Another OB Appointment

I had another appointment this afternoon, at 38 weeks and 3 days. The doctor did check my cervix--I am all of 1 cm dilated (a "loose 1" however, LOL), but my cervix is still long and not really effaced, so nothing much is happening there. Sigh. I go back again next Thursday, and we'll see if any progress has been made.

The good news is that the doctor was so pleased with how well my glucose numbers have been, that I only need to prick my finger to check them twice a day! Yay! I really wasn't expecting this because last night Bob and I went out to Cheesecake Factory on a date, while my parents took the kids to Family Night at Chick-Fil-A. I had a Chinese Chicken Salad, which was delicious, but I knew I shouldn't have eaten the whole thing, even with taking off as many of the puffy rice noodles as I could! The bigger issue was the piece of Godiva chocolate cheesecake that Bob and I split. Yummmmmmm. It was so good! I must say I thoroughly enjoyed every bite, even though I knew it would wreak havoc on my numbers! When we got home, I hopped on the treadmill for a good 45 minutes. When I tested my blood after 2 hours, it was 150! I can't imagine what it would have been if I hadn't done all that walking! But the doctor said I was entitled to splurge every once in awhile, and she wasn't worried about it at all! Whew!

So we'll see what the next few days bring. I can tell the baby is still pretty high by how much she is able to move around, and by how much pressure I have on my pubic bone, as opposed to feeling the pressure in my pelvis itself. Hopefully she'll get the picture and start making moves toward coming out. We are all eager for that to happen--especially me!!

Snow Day

My Mom and Dad got in safely last night, and we were sure glad they came yesterday as opposed to today! It started snowing this morning, and it would not have been a good traveling day at all!

It snowed enough that our co-op was cancelled, much to everyone's disappointment. I decided we would just take a snow day, as opposed to doing any regular school stuff. This was a popular decision, LOL. Nathan decided to make pancakes for breakfast in celebration. It was nice for me to have a day where we didn't have to go anywhere OR do school! I did laundry while the boys worked on a puzzle that Grandma and Grandpa brought. After lunch the boys went outside to play in the snow. Anna and Grace also went out for a little while. After shoveling the driveway (why do you think we have all these boys?!), they went down to the end of the cul-de-sac to go sledding. They made a little ramp so they could catch some air when they hit a certain stump, and much fun was had. Anna even went down this ramp thing with Nathan. He said she laughed, but as soon as they were done, she told him it was too scary, LOL. Shortly thereafter, she and Grace came in. The boys stayed out for awhile. I love, love, love when they can stay outside all afternoon!

Nathan came in first, and we set up our new cocoa-latte maker, which I won in that basket from the orthodontist. When we were in the last time, the receptionist gave me the box, which had all the instructions in it--definitely what we needed to be able to try it out! Now let me be the first to say this is NOT a machine I would EVER just purchase. A kitchen appliance dedicated to making hot drinks?! I don't think so. But since we do have one, and it happened to be free . . .it turns out that it is really great! We put in the liquid (we used half water and half milk) plus the hot cocoa powder mix, put the lid on and turn the thing on. It mixes everything up and heats it up to the right temperature and there you go! Thirty-two ounces of hot cocoa on tap! Usually we're heating up tons of water, getting powder everywhere, etc. This was very non-messy, and everyone could serve themselves. I'm a fan. Poor Caleb still had to heat up water for his apple cider, but all the non-dairy-allergic people thought it was great.

Jonathan was the most sad about co-op being cancelled. While the older kids are having a writing unit, the K-4 and K-5 classes are doing a unit on community helpers. This week they were supposed to take a field trip to the library and the police station. He was very sad to miss out on that! Last week they learned about bakers, and they got to make pretzels and decorate sugar cookies. The week before that, they learned about doctors and nurses. A nurse came in and talked to them, and they got to doctor up their stuffed animals. Too cute! The first week they learned about farmers. Their project was a head made of a panty-hose knee-high stuffed with something that looks like what you put at the bottom of hamster cages, along with some grass seed right at the top. They tied a nose in it and sent it home with us to water every day. We have been doing that faithfully, and I am pleased to report that Jonathan's grass man has indeed sprouted a head of (somewhat thin) hair. It is long, however, and before the guy goes for the questionable "comb-over" style, the boys are anxious to give him a trim.

