Pictures as Requested

I have consciously been avoiding taking any "pregnant" pictures since last September. Honestly, nothing is flattering at all right now, and hasn't been for the last few months. However, I've had several requests for updated pictures. These were randomly taken late one night so I possibly look even worse than usual, but who knows...
Trust me, if more than three people read this blog I wouldn't be posting these :)

Baby News

Note: The ultrasound technician was THRILLED to get this picture of Carver with his tongue sticking out. She even printed it out to show to every person in the office. That was yesterday. Today when we arrived for our regular appointment the picture was still going around the office! It has been super nice of Jessica (the ultrasound person) to show us 3-D pictures at every ultrasound. I sort of think Carver looks like a cartoon character in the above picture. See below for more "normal" pics.


This has been an eventful week for Carver. Yesterday he had his 6th ultrasound and it was tentatively estimated that he is already over 8 lbs. He is measuring in the 97th percentile for his size; and his abdomen is measuring in the 110th percentile. The conclusion is that he is definitely on the chubby side.

Although all measurements are just educated guesses, both the doctor and the midwife feel fairly confident that Carver could be 10 lbs at birth if we were to go full term. For that reason a c-section has been scheduled for December 23rd. I can't believe that we actually know his "birthday." It makes the whole things both surreal and exciting. Though the timing is not ideal, I am still super thankful to shave at least one week off my total. I'm already trying to brace myself to make it two more weeks.

My fluid level is elevated so we are all watching that. Right now it does not appear that there is anything to worry about. There is always the chance that I will go into labor before the scheduled c-section, but hopefully not. It would be good for Carver to make it to 39 weeks and good for me to have a c-section and be done with it. I hope I don't live to regret sort of wanting this c-section :) Brooke LOVED her c-section so I am pretending that her situation was the norm and not an anomaly. We'll see.

I can't wait to meet Carver. I pray the weeks go quickly and he arrives safely and healthy on the 23rd and that I can be home for Christmas. That is my ideal plan. Maybe he will cooperate.

Baby Shower # 3

Last weekend we had our third and final baby shower. We have been truly blessed by good friends and family who have hosted these showers for us, and immeasurably blessed by the amount of gifts we have received. Carver should be just about all set when he arrives in December.

This last shower was hosted by Rebecca and gave us an opportunity to include our Georgia people. My mom was able to come up for the shower and other guests included: Megan and her Mom, Rebecca's mother and grandmother, my neighbors Deanne and Trish, and Corie and her kids.

Rebecca has a beautiful home that she opened up for us and she always does such thoughtful and unique things. The shower was really special and a great ending to Carver's baby showers.

Special thanks to Megan for giving us baby Carver's very first "homemade" gifts-- a blanket, booties, and cap. Daniel and I love them all :)


Plus the cupcakes were AMAZING :) I have eaten far too many...

Baby Update

**Note: the above picture shows his little foot, right up by his face :) And he's smiling!



Today we went in for our "diagnostic" ultrasound that was scheduled primarily because I was measuring a little big and they wanted to see how big Carver actually is. So, the good news is he appears to be doing well, everything checked was in the normal range, all organs working properly, etc. The "bad" news is that he is estimated at 5.13 lb already... Babies at this stage gain about o.5 lb a week so-- he could be rather large come December. Unfortunately my due date remains the same, but I've told Carver repeatedly that he can come (a little) early if he wants. Maybe mid-December. Yes, I think that will work for me.

Our kind ultrasound tech took a few more 3-D pictures because Carver was in a better position this time. Here area a few of the new ones.
He basically had his foot next to his face in every picture. The angle was better this time, but he was moving around quite a bit so we had to catch him when he stopped or the picture was blurred. I think he is SUPER cute and I can't wait to meet him.

3-D Ultrasound

This afternoon we were able to actually "see" Carver when we went to have a 3-D ultrasound. The process was really fun, though even with modern technology babies in utero still look a little...funny. Still, he's precious to me. He cooperated rather well though it did take a little effort to get a good shot. Notice his very chubby cheeks. This probably relates to my measuring a little "big" for this point in the pregnancy. Chances are good that we have a chubby baby :) Another ultrasound is scheduled for next week to determine just how chubby the little one is.
We also were given clear visual evidence that the baby is indeed a boy. Carver seems to have all appropriate boy parts, so there should be no surprises come December.

And, of course I noticed that it looks like he only has two fingers...the ultrasound tech is fairly sure that this is due to the angle, not a lack of fingers.

All in all it was a really fun experience. I'm looking forward to the ultrasound next week which is a "diagnostic" one whereas this one was not. But, all in all I feel like Carver is doing well and that is all that matters.

