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Father’s Day

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We had a very nice (but kind of mellow) Father’s Day yesterday. It was a bit hectic because we had people coming over…and I probably should have done more to make the day extra special for Elliot, but I just don’t have the energy right now. I had gotten Elliot a card from Micah and one from me. Micah made his Daddy a tie-dyed t-shirt in daycare, so that was his gift to his Daddy. I also had ordered Elliot a new “jump seat” for the bike for Micah. We have a bike trailer, but now that Micah is older, I thought Elliot might find it easier to transport Micah in the seat instead of the trailer (he bikes him to daycare 3x/week and they run errands together). I also ordered a few other “odds and ends” he needed for his bike.

Because Elliot is particular about his bike, I ruined the surprise gift about a week or two ago so he could investigate my gift and see if he thought it was the best option for his bike. Naturally, he had other ideas, so he asked if we could order a different seat. That seat arrived last week…and long story short, Elliot wasn’t so thrilled with the seat. After doing more research, he concluded that I might have actually identified a better option! We re-ordered that seat, and it just arrived today. Elliot spent this afternoon attaching it, and we should know in a bit if he likes this seat better. I hope he likes his gift…but I feel badly that there was no Father’s Day gift-opening surprise for him.

Elliot doesn’t know this, but I had planned to order him some personalized gifts with pictures of Twoey for Father’s Day as well…but she has not been so cooperative. I’m also now missing all the Father’s Day sales and free shipping on items, but, hey, I guess that will just have to do. Once she arrives, I’ll complete his gift with something from Twoey (and perhaps a nice picture of the three of them together).

We did not have any big plans for Father’s Day (mostly because we were afraid to plan anything with my supposedly impending labor). Jeremy, Jen, Paige and Peyton decided to come down to our house, and my parents came over, too. We had my parents’ anniversary to celebrate, my brother’s birthday AND Father’s Day that all deserved some attention. Unfortunately, I just did not have it in me to bake a cake, nor did any of us feel like doing any real cooking.

Instead, I pre-ordered a dozen bagels on Saturday, and Elliot, Micah and I walked over to pick them up in the morning. Round trip, the walk was almost 2 miles. I was hoping the effort would send me into labor…but as you can see, I’m still here. When we got home, we threw together some egg salad and some tuna fish. Everyone arrived around 12 (it was later than we had originally planned because my brother had a slight scare…they thought their dog ran away…turned out, she was just stuck and hiding under a bed). Anyway, we all sat down to a light lunch together. The kids were so cute playing together – Micah was running loops around the house being chased by his cousins, and they were all happily screaming together. Micah was also busy ordering everyone to “sit down” – his new favorite phrase. We all gave my father a Keurig coffee maker and some accessories. I just gave my brother a card for his birthday, and a card to my parents for their anniversary. My brother and I felt a little bad that we did not have anything special for their anniversary…we’ll have to come up with something later this year when things calm back down again.

Anyway, my mom is still quite exhausted – she was upstairs napping for a bit while the kids played together. I love watching Micah interact with his cousins! Everyone left around 2:30, and we put Micah down for his afternoon nap. He only slept about 2 hours…but it seemed to be enough. When he woke up, we played for a few hours, and then Elliot grilled some burgers for them for dinner. Micah gobbled up about 1/2 a burger and some strawberries. He was very cute. The little monkey has been climbing INTO his high chair lately – we have to really watch him to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.

After dinner, we decided to go on another walk. We ended up walking another 2-2.5 miles and stopping at the grocery store. It was a nice long walk, and we got back just in time to give Micah a quick bath and put him to bed.

I haven’t felt much like blogging lately…I’m kind of miserable from all the contractions, and I cannot believe little Miss Twoey has refused to make her appearance yet. I never wanted to be one of those women who complained about still being pregnant…but this is not fun, especially with the contractions and the prior expectation of pre-term labor. I’m now officially worried that they will have to induce me, and that would involve needles. Perhaps worried is an understatement…my needle phobia has started to kick into high gear, and panic is beginning to reign every time I think about when/if this baby is going to show up.

Things have been MUCH better with Micah since he has been on the Zantac…no more night wakings, and his grump factor has gone way down. We have only been giving him the Zantac at night, but I’m wondering if we should consider a daytime dosage, too.

Wish I had more to add…I’ll post again when I have more updates. I have a doctor appointment on Wednesday and another ultrasound later this week. Keep your fingers crossed I can miss those appointments!

Anyway, just wanted to wish a very Happy Father’s Day to Elliot, to my father, and to Poppy Ira! You are all very much loved and appreciated as fathers.

Crazy Day

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Wow…I’m exhausted. Micah woke up on the late side yesterday, and we did a mad dash to get hi to his art class before daycare…only to find out they canceled the class and forgot to tell us. We dropped him at daycare and came home. We got a bit of work done, but then we ran out to go to my condo to work on getting it ready for sale next week. We spent about an hour cleaning things out, then went to my my midwife appointment. The baby was doing well – I’m still 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced (or so). I was hoping for some more progress, but no such luck! I think she will be staying put for a little while longer. My belly was measuring around 35 weeks (I never got bigger than that with Micah). They did my group B strep test…let’s hope it comes back negative!

