Sorry, I've been away...

Sorry, I've been away for 2 weeks in the month of July on business in North Carolina. I actually really enjoy the work I do down there, but missed my girl and my guy terribly. I go down for the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program scoping meetings. They have them every year, and we visit different counties (this year, 16 in all) to assess whether their recently-produced FEMA flood maps are performing accurately, and to see if they have any new needs for the maps. It's fun to meet with the communities, and the people I work with from the State of NC are just awesome. I bought a pair of maternity jeans when I was down there that were about 5 inches too long and one of the guys even hemmed them for me! (He does a lot of costume production, so he knows his way around a sewing machine). It was awesome!!! I also got to enjoy a nice pedicure one evening, dinner out with my friend Lisa a few times, and dinner with Emma and Kriss (see the post from May about their wedding in Florida). They live in Wilmington, and I got to spend a night down there and have dinner with them. Very enjoyable! I haven't laughed that hard in a while!

But now I'm back and not going away on business for the rest of the year (to which Todd says, "THANK GOODNESS!"). Natalie got another ear infection the first week I was gone (July 12-17). Poor Todd. And of course, poor Natalie. We have an appointment on August 5th to meet with the ENT for her tube consultation. We can't WAIT. Then I came home for a week, but Natalie's daycare was closed for vacation, so I spent Monday at home with her and went to my 24 week appointment (even though I was really almost 25 weeks). Todd was home with her on Tuesday and my in-laws came Tuesday afternoon to spend the night and take Natalie back to Plymouth with them on Wednesday. I missed her like crazy, but I got a lot of things done. Todd and I went to dinner at British Beer Company and then to see the Johnny Depp movie Public Enemies. AND we managed to get home by 9:30, which was great. I also got the house cleaned, Natalie's clothes sorted and organized (you have to do this every once in a while because they grow out of them so quickly), and about 5 loads of laundry done. On the 24th, Todd and I went to the Red Sox-Orioles game. The Sox won (thankfully) 3-1, and Brad Penny got the win. I wore a t-shirt that said "Future Sox Fan" around my belly. I was like a rock star, people were constantly telling me how cute it was. Aunt Betty got it for me, so I have to thank her for that. It was a big hit!

Then we went to Maine the following morning for Gordie's 50th birthday party. (For those who don't know, he is my brother-in-law... Todd's sister Helen's husband). They have a lake house up there that is awesome, and Gordie has done most (if not all) of the work on the house himself over the last 10 years. It's so cool. Natalie had a good time running around the place and playing on the porch-like swings. (They had 2!) We spent the night in a local motel (in Sanford, ME) where Katharine Hepburn used to stay! On our way back to Boston Sunday morning, we stopped at Bunker Hill to waste some time before Todd was going to drop me off at Logan to head back to North Carolina. They did a revolutionary war rifle demonstration that was really cool. We want to go back when we have a little more time.

Since I came back from North Carolina, we went to Natalie's 2nd cousin Joshua's 2nd birthday party this past Saturday. It was SO much fun and Natalie could not stop talking about going to "Joshua's house." She painted little wooden cars, did an egg hunt, ate cake and ice cream and played with balloons. On Sunday, we went to Mandy and OB's house in Haverhill for their open house. Their new house is so awesome, and even has a little chalkboard wall in the living room that Natalie really liked. Her friend Annabelle was there too, so they had so much fun together again.

Up next: Atlanta this weekend for my friend Stacie's baby shower, time spent with the Maryland Bailey's (as they are coming up here for their annual summer visit), and we're off to Seattle in a couple of weeks! FUN!!!

4th of July weekend

FINALLY we saw some sunshine over 4th of July weekend after a very nasty June. The NWS called it the "second gloomiest June on record." (Meaning we got very little sunshine). We had 14 days of the month with measurable rainfall (record was 16 days). Most days were cloudy, foggy, misty, breezy, and in the 60s. It was miserable.

But summer made it's appearance in time for the holiday weekend. First, on Friday, Todd, Natalie and I went to the Elm Bank Reservation. It has lots of pretty gardens and places for Natalie to run around. We found a killer hill that will be great for sledding in the winter. We saw a bunny rabbit, several dogs (on leashes of course), and a bunch of neat statues and things all around the gardens. Natalie started coming down with a cold, so we wanted to get her outdoors so she could "work it off" (ha ha). We also went to Panera for lunch. This is one of her favorite things to do. She loves their grilled cheese and yogurt.

On the 4th of July, we walked downtown to the Kiwanis pancake breakfast for some good eats. I think Natalie ate about 3 whole pancakes... I lost count somewhere after 2. Then we walked toward the town square to get a seat in the grass for the Natick 4th of July parade. Natalie really liked it. We thought the 15 firetrucks (and all of the wailing that went along with them) would bother her. But as soon as they were gone, she looked up at us and said, "More?" She liked all of the music that was played, and anything that had balloons on it. She is also like me... a people watcher. She loved seeing all of the kids and dogs that would walk by. She is just enthralled with dogs of any kind. She gets all giddy when they are around. She crouches down real low, pets them very softly, and then jumps up and laughs (and usually says something like, "Puppy Dog!").