Some of you who have faithfully read my blog for awhile may remember the Shrek chia pet my brother so kindly passed on to the boys after he received it at an office Christmas party. Amazingly, this cheapo version of a chia pet turned out even better than Shrek, if you can imagine it!

Tomorrow we;re back to our regularly scheduled school day. Unless the baby comes, of course. But since there have been absolutely no signs of any impending action, I think we're good to just plan on school!

Getting Closer

I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow, so here are some belly shots, courtesy of Nathan. As a side note, I will be thrilled when he grows just a few more inches and can take pictures of me more on eye-level, without looking up. Love that double chin. Once again, I am carrying in that "she stuffed a basketball under her shirt" way, like always. Front on, it's not too bad, but from the side . . . well, it's a large basketball, LOL. The red sweater is a newer addition to my maternity wardrobe, thanks to Amy, who gave it to me when she was out visiting back in October. I love it!

Speaking of clothes, I am definitely in that awkward phase where nothing really fits at all. "Modern" maternity pants--the ones with just that band of strong elastic around the top--don't go high enough to stay up over my ball of a belly, so they immediately roll down. Then I feel like my pants are around my knees, or at least the crotch is. Gravity just works against them. I have one pair of comfortable jeans--I call them my "third trimester jeans". They have a big maternity gusset that goes all the way around, and they go up over my belly enough to stay up. Unfortunately, I do have to wash them occasionally, and I do sometimes have to wear something other than jeans. That's when I am in trouble! If only I could live in sweats. Well, actually I sort of do, LOL.

I had a good appointment on Friday. The doctor said I was doing so well with my glucose numbers that I didn't even need to come back for 2 weeks! I decided to go ahead and make an appointment for next Friday, however. This is because she said they would probably examine me and maybe strip my membranes at the next appointment, once I was over 38 weeks. I figured having an appointment next week, as well as the week after, would give me 2 more appointments before my due date. I am scheduled for an induction on Feb. 10 (my due date), since they won't let me go past my due date because of the gestational diabetes. I want as many chances as possible to start labor off without being induced! On the plus side, when I asked how early I would have to arrive for an induction, she said it wouldn't be until the afternoon! They do all their c-sections in the morning, so I would call in the morning, and they would tell me when to show up in the afternoon. That is so much more civilized than having to be there at 7:00 in the morning! But I am still hoping and praying that I will just go into labor on my own.

My parents are on their way right now! There have been some snow flurries so far, but hopefully it will be okay through the mountains. It looks like they left at a good time, since their area was supposed to get a few inches of snow tonight and on into tomorrow, as was Pennsylvania. We are all so excited to see them!

Nesting Update

I'm still trying to get stuff done, and I'm pleased to say that I have made some progress! We're jsut about done with appointments, other than my OB ones (next one is tomorrow afternoon). Luke had an orthodontist appointment yesterday, where we got the good news that he'll get his expander taken off Feb. 18! Of course, he'll be getting a retainer, which may be a lot more of a hassle . . .

This morning we went to Kiddie Kandids and had pictures taken of all the kids. I had pictures taken of Anna and Grace almost a year ago, but the last time I did all the kids was when we were in Colorado for Nana's funeral, and I was pregnant with Grace. For some hormonal reason, getting this done before the baby comes was very important to me. The pictures turned out fairly well--it's so hard to get 6 kids all smiling and looking good at the same time--but I was happy overall. Then we went to Ci-Ci's for lunch. I was really nervous about this, since I've had pizza before, and it's given me troubles with my glucose numbers. This time I exercised 35 minutes this morning before we left, and then as soon as we got back, I hopped on the treadmill for 40 more minutes. The result (after salad, 2 slices of pepperoni pizza, 2 brownies, and a bite of Grace's cinnamon roll): 107 for my reading! Yay!

