Template fun!

I was needing a change so I switched out our blog template for a new one.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The Halloween pumpkin has left the porch and The Socal Caprons have officially kicked off the Christmas/New Year season!

Wreath for the door - complete
Christmas tree - complete
Christmas cards - compete (except for 1 card and I am still waiting for the address, so technically I am done as completely as I can at this moment)
Christmas shopping - just barely started...

I was looking over some of my previous posts and I saw an entry from the middle of November talking about how I could get a jump start on my Holiday shopping, do it all online and be done before our Thanksgiving turkey was plucked. I, apparently, am a procrastinator. I don't see how is it possible for one to have had more time to finish shopping. Here it is December 13th and I only have a handful of stocking stuffers so far. But choosing a gift can be hard and you (I) can spend a lot of time thinking and thinking trying to come up with just the right one. I know I can finish before Amazon's drop dead date for December 25th delivery. It's just funny how tasks can take just the amount of time you (I) have to complete them.

23 Weeks

According to the ultrasounds we've been having I'm over 23 weeks, but according to my original due date I'm only 22 weeks and I'm not sure which is a better predictor of my due date. Be it 22 or 23 weeks I'm feeling much bigger this time around at this point than I did with Andrew. I think the third trimester belly pics will be quite funny as I begin to be as round as I am tall.

The big news around here is that I have been given the a-okay to start increasing my activity. Which is great news, but when you drill down a little bit, that advice is just a wee bit vague...

"So Leslie, the ultrasounds look about the same, so I think you can start increasing your activity."
"Great, what does that mean?"
"You could go out and do light errands."
"OK, what about work?"
"No, I think you should still take it easy for a while."
"So, no big heavy grocery shopping trips, but say getting my hair done is ok?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right, sorry I can't give you more advice. Call me if you have any cramping/bleeding - see you in a month!"

That's about how the conversation went with my doctor. No one really knows how to treat these darn hematomas. The doctor thinks that since there has been no change for a while the pregnancy is pretty stable and that it will continue to be so. But no guarantees. So as a patient you listen to your doctor and listen to your gut and do what you think is best. The best thing for me is to get out of the house every once in a while but still spend most of my time not moving around too much.

We did get out of the house this weekend and the first thing we did was go to Nick's Deli in Seal Beach and get a couple of the the best breakfast burritos west of the Frontier! We even took a gentle stroll down to the pier. That was enough activity for me though and I spent the rest of the day napping.

I hope week 24 is just as uneventful.

Out-takes

"Do you have his shoes?"
"Shoes - check."
"We've got to hurry, the sun is going to set soon."
"We're fine, we have at least an hour of good light"
"Did you pack both outfits??"
"Yes, both outfits are in the diaper bag"
"This is going to be the best Christmas card photo ever!!"
"Yeah, totally!!"

"...turn around, I forgot the camera."

So that began our quest for a Christmas card photo yesterday. We did eventually make it to the beach before the sun set, with camera in hand. Andrew proved to be a very cooperative model and had a good time...until the costume change, he then decided that he was done. But we did get a few good shots. Here are a couple that didn't make it on the card:

Andrew Update

This picture pretty much sums up life with Andrew these days! He is into everything, and when he's not actually "in" something he is running around like crazy.

He made a big transition this weekend. He is no longer sleeping in a crib. We put his crib mattress on the floor in preparation of getting him into a "big boy" bed soon. We figured we should start the bed move now so he does not associate "losing" his crib with "gaining" a brother. I think that would have kicked off the sibling rivalry with some gusto. The first night on the floor Andrew promptly rolled off the mattress in about 5 minutes (but kept sleeping). However he wasn't so sure about the new set up and woke up at about 3:30 very disoriented and was crying. But today, he woke up about 4:45 and just started checking things out in his room. He realized that he was no longer confined in his crib and dependent upon us parents set him free. He was really funny; he quickly turned on his light and started to do this baby babble narration of his freedom epiphany, so he was just chatting it up in his room with himself and checking out his toys. After about 10 minutes, he came into our room wanting to snuggle. I am hoping that as time goes on, he'll get used to the mattress and stay on it. When he's had some success with that, I'll be ready to move him to a proper bed. (Although I am not in a big hurry since his parent's mattress is still on the floor...)

Andrew's vocabulary has stayed about the same in the past month, but his physical fearlessness and coordination are really developing. Like I mentioned above he loves to run, in fact he now prefers to run instead of walk - he also loves to climb, climb, climb. He LOVES to play "basket ball". We don't have a proper hoop, but he improvises by throwing the ball into anything resembling a basket: onto a chair, behind the baby gate, on top of our bushes, etc. What makes it so interesting to watch (and what makes it a game rather than a ball free-for-all) is that he will do this with concentration and repeatedly. I think that a toddler basketball set will be on his Christmas List.

