our family, the time goes into warp speed, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and before you know it, Baby Jakiah will be here!! That is crazy! I'm feeling really good these days, but bigger and bigger. I swear, I'm going to outgrow maternity clothes that fit me all the way up last pregnancy....maybe because he's a boy, maybe because it's the 2nd pregnancy, who knows why? I know part of it is that I am carrying him a little different than Kalaya too. Other than getting bigger and feeling lots and lots of movement from this little guy, I feel totally normal. Appetite is fine, sleeping pretty well, etc. I know that sleep may be affected soon, he's getting bigger and as a tummy sleeper (sigh...), I know my days are limited....I've been padding with more and more pillows, which is helping for now.

Kalaya is busy busy these days! We just started swim lessons last night and she LOVES them. She is probably the oldest in the class (it's the baby and me style), but it's perfect for her. She follows the teachers' directions exactly and gets so into it. I hope to post pics soon! It's a fun time for the three of us.

We went to the pumpkin patch on Sunday, again, hopefully will post pics soon! I can't believe this is already our THIRD YEAR of the pumpkin patch/Halloween and that next year we will be visiting as a family of four. Crazy! We went with two of her little friends and they had a blast. I scored her Halloween costume at a consignment store last week and it is sooooooo cute! I can't wait to show pics. And, it is really nice and warm and was really inexpensive! I'll do a special WIWW for Halloween. Stay tuned!

It's funny. I just posted last week about co-sleeping and literally the next day, she requested to sleep in 'Kalaya's bed'. I think a big part of it is that I finally got her room in order, and bought some new things to decorate it. (again, ANOTHER pic I want to post....as well as more 'after' pictures of the house!) I have been trying to avoid licensed characters as long as I can, but decided to cave and decorate her room with Sesame Street stuff, because I knew she'd want to spend more time on it. Again, pics will (hopefully!) be posted soon! But, she has started sleeping in her own bed, every night, with no problems. She did roll off the end her very first night, but it barely phased her and she was fine. Don't know if it will last, but it seems to be okay. We are SO glad we let her decide on her own when to do this. There's more room in our bed now, which is nice, but she will always be welcome back if she changes her mind.

We have been working on potty training much more than we have in the past. Since we're finally settled in (and most of our house is laminate, not carpeted....), I've been trying the 'diaper free' method. Everyone I know who tried this raved about it and said it was quickly a success. Well....not the case yet at our house. The point of no diaper is, of course, to let them learn to feel what it feels like when they have to go. That is not a problem for Kalaya, she gets that. She literally holds it all day, until the pull up goes on at nap or bed time and then goes almost immediately, reports to me and wants to be changed. She seems to just be being stubborn, we're not sure why. She will sit on the potty no problem, for extended periods of time, but not go in it. She loves watching 'Elmo's Potty Time' and totally gets all of the concepts, but...nothing yet. It is tiring, but I know we'll get there.

The house FINALLY is starting to feel like home. The inside is pretty much in order. Everything is put up, put away, organized, etc. There are a few more pieces of furniture we'd like to add over time, but for the most part, we're about there. We still need to order and install blinds and curtains, but everything else is about done. Because of the plumbing issue I posted about, we can no longer afford to upgrade our half bath to a full at this point. I'm disappointed, but I'm choosing to focus on the fact that we had the money to pay for the problem we had, rather than having to go in debt for it. Maybe if tax return time is good to us, we'll upgrade then. Though, I think we're going to try to find a way to purchase a second car (mini van baby!!) because we are going to need it!! We'll see. At this point, here are all of the things we have done or had done to the house: professional cleaners, painted all walls, doors, trim and ceilings, repaired large hole in living room wall, replaced family room carpet, paid a LOT to have a working washer and dryer, replaced all indoor thresholds, replaced flooring in laundry area, removed dead tree from back yard, had very large tree in front yard professionally pruned, attacked 4 foot tall weeds in front yard, fixed garage door opener, changed water dispenser/ice maker filter in fridge, had all ducts professionally cleaned, replaced light switches, had multiple electrical stuff done, furnace cleaned and serviced, had exterminators out to get rid of yellow jackets in crawl space (3 times...), had roof repaired, and replaced all gutters. We are still: having the gas powered wood stove (you read that correctly) serviced before we use it (today), having drywall put up over the large hole from the washing machine repair (tomorrow), having a french drain and trench put in the backyard to keep runoff from going under the house (Saturday), and ordering and installing mini blinds on all the windows. WHEW!!! Thank you very, very much to my parents for letting us live with them to save up, as well as my aunt and grandparents for some gifts along the way. Otherwise we would be up to our eyeballs in dept! Even with ALL this stuff, we still got an incredible deal on this house, I swear!!