After the appointment, we came home. I finished putting a few things away, got a bit more work done, and then the architect and the builder came by. We talked about the new bid, finalized a few other pieces of information – and now we wait for a formal written bid (hopefully to come in on Monday). If the bid comes back as promised, we are all set to move forward and get these renovations on the road! Right after our meeting, Elliot ran out to pick Micah up from daycare. He did not nap at all yesterday, so cranky does not even begin to describe Micah’s mood last night. He was really difficult all through dinner, and we finally gave in and just put Sesame Street on for an hour before taking him upstairs for a bath and bedtime.

Micah woke a bit on the early side this morning (just before 8). He was still pretty cranky through breakfast, unfortunately. The babysitter, Christin, arrived at 9:00, and she helped keep him calm and get him dressed. My father showed up around 9:45 – it was the first day of the new semester of his Kidville classes, and unfortunately, I screwed up and scheduled an ultrasound during class. I wanted to go with Micah and Christin to show her the ropes, but I just couldn’t be in two places at once. My father volunteered to come down and go in with them so she would not have to do it on her own. Apparently, they had a great time – my father left the first class for a bit to run errands, but he was a huge help getting them down there and all settled into class.

While they were in class, Elliot and I went for the ultrasound. Twoey looked great…she is still head down. She was measuring at about 35 weeks (same as Micah at this point). They guestimated her weight at around 5 lbs 15 ozs (which I think is a bit smaller than they predicted for Micah at this point). I think she is going to be small like Micah. They confirmed a whole lot of hair again, too, so I think we are going to have another baby with crazy hair! She passed her biophysical profile with flying covers, scoring a perfect 8/8.

We made it home around 11:30. We scheduled Micah for back-to-back classes, so they did not come home until about 12:30. My father left and went about his day, and Christin fed Micah lunch. Our organizer, Leslie, showed up here around 12:00 – I immediately took her upstairs to help me finish digging out the bedroom. In the corner of the bedroom, I’ve had one last box that I never unpacked after we moved in, and a pile of a few other things. Since I gave up my office when we moved here, I don’t really have a place to store all of my papers and business items. Unfortunately, they’ve been getting a bit unwieldy. We sorted the box, sorted all of my papers, divided everything up for filing, and threw out several bags of unnecessary junk. I now have a space in the room to put a small dresser for Twoey’s clothing until we move into our bigger place. I feel SOOO much better to have unloaded a bit more (and Leslie also attacked Elliot’s half of the room and unloaded a bunch of his junk, too). So, things are looking up – we’ve significantly de-cluttered, which will make packing up to move MUCH easier (and I don’t have to feel like keeping the baby in our bedroom is a health hazard!).

Micah went down for his nap a little after 1:00 pm. While I was working with Leslie, Christin brought her friend Megan over (who previously babysat for us). Megan is thinking about changing her job, and might be interested in working for us as Micah and Twoey’s nanny beginning in September!! I’m so excited – if this works out, it really will be a great solution for us. She is responsible, good with children, and she is willing to work for a very reasonable amount of money since she is only 20 and has never been a nanny before (although she has TONS of babysitting experience). She would like to be a party planner when she “grows up” and my father has a lot of party planning connections (he owns a stationery business and does a lot of work in that field). We think we can hire her and help get her some internships/other part-time work in the party planning industry. Our hope is that she’ll work for us for two years full time (and maybe another year or so part-time), and that as our need decreases, we can slowly help her take off on the career of her dreams. Let’s see if this works out!

At 3:00, Leslie left. I was amazed at how much we accomplished in three hours. My mom normally comes on Thursday nights for date night, but she has had a rough week at work (and an unexpected trip to the dentist), so I told her she could take the night for herself if she needed it. She apologized, but decided to head home after work. I’m just so lucky she gives us as much time as she does! Since Christin is desperate for more hours and to earn more money, I asked her if she would mind staying later tonight. She happily agreed! When Micah woke up from his nap, she asked if she could take him over to her mom’s (Laura’s) house. Laura babysits my friend Niki and Eric’s kids on Thursdays (that is how I found Christin last year), and Micah loves playing with them and loves going to their house. I said it was fine, and off they went! They played in the baby pool, and played with trains. Christin called and asked if they could stay at Laura’s house through dinner, and I said that was fine. When they took off, Elliot and I decided to head back to my condo to finish emptying it and do all the touch-up painting that needed to be done. By the way, I love those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers – they did a great job removing all kinds of scuffs and issues. We stayed there for about 2 1/2 hours, decided not to do anything more for date night, then made it back here before Micah’s bedtime. We walked through the door, and Micah was sitting quietly, cuddling with Christin, and all dressed in his pajamas. We got to spend some time with him and put him to bed, so it was a nice evening. Christin took off after a VERY long day, but they both seemed to have a great time (and we managed to accomplish a lot today).