I spent yesterday afternoon working upstairs. I got our closet cleaned out so we can put the pack-n-play in there, and I got all the laundry together so I can do a load of newborn stuff. I also got the car seat down from on top of the garage fridge--that definitely needs to be washed!

On Tuesday I went to Babies R Us and bought one new thing for this baby--a "SwaddleMe" baby blanket. It seems like a good idea, and hey, it doesn't seem too extravagant to spend $10 on a new baby, LOL. There's really nothing else we need. Johanna gave us their swing, which is super-duper nice--that was about the only thing I had thought of. As a side note, Anna is so excited for when the baby comes, and she tells anyone who asks that "When the new baby comes, we'll put her in the swing!" I hope the swing lives up to her expectations, LOL!

I have thought of one other thing I'd like, and that is a new glider/rocking chair. The one we have we got before Nathan was born, and it frankly wasn't the top of the line 11 years ago either. Now, after 6 babies and 3 moves, it is on its last legs. You sort of have to sit in it with your legs braced a certain way or else it doesn't glide smoothly and is really squeaky. New ones are ridiculously expensive, so we've been looking on craigslist, but nothing perfect has come up. We'll keep on looking.

So I'm coming right along on my list of things to get done. Tonight I'm taking a break from new baby stuff, and I'm scrapbooking! I guess I need to organize some photos so I actually get something done!

Snow! Finally!

It snowed today for the first time this year. We did school this morning, since we are getting ready for a several week break with the new baby, and all morning long, the boys were checking outside to see if it would stick. I didn't even know it might snow today, so I kept dampening their enthusiasm--"It won't stick; we're not supposed to get any accumulation; just enjoy how pretty it looks, etc". But it did accumulate a few inches, which motivated them to finish their schoolwork, and they spent the afternoon outside playing in it. They shoveled the driveway, sledded down the hill at the end of the cul-de-sac, and Luke and Jonathan built a cute little snowman in the front yard. It was so NICE to have them outside all afternoon! Of course, it was in the 30's, so the snow was the really wet kind, and they were all absolutely soppping wet when they came in. A small price to pay, LOL.

Anna went out for about half and hour as well. She was not at all sure about the snow, and she wouldn't walk in it for awhile. The boys had to carry her off the front porch and over to the shoveled driveway! She got over it though, and she even sledded awhile, until she got snow in her boot. Then she tried to take it off, and well, things deteriorated. Nathan brought her back crying loudly, and I decided it was naptime, which was not a popular decision. Hopefully it will snow again before the winter is over--I'm sure she won't be afraid of the snow then!

Catch-All Post

I've been meaning to blog about several things, but I just haven't had the time or inclination, it seems. So here is a post of odds and ends, in no particular order.

1. Praise the Lord, I had a really good OB appointment on Thursday! I saw the same doctor that I saw last time, and the first thing she said to me was how great my numbers looked, and how it must have been just all the stress and sickness that made me have some higher readings the end of December, as opposed to a great increase in insulin resistance! So, no mention of pills. Yay! I go back again next Friday. My numbers have been really good this week too. Being back in a good routine, with healthy kids and good nights sleep, plus tons of exercise, does wonders for my blood glucose numbers!

2. Grace is picking back up on her eating again, thankfully. I weighed her yesterday, and it looks like she is back around 20 pounds, so that is good. She is enjoying all the chocolate protein drinks and extra snacks, LOL. Best of all, she just seems happier, so she is obviously feeling good. She got her shots Thursday afternoon after my appointment, and thankfully she didn't seem to get sick or have any problems from them.

3. We are in the throes of the Upward basketball season. We're doing it at a different church this year, and we are liking the program. We also really like the fact that it's only about 5 minutes away from our house! This is Luke's first year to play on a team, and it turns out he is an excellent basketball player (taking after his cousin Pilot?!). Even though he is small, he is very athletic and coordinated, and he just moves well with the ball. Who knew he would be so aggressive? Plus, he is a good shot, so he usually makes most of the points for his team, even though he is not a ball-hog, and he passes the ball often to teammates so they can take shots. Unfortunately, most of them could not hit the broad side of a barn, so . . . He is definitely the best player on his team, but that hadn't mattered, because before yesterday, his team had lost every game. This was very discouraging for Luke, who is very competitive. We have had lots of talks with him about how his lessons from this season might have to do with just improving his skills, and those of his teammates, while learning that winning just isn't the most important thing.