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful Boy (Guest blogger Daddy)

So, this is Nelson.

I don’t post on this very often (or, you know, ever), but it occurs to me that I should probably mention something about the new kid on the way. He’ll be here in January (if he’s on time), which is alarmingly only three months away.

That doesn’t seem like it’s very far away, right? Pretty soon I’ll be able to start keeping track of how much money he’ll owe Kelly and I when he turns 18. Kalaya’s tab is already at $8,544.16 and she’s only two – man, we’re going to be rolling in the dough by the time they’re both eligible to vote! Kids are the best.

We picked out a name for him already, but we haven’t found a middle name that we’re both over the moon over. Kelly is holding out for Gabriel, and I am trying to slip Brontosaurus in, but so far there’s no deal in place (mostly because I am only 90% kidding about Brontosaurus).

Kalaya is pretty excited about having a baby in the house. So far. Over the past month or so, she’s started referring to any picture of her at 18 months or younger as ‘Baby Kalaya,’ so evidently the fact that humans grow/age is at least partially in her schema. Now she talks about ‘Baby Jakiah’ all the time, and especially how his name starts ‘wiff JAAAAAAAAAAY!’

I also have to say that I am weirdly excited for all four of us to attempt to fit into one bed, which will probably only last for a few days, but should be a fun experiment. The last time I was looking forward to me and another dude being in bed with two ladies this much was in college, and those feelings and these current feelings could not be further unrelated.

At any rate, when Kelly was pregnant with Ca$h Cow #1, I remember listening to a Darius Rucker song called ‘It Won’t Be Like This For Long,’ conveniently for the first time as I was putting the crib (that she used exactly three times) together. Needless to say, I was a puddle of emotions by the end, and the crib was no closer to being finished than when the song began.

There are a lot of songs now that remind me of Kalaya - ‘Then’ (Brad Paisley), ‘Gracie’ (Ben Folds), ‘Two of Us’ (the Aimee Mann/Michael Penn version), and basically anything by Bruno Mars (especially ‘Just the Way You Are,’ since she knows and sings all of the words) or from ‘Glee’ – but that Darius Rucker song was the first one I remember REALLY affecting me as a dad.

It is in this vein that I’ll post the lyrics from the song ‘Anything Like Me,’ which is another Brad Paisley song about being a father to a son. (Aside: if you had told me ten years ago that the two songs that I would instantly identify with my children would be from the country genre, I would have punched myself in the face.) It’s not entirely accurate, but I’ll insert amendments to fix some of things that don’t really work for me, or him, or us:

Anything Like Me

I remember saying I don't care either way
Just as long as he or she is healthy I'm ok
(This was true for both kids, although secretly I wanted twins both times because 1) it would be fun, and 2) I am a masochist.)
Then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
And said "You see that thing right there well you know what that means"
(I saw the penis before the nurse said it was a penis, and even though I was pretty certain it couldn’t be anything else, I waited until there was confirmation before lighting up my 1950’s cigar. Also, I wanted to make sure the exclamation from the nurse was ‘It’s a boy!’ and not ‘Wow, she has a gigantic vulva!’)

And I started wondering who he was going to be
And I thought heaven help us if he's anything like me
(Actually, this applies more to what my brother will probably think if he ever has a son. But still.)

He'll probably climb a tree too tall and ride his bike too fast
End up every summer wearing something in a cast
He's gonna throw a ball and break some glass, in a window down the street
(One time I broke a window in our house with a ball. Close enough.)

He's gonna get in trouble, he's gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my payback if he's anything like me(If true, my payback will consist of him sleeping too much and him playing a lot of Playstation.)

I can see him right now knees all skinned up
With a magnifying glass trying to melt a Tonka truck
(I had a Tonka truck, but I was more concerned with whether it had airbags than its meltability.)

