zoo

I took the girls to the zoo yesterday. Camille was just amazed. She was too young last year to enjoy it. Seeing it through her eyes was so cool. As soon as we walked in there were two peacocks walking freely. They were heading towards us so we stopped to watch them. I was stooped next to Camille telling her about them but the closer they got to us the more freaked out Av got. She is becoming kind of afraid of things. Poor girl. So I got between her and the peacocks and then off we went. We checked out a bunch of animals, played at the park and then went to feed the ducks. We were with Caroline and Max. There was a metal fence between the ducks and us but Av was still scared to get too close. As I was trying to explain to Av that the ducks were on the other side of the fence and could not get us we started getting swarmed by ducks, swans and geese. They were aggressive and used to people and were honking at us. Av climbed back on her stroller and was covering her ears. Poor thing was really scared and almost hyperventilating. Her friend Caroline had been feeding the ducks under the fence and got bit by a swan. She was okay just bleeding a little. As Melissa and I got us out of there we were laughing pretty hard. We went to a new spot where we were on a deck several feet above the water so we could throw the bread down into the water. No ducks were close to us there but by that point Caroline and Av would have no part of it. Camille and Max loved it though. Camille did her happy dance between each piece of bread she threw and kept saying “duck” as she pointed to them. It was pretty cool to her.

St. Patty's day

We took the girls to the St. Patty’s day parade this weekend. Although the weather didn’t pan out quite like we had hoped we all had a great time. Av ended up with a full bag of candy. She was not expecting that. She ate more candy in those 2 hours than she has ever had before. Camille was a little overwhelmed the whole time but very interested in it all. She really didn’t want either John or I out of her sight and kept going back and forth between the 2 of us. The parade didn’t really have floats in it like a normal parade. It was made up of many different groups of people walking in it throwing candy. The parade was 2 hours long and I really think if we had put matching shirts on we could have been part of the parade if we wanted to be. Anyway a lot of the groups of people had dogs with them in the parade. Camille loved that part. She is very interested in dogs and animals. Camille kept picking up the candy and just holding it. She had a piece of that strawberry candy (the kind your grandmother always had that had the soft middle that was always kind of old and goopy by the time you ate it) in each hand by the end of it and would not give it up. By the time the parade was over we were all pretty cold. We ended up heading to dinner with all our friends. I don’t think that restaurant will ever be the same. We had 10 kids with us. The food took awhile and the kids were running kind of wild (the restaurant was very empty) by the time it came out. Too much candy and excitement but a fun day was had by all. Pictures to come.

It's a........

healthy happy baby BOY!!!!!!

test

Well the test could not have gone better yesterday. It was quick, easy and painless. The doctor said a few times that it went really really well and he does not foresee any complications. He said he would have the preliminary results in 24 hours! So exciting. So it’s just a waiting game now. The doctor said he would call with bad news and the nurse would call with good news. So as soon as I hear her voice I will know. It’s so hard to wait. I was not really worried about anything being wrong until now so that has to be a good sign right? I think with Camille I heard 2 mornings later so I bet I will not hear until tomorrow. Ugh. We love this doctor though. He is just so cool and so nice. He had a great bedside manner; he seems to really take the time to get to know his patients and really cares. I spent a lot of time with him during Camille’s pregnancy. We had a complication that thankfully turned out to be minor but at 5:00pm one day I thought my water broke. I called his after hours line and he was still in his office. He agreed to wait and see us. John and I fought traffic separately to get to him as fast as we could. His staff was all gone for the night but he took great care of us without them. I hate waiting!!!!!!!!!

10 weeks

Not really too much new to report. I’m sick in and out and have my tired days and then my not so tired days. Clothes are starting to get tight and I do have a cute little belly. I will not be able to hide it much longer. I went to Starbucks this weekend! They welcomed me back. I got my decaf mocha and loved it! Have not really gained any weight but I think my appetite is starting to pick up (today already alone I have had a bowl of all natural oatmeal with mixed berries, hard boiled egg, banana and some almonds, the most I have ate before lunch in a very long time!). My CVS is tomorrow. I had one with Camille as well since Av has a chromosomal abnormality. I just need to know one way or another so we are not blind-sided with it like we were with Av. It will just help me have a peaceful pregnancy. Another benefit of the test is that we will know the gender of the baby this week!!!!!!!! I can’t wait. If we had a boy and a girl I would not be finding out but if this is a boy I need to purge some pink! The biggest benefit of this testing is the extra ultrasounds (one at week 11 and another at week 24 on top of the normal 18-20 week one from our regular OB) we get on the highest and best equipment available. Tomorrow we will get to spend about 30 minutes looking at our sweet baby in crazy clarity. I can’t wait!

silly Avery

On our way back home from hbr we passed a truck loaded down with crunched up old cars. My mom told Av they were going to be recycled. She asked why and Grandma told her so they could be used again just like the stuff we recycle at home. From the back seat Av said “so and so (a friend of hers that will not be named) does not recycle.” It was pretty funny.

We have been working with Av on when we can get up in the morning and have taught her that it is not time to get up until there is a number 7 as the first number on the clock. On Thursday (the first morning of Grandma being in town) I heard Av crying from her room. I went in there and told her to be quiet so she did not wake up her sister. She pointed to the clock and said there was a 7 and it was time to get up. She was right it was 7:04. Off to see Grandma she went. Wonder how long she had been waiting for that 7?

smart Avery

Av can count. She is mostly correct when she does. Not sure how high she can count but she is great at it. Over the weekend Grandma asked her what came after 20. She said 21, 22, 23! I was pretty impressed. It’s one thing for her to have counting to 23 memorized but to be able to just start at a random number and pick up counting is pretty darn good. We were also driving in the car and Grandma was telling her that soon the trees would have leaves on them again and the flowers would bloom. I asked Av what season all that happened in and she said “spring.” She knows her stuff. At hbr on Thursday Becky re-tested Av to track her improvements. She is now jumping higher and farther forwards, running faster, can stand on one foot and can pedal. It is pretty exciting.