Going Sledding with Daddy

Christmas Day

SJ meticulously removes all the bows from every gift she can reach...


Opening gifts with Pedro's help:


Sledding!

Christmas Eve

SJ gets to ride Cousin Gavin's four-wheeler!

Merry Christmas!

Sick Girl

This was Shirley Jean most of the day yesterday. Poor girl--I felt so terrible for her. Luckily, she seemed to feel a lot better today, and I expect a full recovery by tomorrow morning.

What the...? Why the...? How the...?

I guess we no longer have a full deck.

The best part? I pulled the card out of her diaper to take this picture.

26

I had a doctor's appointment last week, which went very well. BittyWee's heartrate is around 150, and my blood pressure was at 108/60, which was good to hear since I'd been having such crazy nosebleeds and headaches the week before. Fern wants me to keep a close eye on my headaches, but since week 24, I haven't really had any problems.

I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but I feel like BittyWee has gone through a major growth spurt in the last week or so. All of a sudden, doing regular jobs are getting a lot harder, and my stomach is getting a lot more cumbersome. There isn't really anywhere for SJ to put her leg when I hold her on my hip anymore! My lap is also getting a lot shorter for story time. :)

People ask me all the time if Shirley knows there's a baby in there. I think Shirley knows something is going on, but I highly doubt she has any idea what's coming. I've been trying to use Christmas as an opportunity to teach her about babies, talking about Baby Jesus ("Beebee!!!"), etc., but I don't think any of this will hit home for her until BittyWee is here for about a week and doesn't leave. We may have an issue then. :)

I have noticed many Braxton-Hicks contractions this week. I didn't have any with Shirley. They're weird.

Anyway, here are some factoids about BittyWee:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take two to three days.

Merrrrry Christmas.

I had my heart set on sending out my Christmas cards in tomorrow's mail so today I was on a mission. A Christmas card mission. A Christmas card mission from God.
Well, you can imagine how it went. Shirley Jean LOVED getting dressed up in her special dress and shoes, but then was not at all interested in having her picture taken. I took 109 photos, and got four mediocre photos for our card. Here is just a sampling of what I'm talking about:

My mom and husband told me to relax and walk away from it for a while, but I ignored them and forced the issue. I insisted on finishing the Christmas card with the four usable photos (I'm not kidding), and now I'm feeling insecure about it. It's too late now. Everything is paid for, sealed and stamped.

Laundry Baskets: Who knew?

Busy Bee

Excuse me, Mama, but I have a lot of work to get done.

Oh, to be 24 again.

I'm starting to get used to the fact that I'm pregnant again. (It took a while.) At this point, I'm feeling good, my appetite is good, and I'm sleeping fairly well at night. My only complaint is that getting off the couch is getting increasingly tough, and I find my growing stomach in the way more than it used to be. I definitely can't "slip through" tight spaces like I used to...
Oh, and I can't go up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath--very attractive.

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

No. Thank. You.

Shirley Jean doesn't need any help getting her shoes off, THANK.YOU.VERY.MUCH.

Sunshiny Day

Every time the sun shines outside I think, "This is probably the last time..."

So, we decided to enjoy some time outside today.