On a side note, Carver has turned and is now in the correct position. Hopefully this won't ruin all my chances of an insurance covered C-section... I guess I should start mentally preparing for the whole labor thing...

Halloween Fun

I enjoy pretty much any holiday when I get to dress up the girls. Halloween is obviously the greatest of these opportunities. Too bad they don't enjoy it as much as I do. We did a quick photo session this afternoon, so that they could have a break before having to wear their costumes for a longer period tonight for all of the kids trick-or-treating.

Lea doesn't seem to mind too terribly wearing her costume, though the headpiece she clearly did not love. And, Lea is surprisingly accommodating when posing for pictures. Her favorite part of the experience was stealing the pieces to various costumes and taking them to her crate (Delia's antennae and Winston's bandana).

Delia is another story. She despises the act of putting on the costume, then seems completely embarrassed by the whole situation. It was a struggle to get her to lift her head for the pictures. But, I managed to get a few good ones :)





Now, of course I tried to get baby Winston involved in Halloween festivities as well. However, despite his massive size he is terrified of many many things. I managed to get the bandana on him, but the cowboy hat proved to be too much for him to handle.

Seriously...

Here is an answer submitted by one of my students on his first exam. Enjoy :) Question: Explain the factors surrounding the English Reformation. How was it more political than religious? How was Henry VIII and his wives involved in this "Reformation"? Which of his wives do you feel most sympathetic with? Why?
Student Response:	FIRST OF NETHERE OF HIS WIVES GET SYMPATHE FROM ME HE WAS THE KING HE SHOULD HAVE FOUND A WAY TO KEEP OM BOUTH AND ITS A STUPID REASO TO SHACK UP AN WHOE COUNTRY CAUSE A MAN CANT'T DECIDED WHAT WOMENHE WANTS ANNE BOLEYN MUSTA BEEN BEAUTIUL

Shower in Winston-Salem

Over the weekend we were blessed with another great baby shower, this time hosted and attended by Daniel's family and friends. We have both been overwhelmed by the generosity of those who love us and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of baby Carver.

Daniel's aunts hosted this shower for us and put a lot of effort into making it really special for us. I still find it a little awkward to sit in front of people, all eyes on me, and open gifts-- but it is certainly worth the discomfort! Each shower puts us that much closer to being prepared for Carver's arrival-- and that is very necessary with only 9 more weeks to go!

I even succeeded in coercing Daniel and Michael into coming!
The weekend was quick but a nice chance to visit with Daniel's family as well as some members of mine. Courtney, Julia, and Michael made the 7-hour trek to Winston just to see us and it was fabulous to have them there. They seemed particularly excited to see the girls and baby Winston, and who can blame them for that?







Daniel and I have also been making great progress in the nursery. The crib is up (thanks to Daniel's parents for that gift!), and the walls are painted, the new light fixture is hanging, and the decorations are coming along (thanks to my mom and dad!). Daniel worked on a project over the weekend for the nursery and pictures of that will come later :) All in all, we still have a ton to do, but just seeing the progress is very encouraging.

Now if only the next nine weeks will progress quickly. I've already told Carver that it is OK if he wants to come a couple of weeks early, no complaints here! I'm sure he is excited to meet all his new family so maybe he will make his debut before Christmas, since EVERYONE will be here, eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Classes Begin

Each semester I begin teaching my classes with feelings of extreme trepidation. I'm not sure if it is a community-college problem, or a generational problem, or something else entirely, but students these days say and do the most unfathomable things. Seriously. I am continually amazed, horrified and astounded by these things. Sometimes it makes me laugh, other times I want to weep or pound my head against a wall in frustration. Classes began 5 days ago, here is a short list of things that have happened so far....

* When asked what time period or place in history that they are most interested in, one students wrote: "I love the 1930s because of the Salem Witch Trials." Really? What Salem Witch Trials is she talking about? The only ones I know of occurred in the 1690s. Well done.

* One student when writing about the witch craze in Europe repeatedly stated that certain things were not "except able."

* Another student sent me an email stating that "[she] must insist" that she be given a full week to turn in her assignment instead of the 5 days given. Well, I must insist that she accept she has entered my world now and in my world she is at the level of plebian at best. Making demands will get you nowhere my friend. You have officially been shortlisted to those that I will likely never go out of my way to accommodate. Congratulations, 5 days down, 7 weeks to go.

