What Flavor???

Thanks to those that guessed (especially Shelley and Andy :-) ).

I am very pleased to announce that come late March-early April we will welcome our 3rd little girl into the world. (We will be posting ultrasound pictures as soon as we have time to scan them).

We are really excited about her and the new dynamic she will bring to our home, our lives and the lives of all of you.

We are waiting in eager anticipation for the next several months ahead, as we have much planned for December and part of January (we are headed to Washington), and then we will be able to enjoy the splendor of a white winter in the North East for the 2-3 months following. And just as the snow begins to disappear, we will welcome our sweet little girl. After that we will spend the next months enjoying life with our 3 girls, and adjusting to life with a tiny one.

Needless to say, that after November, posting will be sporadic at best. There will be times of multiple posts a day, and times of nothing for a month. I apologize ahead of time, but know you will all understand. Thanks :-)

Ultrasound #2 for kiddo #3

Yesterday was the big day of the level 2 ultrasound to be sure everything is well with this little one and to see, as a friend put it so well, the flavor of our little one.

We spent the first 30-45 minutes speaking with a geneticist who went through our family history and took thorough notes on all the familial diseases, defects and other pertinent information. We then had a very complete ultrasound done by a skill technician and then again by a physician. The doctor said everything looks great and that this little one is, as far as appearances go on an ultrasound, very healthy looking.

So, since we haven't told everyone yet what we are having, would any uninformed persons like to wager a guess???

I won't post what we are having until I have 10 guesses, or until enough time has passed that I feel I must share.

Americans

I voted AT the POLLS today for the first time ever.

Being from Washington, where the absentee ballot is for anyone and everyone (with few exceptions), I have always voted days and even weeks before the 4th. Ashamedly I am not even sure that, before this year, I would have been able to say with certainty when election day was. I just didn't need to know, except to see how things went.

It was fun for me to take the girls in and vote. I tried to explain as simply as possible what voting was, and why, but really I don't think they get it yet. My closest attempt was to explain that we were voting for president, a person that was like a king (since my girls get the concept of a king from the princess connections). I also tried to explain the huge importance of voting, but since Lizzie's idea of a king was someone who dresses nice, and gets to go to fancy events, that didn't sink in very well.

Oh well, maybe in 4 years we will try to explain it all again, with a little more success :-)

Halloween and Pumpkin Carving

"So much squishy fun!"

Here are the long awaited pumpkins that Lizzie and Ellie helped do:

Ellie and Daddy worked on this one (mommy waited too long to get a picture and the face is giving way to decay :-( )

Lizzie and Mommy did this one, Lizzie decided on all circles for her design.

And here are a few fun shots from our busy Halloween:

Fishing for candy...

Looking pretty...

Playing at the Harvest party with our friend Jess...

visiting our friend Micayla...

In Honor of Our Family...

Who are Having a Blast at Disneyland:



Dear Disney Corp.

I want to thank you for your persistent advertising and for the sheer volume of things you have on the market with your Princess characters. In particular I want to thank you for the connection that you have allowed my 3 year old to make with rodents, that would not otherwise have taken place without the beloved Cinderella and her mice friends. Although my daughter is too young to have seen any of your animated movies, including "Cinderella", you have successfully convinced her that to have a mouse or two is not only a good thing, but a privileged one earns by getting older.

Now that we as a family are experiencing rodent infestation of a micey nature, my sweet little girl has declared that when she gets older she will get to have mice also.

Thanks so much for convincing my daughter that those dirty, disgusting, heeby-geeby-inducing, hairballs are something one earns with age.

Tell me, how can I get my mice to make me a dress or two? And if my singing isn't enough to scare them back to Cinderella's palace, can you tell me how to get a hold of the wicked step mother and her daughters, maybe they have some tips? Also, does the fairy godmother do house calls, because I have a few "friends" just waiting to be made into horses?

Cranberry Festival 2008

Today we ventured outdoors as a family. We travel about an hour and a half south to Werham, MA (near Cape Cod), in order to attend the annual Cranberry Festival.

The day was great. The weather was gorgeous, Allen & I felt okay and most importantly we were able to spend an entire day together having fun. With the events of the the last 3 months, fun time has been sparse and quality family time, just as difficult to manage. Today was a day that we had decided we were going to make time and fight off our bodies in order to love one another through a day of fun.

I could go on and on about just how important this day was for us all, but I will simply leave you with some pictures.

From Fall day at the Cranberry Festival

From Fall day at the Cranberry Festival

From Fall day at the Cranberry Festival

From Fall day at the Cranberry Festival

From Fall day at the Cranberry Festival

From Fall day at the Cranberry Festival

From Fall day at the Cranberry Festival

Animal

Tonight, Lizzie eating a banana at the table:

Steph: Are you (Curious) George?
Allen: Are you a monkey?
Lizzie: No, I not George; I not a monkey.
Allen: Are you Lizzie?
Lizzie: No, I not Izzie. I like an animal.
Steph: Really?
Allen: What animal?
Lizzie: Umm... a pig.

Medical stuff

Lizzie had her annual cardiology appointment tonight. Went well, praise the Lord! No change from last year. And as always with this stuff, as long as it's not negative change, we're good.

Here in a little bit, they are going to do a lung scan as a general screening / proactive step to measure the blood flow from her heart to her left pulmonary artery and right pulmonary artery to make sure it's even. Sometimes apparently with kids with Tetralogy of Fallot one lung gets more blood than the other simply because of one connection being bigger than the other. That can be indicative of other issues. They don't suspect that this is the case with her, just want to make sure. And we're definitely good with making sure.

Funny story from driving back from Boston tonight. We got food from the hospital and were eating on the way home. Steph and I were talking about traffic and driving in Boston.

Steph: You know, driving in Boston isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Allen: Yeah, I hear ya.

Lizzie: Mommy, does Boston have any napkins?

Ah Memories

I grew up sharing a bathroom with my sister and brother. This often lent itself to some "discussions" on bathroom etiquette. This evening events transpired that brought be back in time:

(Lately Lizzie has been going to the bathroom on her own, without Daddy or Mommy's help. It is great for us, but there is still much for her to learn. This evening was no different.)

Shortly after Lizzie went in to go potty I heard a shout, "MOMMY...HELP!!!!" I rushed in to find that she had decided to forgo the princess seat that sits on the "big potty" and was now sitting in 3 inches of toilet water, legs flailing in the air as she tried to lift herself out of the toilet. I couldn't help but laugh as pull her from her plight, remembering my own moments (yes it happened more than once) of sitting in the toilet and not on the toilet, because I hadn't looked to see that the lid was still up.

Hopefully she will learn from her mistake and not repeat it in the future. If not, I may have to get the camera :-)

Eyes

Tonight during dinner time prayer...

Lizzie: Ellie, close your eyes!

I'll let that one sink in for a moment.