I Scream, You Scream

Some Exciting News

Check this out!

http://www.amazon.com/Gated-City-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B005KGATLO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1314978677&sr=1-1

And he's already sold 100 copies as of 10:30 am!

If you don't have a Kindle, there are a few other ways to read it. With an iPhone or an iPad, you can download a free Kindle app. I know the same goes for the Droid. Also, you can download "Kindle for my PC" for free and read it on your computer.

Ryan will tell you it's not the next Harry Potter or anything, but I am very proud of him. There will also be a small write up in the New York Times Sunday Book Review of it, which I'll try to remember to link to on Sunday.

I know there are quite a number of you all who took a lot of econ and/or urban planning classes, so you might really be interested in reading it.

Also, Ryan will be on MSNBC this afternoon talking about the jobs numbers that came out today, so if you are near a TV, check it out. I think it should be between 2 and 2:15...?

18 Months

At 18 months, Eleanor is adventurous and sweet. She repeats everything you say now and comes up with the funniest "sentences." Like yesterday: "Uh oh. Happened? Down!" as a way of saying, "Uh oh, what happened? They all fell down!" Every time she identifies something, she says hi and asks how it is doing (or what it is doing, it is unclear). Example: "Airplane! Hi! Doing?" She asks after her all of her extended family members regularly. "Tim? Doing? Bye Bye?" (And no, she hasn't seen Uncle Tim in over a month).

She weighs 30 pounds and is about 33 1/2 inches - still in the 95th percentile for weight and height. She wakes up at 6am and goes to be between 7pm and 7:30 and usually naps from noon - 2pm. She loves cheese and crackers and doing wooden puzzles and reading.

She is a wonderful little person, and these days particularly, I don't know what I would do without her.

Rest In Peace, Little Nugget

It is with great sadness that I post the last picture we have of our little Nugget when it's heart was still beating, taken last Wednesday.

When we went in for our First Trimester Triple Screen, we were told we were at an increased risk for Trisomy 18. We were given a 1 in 30 chance of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality that made it incompatible with life. So, we scheduled a CVS for Friday to find out for sure. During the ultrasound prior to the procedure, we were told there was no need for chromosomal mapping as Nugget was no longer developing; the heart had stopped beating, mostly likely because it did in fact have an extra 18th chromosome in every cell of its little body. I was then told that because of how far along I was, there was really only one safe option: a D&C, wherein the baby and the rest of the reproductive matter would be removed surgically.

While the physical recovery from the procedure (which occurred Saturday) has not been too difficult, emotionally, I am all over the place. I am glad that nature took its course and that there was no tough decision to be made regarding a baby with Trisomy 18. I am so thankful for the healthy 18-month old (in 4 days!) that we have at home that proves we can make PERFECT babies. I want to be pregnant again and still very much look forward to bringing another baby home.

But I am so sad that it wasn't this baby. Nugget just didn't have what it takes to grow and flourish, and there is nothing that I can do about that. I miss being pregnant. I am sad that the daydreaming and planning and researching that I had been doing for Nugget has been in vain. Of course it doesn't seem "fair," though that is Mother Nature for you, I suppose. I know someone has to be that 1 out of 30. And as much as I tried to prepare myself to be that one, I couldn't help but think that I was really most likely to be one of the 29 out of 30 that had a healthy baby that I'd be welcoming into this world in late February. It is a little overwhelming.

Lions and Tigers and Bones, Oh My!

We took Eleanor to the best "zoo" ever: the Natural History Museum, where the animals stand there, completely still, for as long as you want to look at them.

She was probably just as fascinated with the videos as much as anything else.

"Survival Lessons Start Young"

She also learned a new word at the museum: "bones".

Family Portrait

And now for the update on the other little animal: 10 Weeks!

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Free Lance Photographer

The other day I went over to take some pictures of little Jane, Eleanor's new best friend, for one of my best friend's, Jen. Jane is just so cute that I had to share a few. If anyone else needs a baby photographer, I like to be paid in old maternity clothes. :)

9 Week Update

While this isn't the highest quality picture ever, I'm thrilled with it. I don't often get pictures of Eleanor and I, and I'm happy my hand made this shot - my leg did too for that matter, but I cropped that pale thing out.