* And finally, a student completely plagiarized his first assignment by cutting and pasting a portion from a website into a Word Document and submitting it as his own words. How did I know? He wrote, "Strict definitions of gender roles involving acceptable social standards for women, coupled with long held notions of female susceptibility to temptation led to the craze. Although witchcraft had been identified as an evil long before this time, the religious conflicts caused by the Reformation in some ways redefined the relationship between the sacred and the profane." Nice try.
(Disclaimer: original author is Michael Streich, "The Witch Craze in Sixteenth Century Europe").

Stay tuned for more from my bizarre world of teaching college students.

Pregnancy Pics

Because Mom does so much for me, and asks so little in return, I paid her back by letting her take tons of pregnant pictures of me. This activity is clearly not my favorite. First, no one likes pictures that show rapid weight gain (even if related to pregnancy), second, most people don't really enjoy posing for pictures alone, and third, it was 8 million degrees outside and I pretty much thought I would die.

But, even though I complain, I know I'll be thankful to have documentation of all this change in years to come.

Here are a few pictures that show how ginormous I am getting these days. Fun, fun.

Love and presents for baby Carver

On Saturday Carver was given his very first party. Brooke and Jenny hosted a great shower for us in Bartow and it was a really fun time of friends, family, good food, and thoughtful gifts. The shower definitely made this whole thing seem more "real," and made it clear how much stuff such small babies require.

I have been richly blessed by amazing friends who have walked through the last 20 years or so with me. I firmly believe that all friends are special, no matter when you meet them or how long your friendship has lasted. But, there is something truly unique about those lifelong friends. It is comforting to have friends that know all of your family members, all of your friends, all of your past relationships, jobs, and life experiences. It is these people that you never have to give "background information" to because they were there...they were a part of all of the moments that make up your life. I have a handful of these friends that mean the world to me, two of which are Brooke and Jenny.

I am thrilled that not only will Carver be blessed and spoiled by his aunt Courtney and aunt Holly, but he will also be well-loved by his "aunt" Jenny and "aunt" Brooke.

The weekend would have been complete if three special people could have made it. Courtney, Mandy, and Amanda couldn't be there and were missed :)

A week with the parents

It has probably been at least 10 years since I spent an entire week in Bartow, just me and the parents. Actually, I'm not sure I've ever spent a week alone with my parents (minus the siblings). Since leaving for college in '98 work, or school, or other obligations have always limited my visits to long weekends at best. That, or Daniel's work schedule, has kept us from getting down there very often.

I have always been close to my parents. I have sort of the mentality that parents can fix anything, save anything, bail you out of any situation, etc. They are sort of the superheroes of the world, not that any parents are perfect of course, but mine were close I think.

The extra special part of this week was getting to watch my parents spread the love they have for me onto baby Carver. With three months till due date he is already being showered with gifts, love, care, and concern. I hope that I can be all for this baby that my parents have always been for me and my siblings.

So, all in all, it was a fabulous week of being taken care of. It was so nice to just spend a stress free week shopping and eating out and overall just being loved on. I was, admittedly, a little sad to leave, but it is great to be back at home with Daniel with all of us safely back in one place and the dogs settled back into their appropriate places. I love my "original" family, but I love this new family that we are creating too. The closer we get to December the more anxious I get to welcome this precious boy into the world. I can 't wait to see how Daniel and I measure up to the examples set by our own parents. I'm sure it will be a rocky road but I think we'll manage. Daniel is going to be a great dad, I'm glad I get to be there to watch it.

Childbirth 101

Daniel and I entered a whole new frontier tonight when we attended our first childbirthing class. To be honest it was...traumatic, at least for me. I'll admit, Daniel handled the whole thing more admirably than I did. That is, with the exception of having to overrule his attempt at being called "Coach D" in the class...seriously.

In response to the whole "labor" issue, I wish there was just a "No, thank you" option. I mean, this baby is already much loved and much anticipated, but I just want him to miraculously appear when he is ready to enter the world. No, it's not the pain I am dreading (though clearly I'm not excited), it's the gross factor coupled with the awkward factor that is my primary concern. The blood and gore I could totally do without, but also the complete loss of any modesty, boundaries, and personal space, is most disturbing. I don't want to have to think about a mucous plug, leaking amniotic fluid, or delivering the placenta.

I know that sacrifices are required to bring babies into the world and I will certainly do whatever necessary to bring Carver into the world in the healthiest way possible. But, is it bad to secretly wish for a c-section? At least with "Coach D" there maybe I'll be kept somewhat sane. I know he'll take his job very seriously and I know I'll enjoy the "homework" the childbirth instructor gave us-- 15 minute massages every night. Sure, that works for me.