Won't he be a sight with his football helmet on
That'll be his first love til his first love comes along
(True story: I played competitive football one year, when I was 12. I was a Tight End and Cornerback. The only two plays I remember are forgetting to block a linebacker and giving up a sack, which ended with me getting benched, and getting burned by a wide receiver with a legitimate limp because his legs weren’t the same size, which ended with me getting benched. I wish my first love had come along before that.)

He'll get his heart broke by the time he's in his teens
And heaven help him if he's anything like me
(Also, heaven help his mother and I for the awful poetry he’ll write about it.)
He'll probably stay out too late and drive his car too fast
Get a speeding ticket he'll pay for mowing grass
He's gonna get caught skipping class, and be grounded for a week
(I used to skip class in high school…to go bowling. Possibly related – I didn’t have a girlfriend at the time.)

He's gonna get in trouble we're gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my payback if he's anything like me
(I hope we don’t actually fight, like in American Beauty when Chris Cooper punches Wes Bentley. Although if Jakiah says things like ‘I’m not ordinary’ and spends an inexplicable amount of time filming plastic bags in the wind…)

He's gonna love me and hate me along the way
Years are gonna fly by I already dread the day(Uh-oh, here come the waterworks.)

He's gonna hug his momma, he's gonna shake my hand
He's gonna act like he can’t wait to leave
But as he drives out he'll cry his eyes out
If he's anything like me(Suddenly it’s really dusty in here…let’s wrap it up, Brad.)

There's worse folks to be like
Oh he'll be alright
If he's anything like me

Jakiah, my beautiful boy, I hope you have all of the best of me, and none of the worst of me. But mostly I hope that you have the best and worst of you, because I love you Just The Way You Are.

(Right, Kalaya?)

FAQs about Co-Sleeping

There are different definitions of co-sleeping, family bed, sleep sharing, etc. In our house, it means that Nelson, Kalaya and I all sleep together in the same bed, at least right now. It’s changed a few times in the last 2 years and it will probably change in the future. Having Kalaya in our bed was a deliberate decision and we’re so glad we do it. But, I know that a lot of people don’t get it, don’t understand it, or just plain think we’re crazy. But, more parents co-sleep that I think admit it, whether that means they let their older child in their bed after a nightmare or take a nap with their toddler occasionally; it’s all one form or another.

So, I thought I’d post about co-sleeping at our house. We get a lot of questions/comments about it, so here are the most common:

“WHY?” Many reasons. In the beginning, I can’t imagine not having your newborn/infant right next to you. It feels incredibly unnatural to me to not have my in a room down the hall, especially in a cage. (sorry, I know people love cribs, but it’s a type of cage) Even now, at 2, it seems weird to have her that far away, at least at night. It also made nighttime feedings SO EASY. She barely had to stir, I barely had to wake up and she went back to sleep much more quickly. We ALL slept better.

“Aren’t you worried about rolling over on her? Suffocating her?” (this was more common when she was a newborn) Not really. When she was teeny tiny, we had a positioner that had bumpers on it, to keep her in one place and to keep us away from her space. We always kept our heads lower than her. We used separate, thinner blankets. I know many people keep the baby between mom and the wall or a rail, but Nelson was aware enough that we didn’t have to.

“You’ll never get her our of your bed!!” It’s true, there are so many kids who can’t go off to college, because they can’t fit their parents in their dorm beds. Seriously, we’re not worried about it. When she’s ready, she’ll sleep in her own bed.

“What are you going to do when you have another baby?” The plan right now is to let her stay. Who knows, she may decide that she doesn’t like hearing baby cry at night. Nelson may sleep in her bedroom with her, she may learn to sleep on her own, we’ll see. To keep the new baby safe from the sprawling 2 year old, we’re going to use a co-sleeper that attaches to the bed and Kalaya will sleep on the other side of Nelson. The order will be: Baby in co-sleeper, Mommy, Daddy, Kalaya.

“What if she rolls off?” As I said, she has mostly slept between us. When she first started rolling and wasn’t aware of the dimensions of the bed, we put the mattress in a corner, had it just on the ground, and installed a guard rail on the other side. We had a monitor that was really sensitive and went in as soon as she woke up, if we weren’t already with her. (such as before we went to bed)

“What about naptime?” She sleeps/slept on our bed, with the added precautions. I often nap with her.

“What about your alone time with your husband/your sex life?” Well, baby #2 is on the way, so something is working out there….. Seriously though, there are no laws that you have to be intimate in your own bed. And you just have to be creative.