After the parade and a nap, we joined our neighbor Bill and his friends and family at his 4th of July BBQ. A good time was had by all. There were a couple of small kids/babies there, so Natalie had some playmates. Then we finally met our neighbors across the way who have a 22 month old son named Spencer. They are all really nice, and we're so happy to have good neighbors!

We enjoyed a fairly quiet Sunday, going to church, and then the Bakery on the Common in Natick for a YUMMY breakfast. I'm definitely going back there for some pasteries. They looked excellent in the display case! Then we went to the park. Natalie discovered the teeter-totter (Todd wants to call it the see-saw). She LOVED the teeter totter and cried when we had to leave. I think it might have overtaken the swings as "Natalie's favorite playground activity."

The other picture up there was Natalie saying, "CHEESE" (yes, she makes this face when we tell her to say that) after we had taken her pony tails! She had the craziest hair... it was so funny.

Colleen at 22 weeks

Here ya go folks! 22 weeks along with Butterbean! I think I'm more pointy this time with him. I was more rounded with Natalie.

Natalie's 2 year stats

I'm a bit late with these, but better late than never right? Natalie had a very traumatic experience at the doctor's for her 2 year appointment. I'm not sure if they do this everywhere, but up in Massachusetts, they draw blood yearly to check lead levels in the blood. Last year in Virginia, they pricked her finger, which was bad enough. This year, in Massachusetts, they got the blood from the elbow crook of the arm, just like they would an adult! Good luck trying to find the vein on a chubby, squirmy toddler! She was not pleased. In fact, she threw up because she was so mad. If only she had hit the nurse, then we would have been satisfied, ha ha. Unfortunately, she just threw up all over herself. Daddy was spared, at least. She also got her last shot for a while (Hep-A).

She weighed 27 lbs 14 ounces (67th percentile), was 34 inches tall (55th percentile) and had a head circumference of just over 20 inches (which was still 99th percentile, but hadn't really grown much since her 18 month appointment so it looks like the rest of her body is trying to catch up with her big noggin!).

Forgot to post this...

Sorry folks, I forgot to post this picture! This was me at 19 weeks (now I'm 21 weeks, so I'll take another pic in two more weeks). My belly is considerably bigger this time around at this point in time. I think at 19 weeks I look like I did with Natalie at about 26 weeks. Pretty crazy!

Natalie's 2nd birthday

Happy 2nd birthday to my Baby Girl! I can't believe she's actually 2. Where did the last 2 years go? We had a fun birthday on Saturday. We met up with our friends Mike and Andrea, and their 3-year-old daughter Annabelle to go to the zoo. Natalie and Annabelle were SO cute together. It really made me want a little sister for Natalie (no offense Butterbean! It was especially cute when the two of them were holding hands and walking through Stone Zoo. Of all of the animals we saw, the one that stuck out the most in Natalie's mind was the very large worm that we saw. This wasn't even an animal on display! It has been raining a lot up here in Massachusetts and had rained the night before, so this guy was just crawling along on the sidewalk. When we asked Natalie (later) what she saw at the zoo, she said, "I saw a worm!" We also got to ride on the train. There is a little train for small children that goes on a circular track that Natalie and Annabelle couldn't stop talking about. It was at the entrance/exit to the zoo, so we decided to go see the animals and THEN go for a ride on the train. That is all Natalie and Annabelle talked about the whole time! So funny. So we put the girls on the train and as the train started, it gave a really big jerk... and Natalie fell over in the seat. (She was fine, didn't fall out or anything, but it really scared her). So she was crying and wanted off the train. Annabelle was worried that she did something wrong (even though, of course, she didn't!). So Andrea and I got on the train with the girls. We were a sight to see... two pregnant ladies trying to cram ourselves into this kiddie train. But it made Natalie really happy and she had a good time. She kept talking about how she rode on the train at the zoo. Then she would smile and say, "I fall down on the train!"

After the zoo, we all went to Friendly's for lunch. Natalie had a grilled cheese (which she ate almost all of), fries (which she didn't really eat) and a scoop of chocolate/vanilla soft serve with sprinkles. She ate a lot of that (I was surprised). Annabelle gave her a set of Curious George books for her birthday that she LOVED and we read all weekend long.