Asheville

My official favorite place on earth (well, at least in the United States) is Asheville, NC. I am still super sad that we no longer live there. Luckily, we are only about 2 hours away and occasionally we get to visit. These visits are sort of bittersweet, but I'll take what I can get. We spent Saturday in Asheville to celebrate Dean's wedding and spend some time with Courtney, Michael, and Julia.

We arrived in Asheville just in time to eat lunch at Tupelo Honey in downtown Asheville. I LOVE this place. It was one of the first restaurants that Ellen and I found when we moved to Asheville and I take advantage of every opportunity to eat there when I go back to visit. It is also always my first suggestion when people ask for good places to eat in Asheville. I think the others enjoyed it as well.

Dean's wedding was beautiful and it also gave us a great opportunity to catch up with a few old friends from Crestridge. It was nice to be included in their big day.

Unfortunately, the trip was super short. But, I remain hopeful that one day we will again call Asheville home. Until then, I'll just visit as much as possible and pray that God sends us back there one day :)

Revisiting a childhood favorite

Everyone has their favorite childhood memories, and I have many myself. But, one of my all-time favorites is camping trips to Fort Wilderness in Orlando. It's camping, but it's Disney so what more could you want? Growing up it was one of our most common vacation spots, but I hadn't been back as an adult. I really wanted to experience the place again, and introduce Daniel to "Disney-style" camping, and Julia's birthday celebration was the perfect opportunity.

Daniel and I met my parents, Courtney, Michael and Julia in mid-August for a weekend at Ft. Wilderness and the Magic Kingdom to celebrate Julia's birthday. The only thing missing was Lyle and his family :) Ft. Wilderness was almost exactly as I remembered, which is important, I think, when revisting favorite places. The number one difference was that there is no longer a "petting zoo." Which is actually really sad to me, I admit. There were a couple of miniature ponies which are entertaining in their own way, but you couldn't even touch them...what fun is that?

But, it was so fun to get to spend a few days with my family in a place that we all love. We went to the pool, and the Trading Posts, ate dinner at the Trail's End Restaurant, and used golf carts as our primary mode of transportation.

So, while going to a theme park in August while pregnant might not have been the greatest idea, the weekend was really special, especially getting to spend Julia's 12th birthday with her. I hope that she will always remember this particular birthday weekend.

Already a Full House

Daniel and I are beginning to prepare our home for the arrival of baby Carver. This process is much more complicated than I ever anticipated. The biggest problem is finding a place for everything in what is already a very full house. For one thing, we are not going from a family of two to a family of three, but rather from a family of five to a family of six. That's right, we already have three "little ones" running around. True, they aren't human babies, but that does not lessen the role they play in our family and in our lives.

Delia was a Christmas gift from my parents in 2005. She was already 3 when she came to live with us and I will always be sad that I missed her first years. Delia is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and I am thoroughly convinced that she is my pet soulmate. Yes, I admit it, I am obsessed with my girl. (I rarely call them dogs, that sounds so degrading). Delia is my perfect match and has added so much to my life. We are rarely separated because I choose to take her everywhere I go. Until recently she slept in bed with us every night (until my pregnant belly took up too much additonal room). We understand each other, and I'm her favorite person on Earth (though Daniel is a close second). Who could resist that?

After we lost Hunter in 2006 (13 year old Golden Retriever that was originally Lyle's dog), Daniel decided he needed another Golden and Baby Winston entered our life. He is now 18 months old and about 95 lbs, but will always be "baby" Winston to me! He is a gentle giant who loves indiscriminately. Our biggest issue with Winston is trying to find playmates for him that love him just as much. He spends all of his time out at camp with Daniel and is amazing with kids.

Finally, we have Lea, another Cavalier. Lea has only lived with us for 14 months but is such a perfect addition to our family that I can't imagine her not being around. She is extremely affectionate (sometimes annoyingly so), and she loves her crate. She is a sneaky thief who will steal anything she can physically carry and take it to her crate which she carefully protects. Delia will take stuff from her crate at times and this makes Lea extremely upset. Delia doesn't really want the toys...she just likes to take things from Lea. Lea is 6 years old and one of the most precious dogs I have ever met.

So, my family has been very full for the last few years. We love these dogs (even though Daniel won't admit it, he adores them all). We are excited to see how these babies handle the new baby. My thought is that Delia will be overall indifferent about Carver, but will continue to choose to be wherever I am, which means she will likely spend time sleeping on the floor of the nursery. Lea will be interested, especially with the noises the baby makes and will have no concept of boundaries; she'll try to be in the baby's face if possible. Winston, will be just as thrilled about the baby as he is about all living things.