Andrew's physical proportions continue to mature and he is now becoming more boy than baby. (But he can still fit into the clothes we bought for him a year ago!) The roominess he needed last year for his tummy has been replaced with the length he now needs for his torso and legs.

Andrew's personality as always is very charming and loving. He freely gives out hugs to anyone who asks and he still likes to be cuddled when he's sleepy. We feel pretty lucky to be his parents.

Thanksgiving 2006

We had our first Thanksgiving as a threesome this year and boy were we excited to do it right! Here's a run down of the day:

6:00am The family is up!
6:30am Leslie begins cooking and Eric is on Andrew duty
7:00am Butternut squash is in the oven to roast
7:50am Turkey is in the oven!
10:30am Turkey is out of the oven! Andrew goes down for his nap
10:30am - 11:30am side dishes are finished: butternut squash puree, braised fennel, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy.
Andrew - still napping
11:45am - Thanksgiving brunched is served! Andrew - still napping
12:00pm - Eric and Leslie finish eating! Andrew - still napping

Overall the meal was a success; turkey was fully cooked (whoohoo) and everything tasted yummy (except the fennel - I'll try a different recipe next time). Now that we've got one good turkey day spread under our belt, I'm ready for company! Just need a little work on timing. Due to a slight miscalculation with the whole size of the bird/hours to cook, we were eating about 2 hours before we thought we would, but hey, that's ok.

The rest of the day was spent digesting and lounging - we talked to the family and watched football. So we did what 99% of the rest of the country did that day. We were disappointed not to be able to see our families in person, but traveling would have been a bit too much on our little bean.

Andrew got up about 2:00 and was ready to show his holiday spirit with his turkey day hat:

Out for another month

Our doctor called last night with his assessment of Tuesday's ultrasound. He said that things look about the same as last time and he is continuing to recommend reduced activity for another month.

In addition to looking at the hematoma, the ultrasound appointment included a very detailed anatomy scan that is typically done at about 20 weeks for most pregnancies. These ultrasound images have been sent to a perinatologist to review. (A perinatologist is a specialist in maternal/fetal health and has advanced training in diagnostic ultrasound imaging.) Our ultrasound tech is good at describing what she is seeing while she is looking at the baby and we already know that our little guy's anatomy looks great. He has 4 heart chambers, good heartrate, two kidneys, complete digestive tract, no marker for a cleft palette, complete brain anatomy, no evidence of spina bifida, umbilical cord is working properly, textbook growth rate, 10 fingers, 10 toes and 1 little boy part!

My next ultrasound will be in a month. This seems like a such a long time. It will be the longest I've gone without a peek at the little guy!

Belly picture about 19 weeks

Just about half way through this baby adventure! Physically I feel great, all of the first trimester fatigue and nausea are gone. That's the odd part of bedrest (one of the odd parts) - I really feel fine and it is a constant mental game not to just run out and go do all of the things I normally do. On the bright side, since I can't leave the house, I won't have to waste time running around to stores for Christmas shopping! I can just do it all online. Maybe I'll get a jumpstart on that today.

I feel the little guy kicking on a daily basis now, and that is very reassuring. If he's moving around, he's probably pretty happy in there.

Our next ultrasound is tomorrow - we're hoping for no bleeding/blood in the images, but we'll be very happy with any sign of improvement.

Yogurt Lover

Couldn't resist posting this picture. Andrew is thoroughly enjoying his strawberry yogurt. He started out well and was using his spoon properly, but he decided that the spoon method was a bit too slow. He soon realized that scooping the yogurt with his hand was the way to go!

Mamma Update

Tuesday's ultrasound was very encouraging. Baby is growing right on schedule and all his parts still look perfect. (Confirmed again that baby still has boy parts too :). The doctor said the area of bleeding is half the size as it was two weeks ago. That means 1.) no more active bleeding and 2.) taking it easy is really working. We are extremely relieved. Doctor recommends continued low activity, so I will be home for a few more weeks. The plan is to have ultrasounds every two weeks until everything looks completely normal.

Thanks everyone for your well wishes - it means so much!!

Costume Ball

With only a few days to go before the big night, dress rehearsals and the early Halloween party circuit kicked off last night. Despite some initial hesitations, Andrew warmed up to the idea of being a zebra - especially when presented with a menagerie of friends covering every known animal, super hero, and princess. For almost an hour, Andrew and his buddies from Kindercare scampered through the center's transformed hallways and feasted on bug juice, brains and eyeballs (i.e. lemonade, spaghetti and meatballs).