I can’t believe we still have another day left this week! I’m looking forward to the long weekend. We are going out to dinner on Saturday night with all of my cousins. We are thinking of having a few people over on Monday afternoon/evening for a Memorial Day….gathering. Very small and low-key, but hopefully it will be fun. We want to keep it small and simple (I am not up for working too hard…and I want to be able to easily cancel if I go into labor).

So…happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Trip to the Zoo

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On Friday, Micah had a daycare field trip to the zoo! It was his first trip to the zoo, but I was a bit hesitant about chaperoning. Elliot had a prior commitment and could not attend, and I was afraid the trip would be too much for me, especially on my own. Last minute, my father was able to re-arrange his schedule so that he could chaperone the trip, and I decided to go along, too.

My father showed up at our house bright and early at 9:00 am, and off to daycare we went. As a side note, my father showed up a bit dressed up for the trip to the zoo. He had on a beautiful blue button-down collar shirt. I took one look at him and suggested he might be too hot in the outfit. In typical fashion, my father insisted he would be fine. Knowing my father (who NEVER likes to dress down), I knew it was a losing battle, so I gave up on trying to convince him to change into a short-sleeved Under Armour golf shirt.

We were scheduled to leave for the zoo at 9:30, and left about 9:45 – not bad for daycare time. We took the metro to the zoo – quite interesting taking our entire group on foot and down elevators and onto the trains. We had a few issues on the metro. First, we ended up with a wind tunnel as we were entering the Bethesda station, and one of those “caution” signs caught air and took flight, charging 50 feet down the tunnel and nearly taking us all out. It was a bit scary! Luckily, no one was hurt. We complained to the station manager, who was completely uninterested in helping out.

Then, as we were loading onto the train, the train operator failed to follow procedure, and caught a few of us (me and “Grammy”) in the train doors. We were quite scared, and it took several patrons to pull us inside to safety as the train started to move. The train operator did the same thing at every stop, so I decided to get the train number and file a complaint – that operator was quite dangerous. We reported him as we exited at Cleveland Park, and Elliot sent a follow-up note to his contacts at metro.

We arrived at the zoo around 10:15 or 10:30. We stopped to take a group photo – this was our trail of strollers that had just made the journey through the metro:


Since my father took the group photo, I took a separate picture of him with Micah after the group photo:
The weather cooperated – it was bright and sunny, but possibly a bit on the hot side. My dad looked like he was roasting (not that he would admit it). He even rolled up his sleeves – a HIGHLY uncommon event! We began our descent around the zoo, stopping and looking for animals along the way. We saw a sloth bear early on, but a number of the animals were inside, and it was difficult for the children to see all of the animals from their strollers. We did see some cheetahs, and we tried to get a good look at some seals, but it was quite crowded. Micah seemed to enjoy the birds, but he started to get a bit restless as we wandered through the park. I was getting hot and thirsty, and my contractions were picking up. I took a bit of a break, drank some water, and sat down while my dad took Micah on with the group. I caught up to them a bit later.

We started to take them out to look when we saw the red pandas and elephants. Micah LOVED the elephants. My dad did a great job carrying and chasing after Micah – it was getting to be a bit too much walking and lifting for me. He needed a few breaks, too (his back was hurting a bit). What a pair we were! His back, my belly…perhaps we both should have skipped the field trip, but we were having fun.


He also liked the panda statues:

And yes, he IS picking his nose:




We let the kids walk around a bit, and we then found a picnic area for lunch. While we were at lunch, the orangutans put on quite a show – they climbed out of their area and climbed across the ropes to the other side of the zoo. Micah was chasing them, pointing, clapping and loving them! He even said “monkey” a few times. Once again, my father spent the bulk of his time chasing Micah around the picnic area, and I was glad I had him along. Micah did not eat much for lunch at all – too much stuff to do instead.








Micah and his Grampy had some time to kiss and hug at lunch:

Here are some of Micah’s friends playing in the grass together:


Here is some video of the orangutans in action:
After lunch, we headed back home – I think we left the park around 1:00 or so. We arrived back at the daycare facility around 1:45, and then we said goodbye to Micah. I was exhausted after the trip, but it was a lovely day!
And for good measure – here is some video of Micah stomping around in his Daddy’s slippers:

On my own…

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Today began 48 hours of me “on my own” as a single parent because Elliot is at a conference in Philly. I think this may only be the second or third time he has gone out of town since Micah was born – he has definitely done more stints as a “single parent” than I have (although I’ve had him more days on my own than he has). I think I’m just a *little* nervous being 34 weeks pregnant and on my own.

I really shouldn’t complain. Elliot was here this morning when we woke up. I took care of Micah and got him ready for daycare while Elliot packed and got ready. He was able to drop Micah off at daycare on his way out. Today was quite easy – I just had 3 work meetings and an OB appointment, so I did not have to worry about Micah during the day.