The rest of the weekend was spent at Grami and Bean's house in Plymouth. We had a cupcake after dinner and sang Happy Birthday. Natalie made an attempt at blowing the candles out, but daddy had to do it for her this time. Maybe next year! Then Todd and I got to enjoy a nice evening out to celebrate the fact that we have survived 2 years of parenthood! And we celebrated Father's Day. We went to 14 Union in Plymouth and had a scrumptious (to use my friend Corinne's favorite word) meal, and then went to see The Hangover at the movie theater. VERY funny movie. I hadn't laughed that hard at a movie since Role Models.

Natalie's Early Birthday Party

Natalie had her birthday party a week early this year, because Auntie KK, Madison, and Seth are going to Williamsburg, VA on her actual birthday. It worked out well, because we were also able to celebrate Bean's birthday, and even Nauni's (Todd's sister Helen) birthday (which was in late May). I think Natalie might have been more interested in the cake than anything else, which she calls, "Happy Birthday Cake." She got many great gifts, and hardly knew what to play with first! From movies (Wall-E), to musical oinking pigs, to Mega Blocks, to tricycles, to dollhouses and baby dolls... I think she got more presents for her birthday than she got for Christmas! It's so hard for me to believe my baby girl is 2 years old. Before you know it, Brother Butterbean will be here, and he will be 2 years old in the blink of an eye also.

Natalie's new game

This post is for my friend Buzz, who says I don't blog enough. I'm trying to find little things in my life that are worthy of blogs, but most days, it's the same ol' same ol'. Do people really want to read about what I had for dinner last night, or how Todd and I folded Natalie's clothes? Or how we watched the Red Sox sweep the Yankees, but since I'm pregnant and tired, I fell asleep in the 8th inning? Really, it's pretty boring stuff on a daily basis. Really, the most interesting part of our lives is Natalie. She really grows so much developmentally on a weekly or even daily basis.

Lately, Natalie's imagination is really starting to bloom. I had a very active imagination as a child, and I'm very excited for this phase in her life. Although I never realized until now that there is a fine line between developing a creative imagination and developing a little liar! Let me begin by saying that this all happened between Todd and Natalie and I was not there, so if I get the little details wrong, Todd can correct me. :-) Yesterday, Natalie announced to Todd, "I go on the bus today!" Todd, knowing she did not go on a bus yesterday, said, "Oh really? Where did you go on the bus?" Natalie said, "I go to school." Okay good. Just like her friend Mia at daycare who goes on the bus several days a week to pre-school (Mia is 3 years old). So Todd asks her, "What did you learn about in school today?" Natalie thinks about it, and says, "Um... uh... um... uh... OWLS!!!"

It's a BOY!!!

We found out last week that we are having a boy! We are totally thrilled. Now we can be done with the business of baby making! (Being pregnant makes me rather miserable, so I'm so happy to have one of each and be done with it). Sorry the picture looks crooked on here. I'm a terrible scanner. And he was slightly looking away from the camera which meant we didn't get a 100% profile pic. Just like his sister, he was very stubborn and didn't want to move for us. But he yawned when we were watching him... it was SO adorable. He is measuring right on target and everything looked perfect with him... except one thing. He did have two CPC's - Choroid Plexus Cysts in his brain. No big deal though, according to the doctor. It CAN be indicative of Trisomy 18, but in his case, it is probably not since he is so well developed everywhere else. Trisomy 18 babies can have major defects with their hearts, kidneys, hands and feet, to name a few. His were all perfect! Trisomy 18 babies have clinched fists, and he had his hand wide open, fingers spread apart. All signs pointed to a healthy baby... but we went to a maternal fetal specialist this week, just to be sure. They said the same thing our doctor said... that he looked great! They did not even recommend doing an amnio, which would rule it out completely- they were that confident. The good thing (??) about the cysts is that they will most likely be gone by birth (they just dissipate on their own), and they are in a part of the brain that makes cerebrospinal fluid. This area is very spongy and can be prone to these cysts. They are not in an area that is responsible for development, thinking, or personality. These cysts are also a "normal variant" - which means it's something normal they often see on ultrasounds in developing babies. In fact, it's about 1 in 50 babies that get it! To put that in perspective, Natalie's hip dysplasia was a 1 in 1000 thing (or so we were told). AND lastly, just because he has these cysts, it has no bearing whatsoever on how healthy he will be as a child/adult. They are not related to anything else, except Trisomy 18 (and even then, it's a minor association). They do not mean he will get brain tumors, they do not mean he will get cancer, and they do not mean he will have developmental delays. He will be and is PERFECT!!!!

Vacation to Florida (Part III)

Okay, these are just cute pictures of Natalie that we took on our trip! I couldn't resist! The first two are of a trip to Indian Rocks Beach that we took. Natalie and Daddy were making, "Happy Birthday to You Cakes." (This is what she called them). The next two are pictures with Nana and Pop Pop. The last one is a great pic of her on Indian Rocks Beach when she and Daddy walked down to the beach. One thing's for certain, this kid loves the beach!