That is all in contrast to Nathan, who, although this is his third year of playing, is just an average basketball player, who handles the ball okay. He has made some baskets, which is great, but he is definitely not the best player on the team or anything. But that hasn't mattered to him, because until yesterday, his team was undefeated! It's just been funny to see the differences in attitudes.

4. We are sputtering along in school, at least that's how it feels. Since we got back, we have had tons and tons of appointments, so our normal schedule has been very disjointed. I wanted to get all these things out of the way before the baby comes, though.

In co-op, they are working through a writing unit. In the fifth and sixth grades, they are writing a short research paper on a country in Africa. Nathan picked Madagascar, and so writing this paper has been taking a lot of his time. He sent in his rough draft yesterday, and they'll get that back n Tuesday. Then they have to make corrections, and they also have to put together a little display of pictures, etc. for the fifth week activity, which will be on Feb. 3. All the other kids in the co-op will go around at look at all the displays.

Luke's class is working on writing short stories. I was amazed when he came home the first Tuesday and typed up a story about a boy named Jake who wanted to play football but was too small to ever make the team. Hmmm . . . wonder where he gets these ideas?! He has since revised the story, but still . . . he is not a very eager writer, so I was happy that he took the initiative to write something on his own, outside of class. Other than that, however, co-op hasn't taken any extra of his time, so he is pretty much doing regular school stuff.

The one thing we haven't been doing much of lately is Latin, which is highly unusual for us. We are soooo close to finishing Latina Christiana II--only 3 more lessons--but somehow I am just not motivated to really work on it. Each night, when I normally think of sentences for them to translate in the morning, it's like my brain is just fried and I can't come up with anything. I'm definitely blaming that on pregnancy, but it's all I can do to review vocab during the day.

We're still working through the Story of the World IV cds in the car. Good thing we've had all those long trips to Bethesda! I've really enjoyed doing that, and it's led to good discussions. We finally finished listening to all the chapters we had previously read (as a review) and are onto new chapters. We are doing some mapwork and other things at home for chapters I think are particularly important, like the one on the peace agreement at Versailles, which was at the end of World War I.

Well, I am sure there are other things I meant to post about, but that's all I can think of right now. That will at least catch you up on us! I'll be sure to let you know if and when anything starts happening. I'll be 37 weeks on Tuesday, and my parents will get here, Lord willing, Monday, Jan. 26. We are all excited to see them again, and it will be so nice to have the extra hands! In the meantime, I will be trying to knock things off my at-home to-do list--things like washing the infant carseat material, which is dirty from being in the garage, and cleaning out our walk-in closet so the pack-n-play will fit in there. Plenty of stuff to keep me busy, but not so much running around!

Well-Baby Appointment

Yesterday afternoon was Grace's well-baby appointment. We again left right after co-op to trek on over to Bethesda. Once again we discovered that Grace is a very light-weight child. In other shocking news, the earth is round, and the sun is hot. So she weighs all of 19 pounds and 3 ounces at 20 months. This is not a completely accurate picture, though, as she was all the way up to 21 pounds before Christmas. I knew she had lost a few pounds with all this sickness and her not really eating much. She is slowly picking her pace back up, as far as how much she eats, but for awhile there, especially after the night of vomiting, she really could not have cared any less if she ate anything at all.

So the doctor was mildly concerned. Grace has been in the 5th percentile, and now she's pretty much not on the charts. This is where I am so glad we're at Bethesda, instead of the Fairfax Clinic. I really, really, really have liked all the pediatricians we've seen here, and the one we saw yesterday was actually our primary care manager, who we've seen before, and in fact just saw last week for Anna's appointment. Some continuity in care! What a concept! The doctor said she knew how skinny all my kids were, so she wasn't really worried, but she just wants to make sure that Grace starts gaining back again, and doesn't get any smaller. This is also my concern, especially since we're right in the middle of winter, and she could get sick again. Sickness is what really takes it out of a skinny baby.