Luckily, my Dad was available this evening, so he came to join me around 5:30 today. He kept me company while I went to pick Micah up. I had a horrible experience at pickup today, though. I did not recognize the woman in the room watching the kids when I arrived. I saw another father there I recognized, and I said hi to him (and his son). Micah saw me and came running over and said “hi” and called me Mommy. While I was gathering Micah’s stuff together, the woman asked me if I was Micah’s GRANDMOTHER. Hello – I’m clearly in my 30s, I do not have a single grey hair on my head, and I’m obviously pregnant. GRANDMOTHER? That is what you thought to ask me? I can understand that she did not recognize me, and if she had asked who I was to verify that I was authorized to pick Micah up (or even if she checked my ID), I would have been fine with that. If she had asked if I was a family member, I would have been fine with that. But GRANDMOTHER? SERIOUSLY? How obnoxious is that!! My pregnancy hormones kicked into full gear, and that woman was really lucky I didn’t knock her into tomorrow. I complained about her in the front office on the way out, too. But GRANDMOTHER? Come on!!
After my rude encounter, we were able to have Micah walk to the car holding our hands. He carried Micah for a bit (I’m finding it harder to carry him these days), and helped me keep Micah occupied at home while I cooked him dinner and put away his laundry. Actually, my Dad brought Micah a brand new Elmo DVD – the two of them went downstairs and watched it together. I have to say, I’m not sure which one of them was more enthralled. Perhaps my father – Micah actually got up to play with other toys a few times, and when dinner was ready, it was my Dad who whined about needing a few more minutes to watch the end of the video. They were cute together sitting on the couch and watching the DVD – Micah sucked his thumb most of the time, but he did get up and dance a few times.
Micah ate a pretty good dinner – he had a few pieces of chicken, some rice, sweet potatoes and strawberries. He usually doesn’t like to eat chicken, so I was surprised. My Dad was a huge help wrangling Micah for his bath (WOW was he dirty today!!). I did the bathing, but my Dad lifted him out of the tub and kept him occupied while I lotioned him up, dressed him in pajamas and combed his hair. Of course, Micah had to take his turn to comb my hair (and my father’s, too). Once we finished bath time, Micah gave his Grampy a hug and a kiss and said night-night and goodbye, and Grampy left us for the evening. Many thanks to Grampy for helping out! It made my night much easier. I finished up our nighttime routine and put Micah to bed. Luckily, he was nice and tired and drifted easily off to sleep.

I had my 34 week OB appointment today. Baby’s heartrate was nice and steady, and all is well. I told her that I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure and heaviness, and she suggested I increase my dosage of the anti-contraction medication. Great – that makes me restless. Other than that, nothing new to report! I can’t believe I am already 34 weeks pregnant and that we’ll be meeting Twoey in just a few short weeks. I have so much to do to get ready!

Tomorrow is going to be a long day – I have Micah at home and no classes or activities planned. I need to think of something for us to do, or Micah will go crazy (which means I’ll be crazy)! I may take him for story time at the mall, and there is an indoor train there, too. We may also go pick up my mom and take her to lunch. I have a feeling I will need a little relief by the end of the day…I get exhausted chasing after Micah and I am extra-exhausted because of the pregnancy. Perhaps I’ll see if my Dad wants to stop by for an hour or so in the afternoon, or if I need my mom to come by for an hour or so around dinner time to give me a break. Maybe between the activity and a good nap in the afternoon, I’ll be just fine. We shall see!

I have some cleaning up to do (cleaning lady will be here in the morning), and I’d like to try and get to bed relatively early (although I still need to take the dog out sometime between 2 and 3 or she’ll wake me up at 4 am, so perhaps I’ll just take a nap, walk the dog, and then go to bed). Wish me an easy day tomorrow!

The times they are a-changin’….

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I know I always say this, but I’m constantly amazed by how much things change from week to week. It has been nearly 2 weeks since my last substantive post…and while not much has been going on, so much has changed. Funny how that is…I’ve had all these little nothings I’ve wanted to post, but nothing really interesting to write about, so I keep postponing the blog entries.

Overall, my last two weeks have been relatively uneventful…I’ve been cramming my work week into 3 full days plus afternoon nap time the other two days. I lost a lot of time while Micah was sick, and I do feel that I am quickly running out of time before Twoey arrives. We are desperately trying to wrap up the final plans for the renovation (I’ve been meaning to post a draft of the plans and talk about all that insanity) and file for our permits. Once again, we are already behind schedule and the budget keeps ballooning. We got a nasty bout of sticker shock at our last meeting, so we are now trying to figure out how to reduce the costs without scaling back the scope of the project.

