Saturday Fun

John and I spent pretty much the whole day today working hard to clean up the garage. Ever since getting home from Tahoe there's been rodent poop ALL over the garage, and an ever increasing stench. So this morning we decided to tackle the problem.

Last night we went to Home Depot and bought 20 clear plastic bins so we could get rid of all the miscellaneous cardboard boxes and overall make things look nicer. We were able to condense some of the boxes, combine boxes with books, and organize our stuff better. We also threw a lot of things away, filling an entire large garbage bin!


Notice all the empty bins...I'm sure they will get filled one of these days!

William had a ball playing outside most of the day, "helping" as much as he could. At the end of the day we all headed to the newly opened pool for a quick dip, then back home for take-out pizza! Yum!

Oh, and we found the dead rat/extremely large mouse dead in one of my flower pots. Gross!

Speaking Of Water...

My new-found neighbor (she lives right next door and is also a stay-at-home Mom - who knew?!?) left for a few days and said that if we wanted to borrow her kiddie pool we could. That was all I needed to hear! After William went down for his morning nap I went right over there and moved it to our porch and filled it with water. It sat out in the sun for a few hours, and in that short amount of time the water warmed up a little so William could dip his toes in it...and make "nummies". He had SO much fun that I think I'm going to have to see about getting one for him. Problem is, you have to take a flying leap over the thing to get to the chairs and table on the other side of the porch, since the porch is sort of small. Details, details!


He refused to sit down (probably still a little too cold) but that was okay...not getting totally soaked allowed him to be able to stay playing a while longer instead of being freezing cold.

The Mother Of Invention

I really wish our porch was bigger...way bigger. That way I could put a small kiddie pool on it, maybe a water table. I am making do with what we have, so I got creative today and allowed William to play with water in his beach toys. I've never seen him have so much fun on our porch! He got incredibly wet, but since it was nice and warm out he didn't seem to mind, and dried off quickly. Water on the porch is much better than playing with water in the kitchen sink, that's for sure!
I see lots more water playing in our future!

Vacation

We arrived home from our 8 day vacation on Lake Tahoe. What an amazing time we had! The weather was excellent and so was our condo. I've personally never been to Tahoe before, so I was unsure of pretty much everything. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect time together as a family. I feel so blessed that we were able to go.



Here we are, hanging out on our "private" beach in front of our condo. (William couldn't be bothered to stop sifting sand to take a picture!) There literally was no one there the week we were there, as we came just before their busy time. By the time we were leaving people were starting to file in, since it was soon to be Memorial Day.

John wanted to go fishing so we set out for Sugar Pine State Park (another location on Lake Tahoe). John thought that maybe the water would be deeper and better for fishing than off the dock in front of our condo...nope! It was still shallow and he didn't get a single bite. We had this beach to ourselves, too, so the afternoon was wonderful!


Towards the end of our stay we decided to go kayaking...with William! I really wanted to take him out on the Lake in a canoe, but finding a place that rented them turned out to be difficult...so we rented kayaks. He was a little nervous about the whole thing, but he loved it just the same. John had a hard time paddling with him wedged in between his legs, but somehow we all made it through the Tahoe Keys Marina and out onto the "big Lake".


On another afternoon John and I took off for Zephyr Cove for a boat ride! It was a 50 foot catamaran that had 2 "bathrooms", bar, 2 private rooms (for those who needed them! lol...) and sections that were glass-bottomed. The Lake was quite calm (so much for sailing!) but it was so relaxing! We propped up bean bags and pretty much laid out on the deck the whole time, taking in the beautiful snow-capped mountains and alpine air. The ride was the highlight of the trip for me.

We also drove over to the beautiful Emerald Bay, viewing the Vikingsholm Castle from a distance. The hike to the castle was a steep, rocky one mile, and John didn't think that in my "condition" it would be a good idea to hike to it. Next year!

Well...back to the daily routine. It was great to get away and relax, but I'm so glad to be back home again!