So the doctor gave us some ideas to help her gain. Grace gets heavy cream on her cereal instead of whole milk, she gets cups of chocolate Carnation breakfast mix with her snacks, and we're supposed to put butter or olive oil on everything we can. Unfortunately (and ironically, given my diabetes), Grace doesn't really LIKE breads and things that you would put butter and olive oil on. Sigh. She's more of a protein/vegetables/fruit girl. Combine her lack of love for carbs with her high metabolism . . . I am extremely jealous, shall we say, LOL. I guess she'll never get gestational diabetes!

I am supposed to make an appointment to bring Grace back in for a weight check in a few weeks, when the new baby has her 2 week well-baby check. In the meantime, we've been pushing food on Grace like you wouldn't believe. She had two bowls of ice cream last night, and two bowls of cereal this morning, as well as a cup of yogurt between breakfast and lunch. We have been to Walmart and gotten the breakfast mix, as well as half-n-half (no heavy cream there, so that will have to wait), so we're set for a few days. The good news is that she has actually been eating what we've been pushing. The past week she has mainly been turning up her nose and saying, "Nooooooo" at everything. She really is feeling better finally. I am just praying that she won't get sick again from being in the nursery at co-op yesterday!!

A Day Off

I'm not feeling so well today. Grace was sick last week--she vomited for a few hours Wednesday night, and has just been "off her feed" the past few days. She doesn't seem to have any real symptoms, like a fever or diarrhea or anything, but she's not eating too much, and she's definitely not her usual perky self. Of course, when you only weigh 20 pounds and are 20 months old, not eating much is not a good thing. She has a well-baby appointment on Tuesday, so I will talk to the doctor then if she still seems this way. I'm assuming I have picked up whatever her bug was, minus the vomiting.

I worked at our co-op last Tuesday (and will be there for the next 3 weeks as well), and the thing is, Grace has gotten sick just about every. single. time she has been in the nursery. I guess the church we meet at, which is a very large one, doesn't rigorously clean their baby toys or something.

Anyhow, last night I was just sort of queasy, and I was that way again this morning. Sort of like when you're first pregnant, and there's just that persistant edge of queasiness. Hey, maybe I'm pregnant! I should test or something. So I went ahead and ate my usual gestational diabetes breakfast of 1/2 c. bran flakes, milk, and a hard-boiled egg, which did not really agree with my digestional tract. After spending some time in the bathroom, I told Bob I didn't feel like I could go to church, and I went back to bed. I slept for a few more hours, and I felt better as long as I laid in bed. As soon as I got up, though, I felt queasy again, so I have pretty much just laid around today. This has been surprisingly hard to do. I know there are so many things to do, plus I didn't exercise, which is a huge thing for me at this point. The guilt! And what on earth are you supposed to eat when you are having tummy issues and have gestational diabetes? The BRAT diet is nothing but carbs. Finally I decided on a banana and half of a cup of yogurt. My numbers were fine after that, which was a relief.

I'm feeling better, so I guess I'll eat a normal dinner. Both Bob and I were supposed to work in the nursery during evening church tonight, but Bob said he would just do it. I tell you, the temptation to try to get something done with everyone out of the house is really great, but I am just going to have to resist. I think maybe the reason I'm not feeling well today is that I have been overdoing it a bit, what with all the exercising, doctor appointments, taking the Christmas stuff down, and huge trip to the commissary, plus normal stuff like school and laundry. Next week is shaping up to be another busy one, with 2 trips to Bethesda, helping at co-op, plus various other little things. Just a little over 4 weeks before my due date! No--I am not going to think about all the stuff I need to accomplish before that . . . I am going back to bed.

We won! We won!