Micah, however, is changing rapidly by the moment. His vocabulary seems to be increasing by leaps and bounds. He repeats words, says thank you, get down (to the dog), car, vroom, tree, doggy, milk and a few other things. He has been amazing us in other ways lately, too. After refusing to eat any pasta (or rice) for months and months…he started to eat spaghetti! They told us he ate 4 bowls at daycare, and we did not believe them. We took him out for dinner at a chili place, and we ordered a spaghetti chili for dinner that he scarfed down! This weekend, my nieces Paige and Peyton were in town and we served Macaroni and cheese for dinner…and Micah couldn’t gobble it down fast enough! So, apparently pasta is now an option again. I also made him rice to serve with dinner last night, and he ate that, too. I’m excited because it means we have more options for meals now, and it will be easier to stop for lunch and dinner in restaurants if we can serve him pasta. Here is a picture of Micah playing with Paige and Peyton at Bethesda’s Celebrate Mama event we took them to – they were dancing and playing while the Kidville Little Maestros performed:

Micah currently has a strawberry obsession. I think, if we let him, he’d eat strawberries until he exploded! We bought a huge flat of strawberries to make strawberry jam, and every time Micah saw it, he insisted on eating more strawberries. I think he ate several pounds of strawberries all on his own!

It was only a month ago that I posted about how Micah would walk to the gate and climb upstairs at bedtime when we asked him if he wanted to go upstairs and go night-night. Now, Micah’s response to that question (and almost everything else) is to shake his head no. Do you want to go night-night? No. Do you want to go sit in your chair and eat dinner? No. Do you want to play outside? No. I think no is his default response to everything now. Sometimes, I admit I ask questions just because it makes me laugh when he shakes his head no!

Micah has found a new obsession…shoes and hats. He loves to put our shoes on and try to walk around the house. Sometimes, he brings his own shoes over to us (while we are sitting inside) and insists that we put his shoes on his feet, too. I can’t tell you how often he walks around in pajamas and shoes, or a diaper and shoes. He also LOVES his Daddy’s bike helmet, and is constantly trying to wear that, too.




On April 24, Elliot and I went to our friends Laurie and Jeff’s wedding. Actually, I set them up at our wedding! The wedding was just beautiful – I only wish I felt more up to dancing. I kept trying to get out there and enjoy myself, but the contractions would get a bit strong and make me nervous. Nevertheless, the wedding was beautiful and we had an amazing time. Luckily, Micah was able to spend the night with his Grammy and Grampy while we were at the wedding. They had tons of fun together, and Micah did really well sleeping at their house. They ate pancakes for breakfast, and we picked Micah up right around lunch time. We decided to run over to Heather’s house to visit her new puppy – only 9 weeks old! He is a cav-chon (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon mix). He was so cute and sweet – only 2.5 lbs! He was bouncing all over, and Micah was IN LOVE with him. He had no fear – he loved the dog jumping in his face and kissing him, and didn’t even worry about the little nipping.

Micah seems to have 2 new teeth…one on the bottom left, next to his bottom 2 teeth, and one on the top left…I think it is the bicuspid. He has at least another 4-6 teeth trying to break through. This has made for a few rough nights – teething definitely causes Micah to wake up and fuss. Friday night he was up from 1:15 until 4:00 am, but he has been better since then. Unfortunately, he woke up on Saturday morning with two spider bites – one on his cheek, and one on his arm. It looks like a spider walked across while he was sucking his thumb and bit him twice. It is kind of nasty and bubbled up, but so far, it appears infection-free. We have been wiping them down with hydrogen peroxide at night and dabbing them with neosporin. We’ve also given him benadryl at night to help with the itching and swelling, and it seems to be working.

We are having some issues with Micah and aggression lately. The good news is we had a playgroup here on Sunday with a whole bunch of women I met through the breastfeeding support group I attended after Micah was born, and it seems we are all struggling with the same issue. Micah has a tendency to get territorial around toys – he will scream loudly if others get too close and he thinks they will take them away, and he has even been known to push to protect his toys. We try our best to reprimand him and teach him to share, but I just don’t feel like he is learning yet. He usually does not walk over and steal something from other children…normally, he’ll watch and wait and grab it when they drop it or turn their backs. But, I do get embarassed when he yells at other children in class. Here is our little playgroup:

Micah has also become obsessed with climbing on the chairs and looking out the window. He can easily get himself on and off the couches and chairs in the living room, but we still worry that he likes to stand and jump on them (and does not listen when we tell him to sit). He loves to bounce on the chairs and bury himself in the pillows – I just wish he would develop safety awareness!

As the weather has gotten warmer, I’ve slowly been bringing out Micah’s summer clothes. I purchased everything for the summer in size 12-18 months, but the clothing is pretty large on him. Actually, in terms of length, the size isn’t bad, but he is just so skinny that all the bottoms fall off of him! We did recently discover that many of his shorts have tabs in the pants that allow us to cinch them in – this has been our saving grace!