Speaking of pale things, I haven't taken any belly pics yet of me and #2 - there isn't much there to see. In fact, my stomach looks very similar to my 10 week pic posted with Eleanor. But #2 is doing quite well:

9 weeks: Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Little Swimmer

Perhaps her favorite thing in the whole wide world, THE POOL:

And just so that you can get a full view of the "still a chubby baby" tummy:

And speaking of little swimmers, here is what #2 is up to:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Typical Morning

Every morning, Eleanor and I hang out at the park (which is luckily about 20 yards from the house) for about an hour. Since it's been so hot, it is sometimes her only real outside play time, and I think she enjoys this hour more than any other during the day.

Let the Bedlam Begin!

So here is my official excuse for neglecting the blog:

And because everyone loves ultrasound pictures:

So, I'm definitely not out of the first trimester, the time that many people wait until to share pregnancy news, but I've seen the heart beat and haven't had any problems before (even though we thought we did), and I don't believe in "jinxing" things, so I'm announcing to my many, many blog followers that we are pregnant with baby #2 (which 9/10 of you know already). It was just hard to put anything up on the blog because this is the ONLY THING I can imagine talking about right now. I was first given a due date of February 14, but after this ultrasound, the date was changed to February 29. Leap Year Baby! That means I'm only 7 weeks along, which means I've got a baby blueberry in there.

Baby's now the size of a blueberry!
Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about one hundred new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

I am really excited, though slightly terrified. The kiddos will be only 2 years apart, which I think will make the first year difficult, though I imagine in the long run it will be nice to have them so close in age. I'm also quite tired and feeling pretty nauseous and obviously still taking care of a 17-month old (who is now down to one nap a day).

I will try and be better about updating though, now that I've gotten the big news out of the way!

Yay!

We are all sorts of excited today;
we are headed to the beach tomorrow for a whole week!

Fun With Food

Meal time is always an adventure with Eleanor. She loves food, but is very, very bored when just sitting in a chair - she really needs to be constantly entertained. Enter, the clothespin: a great way to eat your bread and play at the same time.

Souvenir

Ryan brought back this adorable little outfit for Eleanor from his two week trip to China. Besides drinking the water in Beijing, the trip sounds like it was fantastic. We missed him miserably, but we are both so proud that people want to pay for Ryan to see the world! Speaking of proud, check this out:

Look five people left of The President.
Yep! That's Ryan!

Happy 5 Years!

I am the luckiest.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Blogging, Hopefully

Things have been quite crazy these days. With baby showers and weddings and trips to the beach and trips to China. But we hope to get back into the blog thing here again. So stay tuned!

How Ellie Learned the Word "Up"

Absolute Perfection

Happy Mother's Day

I want to extend happy mother's day wishes to all the mommies who serve as examples to me, particularly Ellie's Yia Yia and Grandma, who really should co-author the book on what it takes to be THE BEST MOMMY EVER.

Yia Yia, the extent to which you sacrifice for your family truly inspires awe - you are the reason I know how to attempt everyday to mother with my whole being.

Grandma, you seem to have an endless capacity for love; you make everyone feel special and cared for - you don't seem to divide your heart amongst your family; it appears you just grow more and more of it for each new person who comes along.

Sandy Monday

Ellie-in-the-box

Words Words Words

Here's a list of all of the words that Eleanor says on her own, without prompting, as of today:

1. Mama
2. Daddy
3. Night Night
4. Bun Bun
5. Byron
6. Augie
7. Doggy
8. Kitty
9. Baby
10. Ball
11. Milk
12. Apple
13. Banana
14. Cheese
15. Ohs (Cheerios)
16. Bottle
17. All Done
18. Up
19. Bye Bye
20. Elmo
21. Car
22. Yia Yia
23. Pau Pous
24. Ellie!

There are a lot of words that she repeats as well, though I don't think that really counts as words that she has. And she makes a lot of appropriate animal sounds right now when she sees several animals: cow, pig, sheep, etc. BUT, she's kind of shy, so when other people are around, she's very quiet - very pleasant and sweet, but just quiet.

Baby Blues

I think from now on, I'm only going to buy
Eleanor clothes that are light blue.