Monday, May 30, 2011

Celebration at the Station and Goodbye School

Baby Quinn,
Yesterday we took you to "Celebration at the Station".  Union Station had the KC Symphony playing and a fireworks show.  There were so many people there and the weather was perfect.  We set up blankets and chairs on the huge lawn and had a picnic.  It finally felt like the beginning of summer!  They shot off really loud cannons that made the kids around us start crying, and I wondered if someday you would be crying at the loud noise.  You moved around in my stomach but didn't seem too startled by the noise.
Quinn, this is my favorite season, summer.  I love summer so much.  I love the heat, the sun, the smell, the memories of camping, swimming, lakes and rivers, roller coasters, kettle corn, ice cream, snow cones . . . I can't wait to do all of these things with you.  I can't wait to set up a little baby pool in our yard and sit outside and play with you and the puppies.  Just like the funny card your daddy got me for Mother's Day.



Here are a couple of cute pictures and a letter from students.  With two days of school left, I am reflecting on the year and it's happy memories.  This was maybe my favorite class of kids; I will be sad to leave them.  They were all so sweet and learned so much.  Most of them really worked hard and made me so proud.  I loved hearing them speak in Spanish to each other, I loved getting homemade baby gifts, I loved them bringing me Mexican fruits and candies to try, I loved their interest and comments on my growing belly.






Here are two adorable outfits that Abraham's mom had her friend knit for the baby!  (Plus a blanket.)  
I couldn't believe what a sweet gift this was!



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

33 Weeks! and hiccups

Baby Quinn?  Baby Harper?  Baby girl is moving around a lot, she must be running out of room.  Last Thursday evening Baby Smith got hiccups!  It was the sweetest thing.  For about 4 minutes there was a repetitive tapping on the left side of my stomach.  It was so hard I could see it through my dress.  Jeff was in Memphis so I couldn't show him but I called to tell him about it.  I knew that it was common for babies to get hiccups in utero from swallowing the amniotic fluid but I had yet to notice her having them.

I had a prenatal appointment yesterday and the midwife said that she is still in perfect position.  She showed me where her head, back, and butt are.  It's amazing that she could feel where she is at in my stomach.  She said "You have a petite little girl in there."  Yay!  Sounds good to me. :)  She also said that my weight gain is good and her heart rate is good.  She said to keep planning for her to come middle of July because first babies more often come about 5 days "late".  Of course another friend reminded me that I could actually have this baby in just 4 weeks (putting me at 37 weeks) and they wouldn't stop me.  I feel much more prepared to go late than early, if she came in June I wouldn't know what to do, I've just been planning that she will come late.  Well, I guess we will find out soon!

I had two amazing baby showers this weekend: one in St. Louis, one in Columbia.  More to come on those later!

"Baby's now the size of a honeydew!
Things are heating up inside as well: Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and his brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, he'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, his bones are hardening, and he's started to keep his eyes open when he's awake. "

"This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood."


sitting next to the rose bush that Grandpa Bill planted for you



 Baby likes ice cream, just like Momma and Great-Grandma.

32 weeks! starting 8 months! (this is posted late)

"By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth."

Sunday, May 15, 2011

sick

Well, it's 1:30 am and I can't sleep.  I have a bad head cold and heartburn.  :(  I've never really had heartburn until these last couple months of pregnancy.  It sucks.  I also can't breath right now and my nose feels like it's on fire because it is so raw.  But, baby girl is awake with me and moving around.  :)  It's not her fault I have a cold.  While I'm complaining, I want to point out that it is the middle of May and I was wearing my coat, scarf, and gloves today!  What the heck is going on!!  I can't handle Missouri weather!

Good news is that we bought a crib today!  I found a great deal on cute, simple, modern looking crib:
I've had a couple of great pregnancy dreams lately.   One about going into labor and one about breast feeding.  I am very excited for both of these experiences.  I'm only 8 short weeks away but it still feels like I have plenty of time.  We still have a lot of do!  Jeff is going to sand down and paint the dresser, I need to finish the last illustration, and we need to sand and paint the window frames.  That is just the beginning of the list, but I am sure it will all get done.  Oh!  I forgot to write about our birthing class!  Maybe tomorrow I will write about that, but for now I will try to go back to sleep . . .

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day

For the last 12 years Mother's Day has been a holiday that has brought me confused feelings of sadness, anger, bitterness, and indifference.  I usually choose to try and ignore it or just have a good cry with my sister.  At the same time I have learned to celebrate those amazing women whom God has put in my life to fill that role as the years have gone by, like certain friends, my aunts, my Grandma, Pam Downey, Ina-my first year teacher mentor, Jeff's mom, and his grandmas.

Speaking of Jeff's mom, I am so so blessed to have such a wonderful mother-in-law.  Thank you Kim for being an amazing mom to Jeff and to me.  Thank you for raising an amazing man to be my husband and father of our children.  Thank you for treating me like a daughter these last few years, for the great conversations, the shopping trips, the cooking and gardening advice, the Christmas and birthday presents, the teaching materials, and the wholehearted acceptance into your family.  I hope and pray that Jeff and I will be as good of parents as you and Ben are, and that our marriage will reflect the qualities of service, patience, and commitment that radiates from yours.  Thank you for that example.

Although I still feel that aching in the bottom of my heart today, I am excited for this holiday to take on more a more joyful spirit.  Today, my first Mother's Day, with my baby girl still warm and safe inside me, helps me reflect on the gift that has been given to me and the responsibility it entails.  This morning at church one of our pastors said that his mom had passed away years ago and he spent some time this morning thinking about all of the gifts she had given him.  So during the service I quietly reflected and jotted down some fond memories that I have from my childhood, things that I am thankful for.  In an effort to keep working towards the forgiveness that I mentioned during the lenten season, I feel I should give voice to all the ways my mom was a good mom to us when we were young.  Lord I thank you for a mom who stayed home to raise us, who read to us, who cooked good meals, took us to the zoo, to the Botanical Gardens, Science Center, and art museum, who introduced me to my love of musicals, who thought it important to pay for Catholic grade school, took me to church, made my Halloween costumes, dresses, and costumes for school plays, who let us play sports and cheered us on at our games, who took us on camping trips and float trips, who cared enough to be strict with what we watched on TV and movies and what music we listened to, who let me have a backyard tent sleepover birthday party, who took us to the pool, the park, and for all the other wonderful gifts and experiences.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

30 Weeks

"Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision – which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face."







Bosco was just too cute to leave out.


30 weeks!  10 weeks left?!?  How has time flown by so quickly?  I am excited to go into labor, to give birth, to meet my baby girl, but I am not ready to not be pregnant anymore.  I love feeling her move around inside me.  I think I will miss this when she comes out.  

Baby girl, today we went on a hayride.  It turns out that growing you and taking 63 third graders to the farm is quite exhausting!