Last week, I had another appointment with my midwife and the maternal fetal medicine specialist. I have to say, I’m feeling far more uncomfortable this pregnancy than I did with Micah. I just feel…stuffed all the time now, and Twoey is definitely sitting on my bladder these days. My belly was measuring perfectly – exactly 32 weeks – and her heart rate has been great. She is head down and starting to engage, so we are definitely on the right track. Twoey measured 32 weeks in size, and estimated her weight at 4 lbs 2 ounces (I found that shocking – that is 1/2 lb larger than Micah was at the same time!!). I think, however, their estimates may be off – her head has already dropped a bit, so the fluid levels were a lower around her head which can affect their measurements. They also seemed to think her head was measuring larger than the rest of her body, so it was most likely a bit inaccurate. Her arms/legs/belly were all measuring a week or two small…which seems a bit more normal to me (since I was a small baby and Micah was so small). I guess we’ll see what the next growth ultrasound says! My cervix seems to be holding steady…shocking, but true. The contractions are still there, but we seem to be keeping them under control. I lost 2 lbs since my 30 week appointments, so still no weight gain of any kind. Now that I’m planning for Twoey’s early arrival…I’ll probably end up 42 weeks pregnant and needing to be induced. I’m definitely feeling anxious about things…I have no idea when we are moving, and whether we will be here or in the condo when she is born. Because we do not have a final room together, my need to nest is being thwarted…I have nothing to get organized! So, instead I seem to be obsessing about furniture and paint colors for the finished house.

I guess my final update is about names for Twoey…no, we do not plan on sharing her name before she is born. Not that it matters…the only name we really have so far is Twoey! We are VERY stuck on names this time. Ironically, we just came up with a name we like for a boy…and we’re having a girl. We did this the last time, too. We just can’t seem to find that “perfect” name that resonates with us. I have a feeling this baby may be Twoey for the rest of her life!

Craziness

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All I can say is “What a week.” On Thursday, Micah and I went to our gym class. There is a part of the class where we have the babies all stand up, and we let go. Micah stood on his own for 15 seconds!! He sat down, and looked a little scared afterwards, but I was amazed – that is the longest I’ve seen him hold a stand on his own so far. I’m pretty sure he’ll be walking before he is one year old.

Lately, Micah is obsessed with his Daddy. He howls and runs to the door and bangs on the screen door screaming “Dad” or “Dada” when he steps out. It is kind of adorable. He also has a new trick – he likes to feed mommy food from his tray and he laughs hysterically as I “gobble” it up. We tried catching it tonight, but Micah tends to find the camera a bit of a distraction and prefers to “mug” for the camera.

Here is another recent video of a few of Micah’s “tricks”:
And Micah playing peek-a-boo:

So…onto the crazy part. Micah and Elliot had a private night together on Friday – while I went out for a girls’ night for my friend Stacy’s birthday. I made her a cake – we bought her a mah jongg set for her birthday, so mah jongg was the theme! We went out to an Indian restaurant that was more like a Moroccan restaurant. They had a Bollywood/belly dancer, and we sat on cushions low to the floor and shared big plates of food (with no silverware). We had so much fun!


On Saturday, we were supposed to go to a birthday party, but the weather was lousy and it was canceled. Saturday night, we went out to our friends Hirsch and Lisa’s annual Sahmain Soiree – a “Black tie potluck” event. We got all dressed up, and my parents came to sit with Micah for an hour or two while we went out. When we got home, my Dad was complaining that he had the chills. I took his temperature, and it said 101. I immediately suspected he had swine flu, and I sent them off to the hospital. Needless to say, I was worried for him and for Micah. After a long wait, and a CT scan of his sinuses and a chest xray, they decided he had pneumonia. No cough at all, just fever and chills. They admitted him to the hospital and put him on IV antibiotics. Unfortunately, he does not seem to be responding, so they added more antibiotics – he is now on 3 of them. I’m hoping he starts to respond better by tomorrow. If all is well with the bloodwork tomorrow, they’ll release him.

I also think I have a sinus infection – so sickness seems to be going around. My mom’s friend Mona was in town today, so she came by to see Micah. We went for a long walk, and I was exhausted. I crashed for an hour, but then Micah woke up, and I was back to mommy duty.

Just wanted to say, feel better, Daddy!
ETA – I decided to take myself to the hospital tonight, too. I seem to have developed a case of bronchitis, and I thought I should hurry up and get antibiotics. Mostly, I was starting to worry it could be the same pneumonia my dad had, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. After the doctor was incredibly rude to me (and informed me that they don’t treat bronchitis with antibiotics – they just call it h1n1 and give people Tamiflu), she finally wrote me the script for antibiotics (and a prescription for Tamiflu). I mean, seriously? I’ll take the Tamiflu if I develop flu symptoms – but I just have a low-grade fever, my chest hurts, and I *know* that I have a sinus infection/bronchitis. It is the same thing that happens all the time to me. I had a mild cold last week, so a secondary infection following a cold is par for the course for me. Ridiculous! Oh, and according to this lovely doctor, they no longer prescribe antibiotics for bronchitis or sinus infections. Um, hello – maybe they wait a few weeks for most people, but that is NOT a good idea with asthmatics and people with chronic sinusitis. She didn’t look up my nose, or at my throat or my ears, she didn’t listen to my chest, and she didn’t feel my glands. I found the whole experience annoying and off-putting – but I’m glad I have my antibiotics now.