When we got back from Ohio, there was a message on our answering machine from the orthodontist's office--I won the "parents' giveaway", but I wouldn't be able to claim my prize until January, because they were closed between Christmas and New Year's. This morning, Nathan had a consult there, so I was able to pick up my prize basket! We won a "hot chocolate" themed basket, with 2 large mugs, marshmallows, Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix, napkins, a large platter, and a hot cocoa/latte foamer and dispenser. The dispenser should be nice--I guess we just make a lot of hot chocolate, put it in there, and then let everyone get their own on tap? It didn't come with any directions, so we're sort of on our own here, LOL.

Of course, winning this giveaway in no way makes up for having a lot of kids, all with narrow jaws. We found out that Nathan also has a narrow jaw, as well as a slight overbite. On his right side, the top teeth do not meet the bottom teeth correctly, which is because of the small jaw. Also, (the reason we brought him in), he has this "little" tooth, which didn't form right. The orthodontist recommended an expander for him as well, then braces, and then some sort of bonding to build up the tooth until a permanent crown or something can be put on it, after he is 18. Sounds expensive! We need to decide and do something fairly soon, while his jaw is still malleable. The only question is if we should start the process here. We very likely might not be here after this summer, so I just don't know if we should start something and then move. The financing lady did say that changing orthodontists in the the middle of treatment is usually very expensive. Great! One option might be to just do the expander right now, leaving it in until we start somewhere else. We'll see. Just another area of uncertainty, LOL.

Pregnancy Update

I'm 35 weeks along now, and I had an appointment yesterday afternoon at 1:30. Everything looks fine, and the baby's head is down. We talked a lot about my glucose numbers. I did really great until the girls got sick in Ohio, and I had several nights of very little sleep. SInce then, I've had a harder time keeping my numbers under 120 during the day. What I've found is that if we have a quiet day, where I do my exercise, and we don't leave the house, then I don't ahve any problems. But as soon as we run errands or something, then my numbers will be higher. Not too high--like 121 or 122--but higher than they want.

For example, I ate a turkey/cheese/spinach sandwich and 1/2 pear for lunch on Monday. Then we went to the health food store, library, and WalMart. I rushed back home, put the girls down, and took my reading, and it was 121. Yesterday we had co-op, where I had to stay and work as a "floater", mainly helping in the K-4/K-5 class, then we left from there and drove to Bethesda, after I ate a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, and an orange for lunch. My reading, which I took after parking and walking in, was 123. Then we spent the entire afternoon at Bethesda because I had an appointment for Anna, Caleb, and Jonathan after my appointment, and they had to get shots. We ended up waiting over an hour to get the shots, so we didn't leave until around 5:00, and we didn't get back home until 6:00, so that was a stressful, tiring afternoon with neither girl (nor me!) getting any sort of nap. After dinner, my number was 122.

So the doctor said it could all just be stress, or it could be that my body is just becoming more insulin-resistant as I get more and more pregnant. I'm going to go back next week on Thursdya, and if I have had more high numbers, then she will start me on a pill that stimulates my pancreas to create more insulin. It's either glipizide or glyburide, I'm not sure which one. I did some research on the computer, and I guess neither one sounds awful. All the websites do say that only insulin is approved for use in pregnancy, but that studies have shown that these 2 drugs don't appear to corss over the placenta in large amounts and aren't harmful, etc. I wouldn't be taking it for very long--just a few weeks. I don't want to take anything, but the fact is, it is very stressful to realize that no matter what I eat or how much I exercise, my numbers will probably by high if we go out and do anything. I feel like such a failure when the number is high on my little monitor! And let's face it--I'm trying to get a lot of stuff taken care of these last few weeks before the baby comes. We have lots of various doctor/dental appointments scheduled (next Tuesday afternoon Grace has her well-baby appointment, plus shots, so that will be another stressful afternoon at Bethesda!), plus I need to go to the commissary and do other things. There aren't going to be a bunch of days where we just sit at home and relax, unfortunately.

So we'll see what happens this week, I guess, and I will mentally prepare myself for going on medicine. I'm not sure if that will mean more pricking or not. I know one of the risks, similar to insulin, is that my blood glucose would get too low, especially with exercise, so I might have to test more often. What a hassle! I'm tired of all this. Five more weeks . . . The doctor did say that they won't let me go past my due date, although they might let me go up to it.

craigslist score!