"How do you all fit?” We recently upgraded to a King and it. is. awesome. We used to have a queen when she was really small and for a while had a double and queen pushed together. We also slept she and I alone for awhile and Nelson and she alone for awhile.

I know that co-sleeping isn’t for everyone. I don’t even consider myself and advocate for it. Well, maybe for parents in the beginning, especially nursing moms. But really, you have to do what works for your family. If your partner doesn’t support it, I can’t imagine trying to do it. Nelson was raised in a family that co-slept, I wasn’t. I’d never even heard of it until my first pregnancy. We bought the crib, planned on bassinet in our room for awhile, then a crib and then…never really used the crib. If our next baby seems to prefer to sleep alone or sleeps well in a crib, sleeps long stretches sooner than his sister, etc, I’m not opposed to doing what works for him. I just like others to know that co-sleeping is TOTALLY normal, much more common than it seems to be in the US and is perfectly okay.

What other questions do you have about co-sleeping?

Mid-Tour Leave

We have had a REALLY busy last couple of weeks, but they have been really fun and special. My brother is in the middle of his second deployment to Afghanistan and was able to come to Oregon for his mid-tour leave. His 3 year old daughter (Allie) was with him, as well has his girlfriend (Holly) and her 2 year old son (Archer, for part of the trip).

Kalaya ADORES Allie. We Skype with her when we can, so they are familiar with each other. They got along really, really well, playing with toys and running around. The age difference didn't seem to matter too much and they both did a great job of sharing!

We did some fun things while they all were here, including going to the zoo, the Pendelton Round Up, the beach, an Oregon State game (my brother is a HUGE fan and Holly got us great seats, front row, right on the 50 yard line, crazy!), went out to dinner a lot and just spent lots of time together as a family.

It's hard having a brother over there. Duh, that's obvious. But, it's hard because I often feel guilty about it. Guilty, because I deal with it in a pretty selfish way. I am proud of him. VERY proud. And, I love staying in contact with him and hearing that he's safe. I really, really need to send him more care packages. I feel guilty, because I don't want to know anything that he's doing over there. Ever. It terrifies me. (duh) But really, it's embarrassing how little I know about what he actually does, where he is, etc. But, really, if I knew, I don't think I could handle it. So, that part of my mind is kind of just blocked off. I don't let my imagination go there. Because, I'd never sleep without nightmares and would be freaked out all the time. I know he's done some brave, very heroic, very scary things. I'm grateful to him and so proud of him. I hope he knows that my lack of knowledge of his 'job' has nothing to do with my support of him. It's best for me to just know that he's 'safe' and that he'll come home soon!! (hopefully by the beginning of January and then I hope NEVER AGAIN)

I'm glad he got to come home and it was great to see him and my niece and get to meet his girlfriend and her family. Until January, STAY SAFE COLIN.

It's the little things...

You know what I have REALLY taken for granted since my 3rd year of college?? Having a washer and dryer in my apartment/house. You know what I've missed since I bought a house? Having a washing machine in my house that WORKS.

Yes, in the grand scheme of life, with starvation, war, etc, I know that this is a petty thing to complain about. But OH MY WORD, it is so inconvenient to be without!

I will say this again: WHAT WERE THE PEOPLE THINKING WHO LIVED HERE BEFORE US?? I'm seriously trying not to judge. They had their house listed short sale, which means they lost a lot of money on the sale. They probably had something happen to their financial situation that was pretty devastating. But, COME ON. Their house was so filthy, the yard a disaster and now we have found out that most of their draining pipes were fairly clogged and needed replacing (which we have done) and there's NO WAY they had been able to do laundry in any way, possibly for a LONG time. Now, of course, even with doing all of the repairs and things necessary to the house, it's STILL a steal at the price we got it. But, it's been a hassle.

So, FOUR VISITS FROM THE PLUMBER LATER, it appears to be fixed. Of course, now I have a gigantic hole in my wall behind my washer and have a drywall guy coming out in a few days to take care of that, another expense. But, I've already done about 4 loads of wash today and it is GREAT.

Thank you to my mom for letting me use her washer for the last couple of weeks.

What I (We) Wore Wednesday 9/21

So, this last weekend marked a family tradition; The Pendleton Round Up! Basically, it's a big rodeo in a town near where my dad grew up. Many generations of my (dad's) family and friends have been going to it over the years. (this was the 101st year of it) Actually, past family members used to BE in the rodeo itself.