Simchat Torah

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This time of year is packed full of Jewish holidays. It starts off with Rosh Hashanah (New Years), followed by Yom Kippur, then Sukkot, the celebration of the harvest (you build an open-top hut and are supposed to dine outside under the stars and enjoy the harvest). Tonight was the start of another special holiday called “Simchat Torah,” which means rejoicing of the Torah. “Torah” is the Hebrew word for the bible, which includes the 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is what many Christians refer to as the “Old Testament.” The holiday marks the completion of reading the Torah from start to finish, and starting all over again. In synagogue, the final chapter of Deuteronomy is read, and then the first chapter of Genesis is started.

This is considered one of the two most festive holidays during the year. Tonight, we went to the synagogue to celebrate. It is tradition to bring all the different Torahs out of the ark (the place where they are stored) and march them around the synagogue while singing and dancing. We circle the Torahs around the room 7 times (called 7 hakafot, the Hebrew word that means circles). There is a prayer that is sung while each circle happens, and then everyone breaks out with additional singing and dancing for 5-10 minutes before the next circle. Everyone can take a turn holding the Torahs, and there are usually little mini-Torahs for children to carry (and stuffed toy Torahs).

My nieces Paige and Peyton happened to be in town staying with my parents, so all of us went to synagogue together. We had a stuffed Torah (think stuffed animal, but a Torah), and they all took turns carrying it around. Elliot carried Micah in the baby bjorn, and we danced and sang and my nieces ran around. They had flags to wave, and they were handing out candy, and there were shots of vodka and gin for the adults. Kids were running all over the place laughing and playing and dancing and twirling, and it truly was a wonderful evening!

Last year at this time, I was pregnant with Micah. I had just been placed on bedrest, and was unable to go to synagogue to join the festivities. It was so much fun to bring Micah with us this year! He was grinning from ear to ear, he held a flag in his hand the whole night and flapped it up and down, and he was “singing” along with everyone. He loves to make singing noises and he would intermittently squeal with delight. I was amazed he had such a good time – it was after his bedtime, but we got him to take a very late nap today and he seemed to do just fine.

So, chag sameach! (That means happy holiday!) This holiday is the conclusion of our Fall celebrations…next holiday, Chanukah!

Visit with Grammy and Goppy

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With all the traveling I am doing, the holiday, and my computer issues, this is the first chance I’ve had to blog about our trip to Atlanta (and Micah’s visit with my parents). Our flight was last Sunday evening. We went over to my parents’ house in the late afternoon. We took some time to unpack all of Micah’s things, to run through the routine with my parents, and to get him prepped and ready for dinner. Around 5:45, we took off for National Airport.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, but nearly missed our plane because they changed the gate and we did not realize it. Because we were the last ones on the plane, we were forced to gate check our bags. We arrived in Atlanta, rented a car, then went to check into the hotel. We stayed at the Omni Hotel, and I have to say, that was the MOST incompetent staff we have ever experienced. First, as we arrived the valet was giving car keys to a very drunk woman. We complained to the manager about that, and supposedly, they took her keys back. The woman checking us in could not find our reservations. It took us almost 1 hour to check in, and they did not give us the correct room rate.

When we finally made it to the room, we were exhausted. I called my mom to check on Micah, and apparently he had a great dinner, but it took a little while before he fell asleep. We did our best to leave familiar things with him (his blanket and the mobile). I thanked my mom again, and hoped he slept through the night. We discussed what they needed to do to get him to daycare in the morning, and I said good night.

I woke up early for meetings beginning at 8:00 am, and Elliot was scheduled for an afternoon tour of some of our client’s facilities. Apparently, Micah had a good day. He slept until about 7:30, he had his bottle and breakfast, and then my dad and Micah dropped my mom off at work and drove down to daycare. Monday night, Elliot and I had a working dinner, and then I spent the rest of the evening finishing my two presentations for Tuesday. I did call a few times to check on the Micah man, and he did well at daycare. My parents gave him a bath and he went to bed easily.

The conference began bright and early Tuesday morning. My presentations went well, and I think I generated some new business. Micah had a great day, too. He woke up at his normal time, ate breakfast, and hung out with his Grammy in the morning. It was his first day of his story/music class at Kidville, and my parents took him there (I was so sad I missed taking him!). They said he had a great time singing, playing and listening to stories. Apparently, Micah was smiling, clapping, and all over the place – far more interested and active than the other children in the class. My mom went to work after the class, and my dad brought Micah home to their house for lunch and his afternoon nap.