I've been wanting a piece of furniture for our dining room for some time now--something with doors, so we could have some more storage that no one could see, LOL. Our dining room functions as the catch-all room, since we never eat there (we have our small 6-person table in there), and the table is pretty much the only surface in there, so it is always so cluttered. I didn't want a classic hutch with glass doors, because I don't really have anything I want to display like that. Mainly I want to hide stuff.

I've been looking at thrift stores and on craigslist off and on, but I never really found anything. Bob looked Friday night, and he found this beautiful piece for $275! Amazingly, we were the first to respond, and we went to look at it Sunday afternoon. The people lived in Bethesda, actually closer to us than the hospital. We brought both vans so that we could take it home if we liked it, which we did! Ed and Zachary were kind enough to come over to help get it into our house. We think it really jazzes up our dining room!

The people lived in a cute older neighborhood of houses built around 1940. On the way back we stopped at an open house just because we were totally nosy and wondering how much houses in that area were going for. So, it was a 2-story colonial, pretty small though, with 3 bedrooms, and a detached garage that had been made into a pool room that smelled totally like cats. There was no yard to speak of in the back, just some terraces and a patio. It was really nice inside, having been totally renovated. It was going for the bargain price of . . . $949,000. LOL! Guess they haven't heard in Bethesda that the real estate market has tanked.

Big Girl Anna

Anna has spent the last 2 nights in a big girl bed! I know she's been ready for this for a few months now, but I also knew that she would be sleeping in a crib over Christmas, while at my parents' house, so I didn't want to make the switch, and then have her go back to a crib. We tend to make the switch later than other people do. Our kids don't fuss about being in their cribs, they don't usually try to get out of their cribs, and being older when they start out in big beds, they also are better able to understand that they aren't allowed to get out of that bed and wander around the room at will. But for the past few months, we've just left the side down on Anna's crib so she can climb in and out using a chair, thus saving my back.

We had our futon in her room, set up like a couch, so we just laid it flat, and that is what she is sleeping on. We happened to have an old comforter with pink flowers, as well as pink sheets, so she was happy as a clam with those! "Pink!!" She's slept really well the past 2 nights, and she's had good naps, so yay! Now the last thing we have to do is get rid of her pacifier during bedtime . . .

We left the crib up in the room because eventually Grace will make the move over there and share the room with Anna. That will be another few months though because we'll put the new baby in our walk-in closet for a little while. I need to put up some appropriately girly pictures in the room, and I'm looking forward to finding ones that I used to have in my room when I was a little girl. I know they're in a box somewhere . . .

Happy New Year!

Another year, another trip to the hospital . . . At least we ended 2008 on a good note, at the annual party at the L's house. Maybe I'll be able to post some pictures later on today. We counted down at 9:00, which was good, since I was so tired from our day at Bethesda (no sinus infection for Nathan yet anyways--just lots of sinus congestion and pressure). Grace was obviously feeling better, even laughing, something we haven't seen since before Christmas Eve! Caleb, however, was not doing so well. He kept complaining and whining through the evening.

We finally got home and got everyone to bed around 10:30, with me following shortly behind. This morning Caleb was up a little after 7:00 crying and complaining that it hurt to breathe. He didn't sound terribly wheezy, but I gave him his inhaler anyway. He was still upset and obviously hurting, so Bob took him into the Bethesda ER. It turns out that he has pneumonia! He is on antibiotics, as well as some prednisone because the doctor said he was wheezing. He also had a breathing treament there. We're supposed to follow-up with an appointment either tomorrow or Monday. I know the peds clinic is booked up for tomorrow, so I guess it will have to be Monday. Then we will trudge back to Bethesda Tuesday afternoon for my OB appointment, plus an appointment for Anna, Jonathan, and Caleb (although I'm thinking it won't happen for him) so they can get the 6 month booster shots they need. I'm trying not to get too stressed out thinking about all the driving, parking, and waiting . . . We are certainly starting off 2009 with a bang!