Nelson and I have gone several times. One trip was actually when we got engaged, though not at the rodeo itself. We went last year for the 100th and this year we went because my brother and niece were in town. After this, we are taking a several year break. It's not the best/easiest place to have a toddler, and with 2 coming along, we'll probably start going again when our kids are in elementary school.

It's funny. We are SO not rodeo people, but we have a good time. I look past the sexism (sorry, but there aren't too many girl events), the potential cruelty animals (I don't actually think this is the case, but....) and the lack of diversity and such (referring to 'Indians' and there are a LOT of white people in one place that day....) and just enjoy the experience.

Of course, a rodeo requires certain clothing. My Wranglers just wouldn't work with the belly (I actually got them on AND buttoned, but wouldn't have been able to sit, drink or eat anything that day....), so I adapted a little bit. Everyone else is in gear too, I especially love all the kids outfits!!

My outfit:
Hat, Belt: Hamley's (western store in Pendleton)
Shirt and Boots: D&B Supply (same)

Tank: Forever 21

Mat Jeans: Motherhood
Buckle: street vendor

I am linking with That Kind of Mom.

Labor Day Camping Trip

For Labor Day weekend this year, we decided to go on our first camping trip since having Kalaya. Of course, we started planning this and made the reservations back in May, having no idea that this would happen days after closing on the house!! We decided to go anyway, partly because we weren't going to get the money back, but mainly because we knew we wanted time away from the chaos, just the three of us.

We headed out on Saturday and planned to stay 3 nights, as Nelson had taken of Tuesday. We camped at Beverly Beach, near Newport and planned to visit the aquarium during on of the days we were there. The drive went really well until about 10 miles before the campsite and then it took almost an hour! Kalaya did great though. We got to the site, set up, had dinner and just hung out until bedtime. She slept surprisingly well in the tent, I think co-sleeping was a big factor there!

Sunday she got up EARLY, because of all the light and noise in the campground, which we expected. I forgot how cold it is ALL THE TIME when camping in Oregon. I packed plenty of extra blankets, clothes, etc, but still. I wonder how much of a camping person I actually am....it may be the idea of camping that appeals to me more. A big factor was probably the fact that I was pregnant while camping....though our air mattress was actually pretty comfortable and I packed lots of extra pillows, etc.

We headed out the aquarium after breakfast, which was crowded (again, expected, because it was Labor Day weekend), but not too bad. She had a lot of fun looking at all the fish, sharks, sea lions, otters, etc, but especially talked about the octopus, which was weird kinda, because it hid in the corner of the tank the whole time and didn't move, but she liked it! We went down to the pier in Newport for lunch and walked around a little bit, especially to see the sea lions.

We headed back to the campsite, during which she took a short nap in the car. I made dinner when we got back and after that, things started going down hill. Nelson took Kalaya with him to get the firewood (which had gone just fine on Sat). She was pretty cranky at this point, due to getting up so early, big day and short nap. We planned to put her to bed after they got back. While walking back to the site, she was holding Nelson's hand and then decided to run toward the street, trying to let go. When he held on to keep her out of the street, he heard a loud pop and she started SCREAMING. He got her back to the site and she was inconsolable. (he, of course, felt absolutely terrible) She was so exhausted, she fell asleep almost immediately. We felt all over her arm, wrist, shoulder, etc, but didn't feel or see anything out of the ordinary. When we lifted it, same thing. However, if we twisted it in anyway, she screamed. So, I called our nurse advice line (by this time it was after dark), while she slept on Nelson. The nurse was very friendly and helpful and said it didn't sound broken, dislocated, etc, since there was no swelling or anything else. He said we could take her to urgent care if we wanted to, but since she was sleeping, that was a sign that she wasn't in TOO much pain.

We decided to just go to bed. The problem was that if she shifted in her sleep and moved it, she started screaming and it took a LONG time to calm her down. (God bless nursing, it was the only thing that worked) Around 11:30pm we decided it was too much and got in the car and drove to Newport to spend the night in a hotel. We got REALLY lucky, considering the date, and found a nice hotel on the 2nd try and for not too bad of a price. It was nice to be in a warm room that was quiet and she slept through the night after that.