I have to say, I was quite impressed by my father. He was very hands-on as a dad, but so far, as a grandfather, he has been a bit more hands-off. He mostly has seemed uncomfortable with the idea of caring for Micah (or really any of his grandchildren) alone. Much to my surprise, he spent a lot of time alone with Micah last week, and he did a great job! He changed diapers, fed him, put him down for naps, played with him on the floor. Mostly, I was pleased to hear that he was so comfortable with Micah. They seem to have bonded this week, and I love seeing that.

Anyway, back in Atlanta, Elliot and I had a reception Tuesday night, and we were too tired to go out to dinner. Once again, Elliot and I stayed in and worked on our presentations for Wednesday. I have to say, we were in the same building as the CNN Center, right near the Underground, the Coca Cola Museum, and all of downtown Atlanta, and we not only barely left the building the entire trip, we couldn’t even explore WITHIN the building.

On Wednesday, I had a third presentation, and Elliot gave two presentations. Another great day for both of us! Micah went back to daycare (after helping my dad drive my mom to work). He had a great time there, my father picked him up around 4:30, and the two of them went and picked my mom up from work. They had a wonderful evening, a good dinner, playtime, and my parents gave him a bath. We called to say goodnight to him – I was having a tough time missing my baby.

After Elliot’s presentation Wednesday night, we took our friend Katherine (who was in Atlanta to present at the conference) out to dinner at Flip, the burger restaurant owned by Richard Blaise (from Top Chef last season). I had trouble deciding what to order, so I got both the falafel burger and a mushroom burger to taste. They were delicious (thankfully, Elliot finished the burgers for me). Ellilot and Katherine ordered an organic burger. We ordered a few sides, too – french fries and tempura squash (think squash fries) – and then we topped it all off with a nutella and burnt marshmallow shake. The shake was pretty cool – it came in a glass with liquid nitrogen dumped in it to turn it into a milk shake as we waited. After our fantastic dinner, we headed back to the hotel to crash.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early again. We had a few more meetings, and then we left for the airport. Meanwhile, back in Micah land, my mom spent the morning with Micah, and my dad took Micah to his gym class in the afternoon. The other women from my playgroup were there, and I got a bunch of text messages telling me how much fun Micah (and my dad) were having. On our way to the airport, Elliot received a call from the airlines informing us that our flight was delayed. As we pulled into the airport, we received a second call with bad news – our flight was canceled. When we got to the airport, we stood in line and begged the attendant to let us on a flight. All of the flights were booked, but we managed to get booked on a flight into a different airport near home. Luckily, my father was able to come pick us up, and we made it back home in time to see Micah before he went to bed.

All in all, it was a successful trip. My parents and Micah had a great time. We missed Micah terribly, but it was a good experience for all of us.

What happens at Grammy and Goppy’s….

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So much is changing so quickly. Micah had his first overnight at Grammy and Goppy’s house Saturday night! Saturday was a good day – I went to meet a friend for lunch while Elliot took Micah out to services, and then we all went to a birthday party for Merrick at the Germantown Water Park later that afternoon. Micah got wet, crawled around and had a great time.
We then went to my parents’ house, dropped Micah off, and took off for dinner. We had reservations at The Melting Pot, and it was delicious! We ordered a cheese course (spinach artichoke cheese), we shared the vegetarian entree, and we split a chocolate course (we ordered the Chocolate Cookies & Cream Dream). On our way home from dinner, we stopped at Target – we needed to pick up a few things for the house. We bought these “paper rope” baskets for under the coffee table two weeks ago, but, unfortunately, we only picked up 2. We’ve been searching for a third one ever since. Well, as we were perusing the aisles, we noticed that they had a new shipment of the paper rope baskets in a different color – a dark chocolate brown (the ones we had were a “natural” color – kind of a light wood look). We decided we’d rather have three baskets, so we bought 3 new ones in dark brown and decided we would return the other two. Perfect! We got home late (almost midnight) and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and groaning from eating too much food.
This morning, I still woke up at 7:00 am, but I was able to lounge in bed for a bit before I got started on my day. I took the dog on a leisurely walk around 8:00 am, then started cleaning the house because Elliot’s brother Steve, Jodi and their youngest daughter Stephanie are coming down to visit today. Elliot finally got up around 10:00 (it took a cattle prod to get him awake), and we spent the next 1 1/2 hours sorting stuff and putting things away. I feel like we finally made some progress on the basement!
We then headed up to my condo – we needed to drop off a few things there for donation and make a list of all the things we need to finish so that we can put it on the market after Labor Day. We were there about 20 minutes or so, then drove over to my parents’ house. Micah was wide awake, dressed and playing upstairs with my mother. He was SOOO happy to see me – he lit up with a huge smile, started waving and wiggling – so hard that he knocked himself over! It was SOOO cute. I took him in my arms, gave him a huge hug and a kiss, then finished giving him his bottle. We fed him lunch and started to head home. We stopped by Target on the way back to return the other baskets, and arrived home just in time for Micah to take his afternoon nap. Hopefully, he’ll sleep until our company arrives.