Picking up the Slack

In the face of rising child care costs and the threat of a temporary income shortfall from required bed rest, we've decided to put Andrew's computer skills to the test and put him on the payroll. He'll be joining the workforce with an advanced degree in EIS (Elmo Information Systems) and a minor in PA (Peek-a-Boo Analytics). Andrew brings over 18 months of experience assisting clients with their keyboard pounding and monitor smudging needs. He specializes in system testing and tolerance testing activities, with particular attention to unexpected shut-down and recovery handling; massively simultaneous key pressing; and mouse aerodynamics. Andrew's amazing skill set combined with deep understanding of the milk processing and early childhood education industries, promises to deliver extensive value his clients and the family.

Sour puss

Andrew is constantly suprising us. As you can see in this picture, Andrew is actually eating a raw lemon. Andrew took a lemon off my dinner plate and wanted a taste. I let him have it assuming that he'd take one lick and be done with it. But the guy sucked and chewed on it for 30 minutes! We couldn't get it away from him. Well we figured that lemons count as a vegetable so it was ok. Hopefully he has some enamel left on those teeth!

Quick Update

One more quick update to the hourly play-by-play of Leslie's bed rest. In one short morning, we've manage to catch up on four weeks of promised blog entries, organize an interview for a potential nanny, send Eric to the gym, turn down a job at a company five minutes from home, set up a long overdue doctor's appointment for Eric, and ignore work inboxes that contain in excess of a few thousand emails. Amazing what you can accomplish when minor things like "jobs" don't get in the way.

Anyway, for those of you who have yet to get the details on some of our summer activities, take a look at the following video from our stay at Crystal Cove. If you like what you see and are interested in checking out one of the beach cottages, you can reserve one at their website.

Andrew's Silly Side

A quick picture of Andrew at the park - smiling!

Andrew Update

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend. Andrew picked out a pumpkin all by himself. As you can see from the picture at left, he did not take his decision lightly. He was very diligent and took his time in picking the perfect Halloween specimen.

The pumpkin patch we went to has a little great petting zoo and Andrew for the first time was able to get up close and personal to a goat without a meltdown. I think he had a good time in there.

The picture below shows Andrew's pumpkin pick (and Leslie before being on house arrest.)

Andrew's development is right on schedule. His last doctors appointment confirms he is lengthening out and developing typical toddler proportions. Of late, the major developmental explosions have centered around his vocabulary and his mobility. His vocabulary reflects the fact that he is a book lover. He is very happy sitting with mom or dad reading books together. Here are a few of his favorite words and phrases: more, what's that, mama, book, dada, cow, moon, "the sun", night-night, car, bye-bye, truck, apple, banana, shoes, toes, and eyes. He knows a lot more words than he can say. He knows most of his body parts and several animals. Also he can follow directions very well.

He is a very helpful toddler. His favorite chore is to help dad unload the dishwasher. As for mobility, he can now confidently navigate jungle gyms in the park, loves to dive off furniture, and really enjoys doing somersaults. In fact last week, his teachers said he had the whole class doing somersaults during free play outside!

In age appropriate fashion, he has developed a willful side and we've had to institute the "naughty step". When he doesn't get his way (i.e. mommy stops him from launching himself through a window), he does throw a few fists. So immediately he gets sent to the bottom step of the stairs and has to stay there for a minute or two. So far this seems to be helping.

All in all Andrew is a fabulous toddler and a sweet and thoughtful little boy. Stay tuned for more Andrew updates. I am anticipating some very funny pictures as we try to coax him into his zebra Halloween costume!

It's a Boy!

It's official, we are having a boy! Everything looks great with the little guy. He's growing right on schedule and the results of a myriad of tests reveal that he is just perfect - we knew that already though ;). His due date hasn't changed and we're still expecting his arrival on April 13th, 2007. The picture shows his profile.

Mom is now on day 4 of modified best rest - ie. can't really leave the house, but can get up and waddle over to the couch. So far Eric is great company and is keeping the family humming along.

We're praying that the next ultrasound shows that all the bleeding has stopped and mom gets to leave the house. We are getting prepared in case healing takes a bit longer. We are making plans for a part time nanny to help mom in the evenings with taking care of Andrew. Eric does eventually have to get back to work.

Andrew is enjoying the extra time with mom and dad. Dad is picking him up early everday from daycare and the two of them are brushing up on their basketball skills (Andew LOVES the new basket ball). I'll give an Andrew update in a separate entry.

Andrew in Hawaii

We made it to the blogosphere.

Hello! This is our first post on our new blog! Eric, Andrew and Leslie will use this blog to help keep our family and friends updated on the latest news from the Irvine Caprons. The goal is to post weekly - which is a stretch - but I think we can do it.