Eye Patch Update

William had his 2nd appointment with his eye doctor on Saturday. To say he was scared to bits is quite an understatement. John went with me this time, since my lap is rapidly disappearing, to help calm him down. I don't think his presence helped any, but it made me feel better.

The doctor was able to determine (how, with all the tears, screaming, and kicking..I'll never know!) that both eyes are now wandering out but at considerable less angle of deviation than last time. Since I'm not an eye doctor, I'm not sure if I'm using the correct terminology, but it all makes sense in my head! Anyway...due to his tears and constant movements the doctor was unable to determine any specific angle of deviation, but said that the last 4.5 weeks of patching had been very successful! Both eyes wandering means he has no preference for one eye over the other.

So now we are to patch for 90 minutes a day, no more. These last few weeks we were to patch 4 hours a day, but since the doctor didn't mention ONLY 4 hours, some days the patch was on for 4, sometimes 6, sometimes even more. Too much patching is bad, but in William's case it seems like it worked, and probably saved us another visit to the doctor.

I'm relieved things are going in the right direction!

Yet Another Appointment

I missed my doctor's appointment yesterday morning. I had a good excuse, though - pregnancy causes one's brain to turn to mush, and couple that with a busy toddler and extreme exhaustion from flying the day before...it just wasn't my fault. I called the office to apologize, and they were able to get me in later that same day. Oh good.

So, since you're all on pins and needles, wondering how things are progressing, here are the stats:
*I've gained 9 pounds in the last 4 weeks. BUT, it technically has been 4 weeks and 5 days since I saw the doctor last, so I'll say that I've gained that poundage in the last 5 weeks...just to make it sound better.
*The baby's heart rate is 140. Solid. Good. Just like last time.
*I'm measuring 27 cm, which is large for only being 23 weeks, but large just happens to be "my normal". We grow 'em big over here!


This is my 23 week picture.



I discussed with my doctor the possibility of avoiding another c-section with this pregnancy, but after reviewing his notes on my first delivery, he said it would be best to just go ahead and plan another section, since, after being fully dialated, my pelvis, after 3 hours of pushing, wouldn't accommodate William. He said that trying for a VBAC with that as the precedent would yield the lowest success rate, and I'd probably just end up with another c-section anyway. Had William been breach or had I not been able to dilate to 10 cm he said he'd let me try for a VBAC. It's nice to know he's not a "cut happy" doctor and that he's just looking to do what's best for me. (Our hospital also has a de facto ban on VBACs, but my doctor said that he's still the doctor and does what he feels is the safest and best option for his patients. He's their only doctor that will attend a VBAC delivery.)

So, our homework for the next few weeks is to decide on this little girl's birthday! We're looking at August 28 - September 5 for delivery dates. He said he'll deliver Monday through Friday, so August 30 (my brother's birthday) is out of play.

So exciting to think that we'll be a family of 4 in a little more than 3 months!!

Extreme Turbulence

William and I made it home safe and sound late Wednesday night after a long day of airports and flying. Since we didn't take a red-eye going home, I knew this trip was going to be a bit more difficult since he'd be awake most of the time. I have to admit that I think traveling in the day was easier for me, since I wasn't exhausted from staying up all night, but maybe a bit harder on W, since he had a hard time falling asleep on a plane that was chasing the sunlight. (Going west means the daylight never ends!) After screaming well over an hour in the plane he finally settled down and slept.

Once he was sleeping, go figure, the flight attendant got on the PA and announced VERY LOUDLY that they were preparing the cabin for landing - a whole hour ahead of time - due to extreme turbulence they were anticipating in the LA area. Great. That little announcement woke W up, and started his crying again.

I think there was some turbulence on the landing, but with W kicking and screaming it was hard to tell. I have to admit that the people on the plane were very understanding, even offering to hold him for me to give me a break.

Oh...and fly Continental, folks - they still serve free meals!