We got up Monday, had breakfast at the hotel, showered and drove back to the site to pack up. She refused to use her arm, but as long as she didn't move it, she was acting pretty normal. We decided to head back home and stop at urgent care on the way. She did fine on the drive back.

At urgent care, as soon as the doctor on call heard her symptoms, she immediately knew what it was. Apparently, it's really common and called 'nursemaid's elbow'. Here is a link to more details. Basically, she dislocated a ligament in her elbow. OUCH! But, it's is apparently VERY, VERY common and it took the doctor literally 2 seconds to put it back in to place and Kalaya was using it normally in less than 10 minutes. It was crazy!!

So, our first camping trip was....a success? In that, she adapted well to being away from home, it just had to end a little earlier than planned. : / For obvious reasons, we only got a few pictures. And, we didn't even make it to the beach!!

Digging at the site, it's COLD in the morning!!

Exploring and learning at the aquarium

Ketchup

Wow oh WOW, has a lot been going on in our house! I don't even know where to begin! Let's see what I can remember:

*We are IN OUR NEW HOUSE!! It's messy and there are many, many projects still to be completed, but we're HERE! I'm trying to focus on the positive, we have a house and we're IN IT! Unfortunately, I tend to look at the boxes, messes, etc and focus on the stress of that instead. I'm trying to pace myself and only unpack a little at a time, because otherwise this pregnant mama gets tired! Our schedules are so off right now... It's okay. There's (obviously) no day that we HAVE to be completely moved in or packed by. (Okay, maybe by my due date...) But, I know that once the boxes are gone, I'll feel just a bit better.

*We were SO blessed by members of our church a couple of weeks back: A family (who happens to have 2 kids in our youth group) surprised us the night that we got the keys and told us she had arranged 2 afternoon work parties for our new house!!!! AMAZING!! God is so awesome. They got a TON accomplished and saved us a lot of time and money. The front yard is starting to look less like a jungle. The walls, ceilings and trim got painted. The hole in the living room got repaired. Plumbing stuff got done. It was GREAT!

*Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to the coast for a camping trip, just with the 3 of us. It started out fine, but ended up being a little more than we planned for. I need to do a whole blog about that, plus pictures. It was fun though!

*My brother has arrived home from Afghanistan for his mid-tour leave!! We are so grateful for all of the prayers these last 9 months and we're SO glad he's here safely. His daughter (Allie) is here to be with him, as well as my brother's girlfriend and her son. We're enjoying spending time all together, though I feel guilty, because I get torn between being with them and attempting to get this house in order. We've already had several get-togethers though and are going out of town together these next 2 weekends.

*Incase you didn't see my previous post, we're having a BOY!! I'm halfway through my pregnancy and feeling good! Read it, if you're more interested. : )

*It's been a crazy busy last couple of weeks, but it has been full of crazy busy blessings and fun!! It probably won't ever slow down again once this little guy arrives....but you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!!

20 Weeks

This pregnancy is just FLYING by! I can't believe I'm already halfway through!! With the new house and everything else going on, I haven't had time to do anything extra, including blogging. But, that doesn't mean that this pregnancy isn't totally exciting and special!!

We found out yesterday that we're having a BOY!! We're thrilled! Though, we would have been 100% as equally thrilled with a girl. Two comments I'm already sick of: 1) "Oh, now you're done!" Excuse me, but that will be determined by when we feel our family is 'done', not what gender combination we have! 2) Gosh, Nelson must be sooo excited! Excuse me again, Nelson was just as excited for a girl as he is for a boy. Sheesh.

No names picked out yet, but we're definitely thinking. We don't plan to keep his name a secret, as we did with Kalaya, because we want Kalaya to get used to his name as much as possible. She was very interested in the ultrasound yesterday and keeps telling people how she 'watched baby brudder on the TV'. The ultrasound went great, he's very active (as I knew!) and all the parts were there! I have an appointment on Thursday with our midwife to follow up on the measurements, etc.

I am feeling great these days! I have to be careful, because I want so badly to get the house unpacked, but between keeping track of Kalaya, cleaning and arranging, I get tired really quickly. I make myself take breaks often, but I'm still pretty tired by the end of each day. My appetite has completely returned to normal and things are tasting the way they're supposed to, which is REALLY nice. My belly definitely is popping out, to the point that people in public are confident enough to comment on it. I'll post a pic soon! I just have to find the box with my camera in it first....