Another Sneak Peek

On Monday, I was able to go in for another 3D ultrasound. Baby was measuring 5 pounds 6 ounces, and is just as buried in my pelvis as the visit before.



Look at that little face! I cannot wait to kiss those cheeks. :)

We are now going to be seen twice a week between now and our scheduled delivery date (1/17), which is amazingly only 8 appointments. Ack! It's going quickly (thankfully), but it's still a month to go. I'll admit that I'm nervous -- more nervous than I realized until today -- but I have faith in our doctor and our course of treatment. I don't know how people go through pregnancies, routine or otherwise, with doctors they don't trust or mesh with. We couldn't do that, especially after losing Elliott, and we feel very lucky that our doctor takes so much care with us. We're in good hands.

A month from tomorrow, we should meet our newest Mudgett Baby!

Christmas 2011 - Part 1

We're having a great December so far. Owen is really loving the decorations and busts into Jingle Bells when he sees wreaths or trees or Santas, but he replaces "Jingle Bells" with "Tinkerbells." Makes sense - he's never heard of Jingle Bells, but knows who Tinkerbell is!

Last weekend, we were invited to Breakfast with Santa, which Owen really enjoyed. The whole club was decorated, and Santa was a hit.









We also got a Christmas tree for the first time since Owen was born, which he loves! We have a few special ornaments for this year: Thomas the Tank Engine, Tinkerbell (see above), a train from the Kauai Plantation Railroad from our November trip, and a gourd painted like an owl (Owen is kind of obsessed with owls right now). It's nice to have the cheery tree in our living room this year.



(31 weeks)


We spent yesterday morning checking out the downtown holiday scene, including a carousel ride at Westlake Center. From there, we rode the Monorail to Seattle Center and looked at the train village they have set up there, and then had lunch nearby before we caught the bus back home. It wasn't quite the perfect experience I had imagined, but it had its moments. Like this one:



We had two of Owen's preschool friends over today to decorate gingerbread. They had a great time, with so so many tears when they had to leave. Owen is such a friendly, social kid, and he is absolutely devastated when he has to end a playdate. I love his passion and sociability, but I hate that it makes him so sad to say goodbye.

With 2 weeks until Christmas, I'm hoping we can get a few more activities in, but at this point, we may be okay for the season. I'm also very close to finishing my Christmas stocking, so when I do, I'll post photos of the three for our family. Dan's and Owen's are very cool, so I want to finish our family's (current) collection before Christmas. Then I'll have a year to get the next one done for the kid in tow. Only 5 weeks from Tuesday until we find out who we've got in here. Crazy, huh?

Baby #3 - 3D Ultrasound at 30 weeks

We had an elective 3D ultrasound of this baby today, at 30 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Baby is tucked down snug in my pelvis, so it was a little tough to get good pictures of his/her face, but we did get a few. He/she is measuring big (no surprise - Owen and Elliott were both big babies), at an estimated 4 pounds 13 ounces already. That's off the charts! Here are my favorites from today:

Our thinker:


Stop looking at me!:


Sneak peek:


Cheeks!


We're just under 7 weeks until our scheduled c-section. We'll have an amniocentesis the morning of 1/17/2012, and if the results come back with mature lungs, Baby will be born that day. It's great that he/she is so big already - one less thing to worry about with an early full-term delivery! I'm not exactly holding my breath right now, but I'll feel a lot better when we hold this baby in January.

Our Kauai Trip and Elliott's First Birthday

Dan, Owen, Grandpa Louie, and I took a 10-day trip to Kauai over Thanksgiving. It was a 4-part trip: a celebration of our 4th anniversary, Thanksgiving, Elliott's first birthday, and a "babymoon." On top of that, it was really great to have an extended period of warm weather and relaxation on the beach. Owen's favorite thing to do was chase birds and chickens around the condo grounds where we stayed, followed closely by playing in the sand and watching sand crabs clear out their holes. The rest of us enjoyed the peaceful rhythm of the waves on the beach, and downtime together. The nights that Owen asked to go to bed were pretty awesome too. ;)

Owen meeting the Pacific Ocean:


Sunrise:


Sand and sand crabs:


A coconut of his own:


Two "thumbs" up:


Feet buried in sand:


Poipu Beach Park:


Breakfast at Kalapaki Beach Hut:


Here's a picture of me on the beach at 29 weeks:


We also scattered Elliott's ashes on the beach where Dan and I were married 4 years ago. Before we did, we took a family photo in the same spot as our wedding - a look at us 4 years later.

Family photo:


Purple orchids in the ocean for Elliott:


And, sunset at Baby Beach on 11/28/2011:


It was obviously an emotional evening, but the sunset was beautiful and letting Elliott go was almost a relief. He's in a much better place now, and that beach has even more meaning to our family. It's a place we'll visit throughout our lives, and will always be a part of the Mudgett family's history.

Halloween and Pumpkins

Owen just celebrated his third Halloween, though not exactly like we had planned. Poor little guy was a coughing snot monster, so we missed out on our annual Mom's Group party, and never broke out the Buzz Lightyear costume we bought. Luckily, we had some skeleton pajamas that Owen could wear around the clock! So cute. And we took Owen up and down the block "trick for treat"ing. By the second side of the street, he was joyfully shouting, "Trick for treat! I want candy!" I'm pretty sure getting candy for walking around is the bees knees for Owen. He has asked to do it again multiple times. Too bad it's only once a year...

Earlier in the month, we took a trip to the pumpkin patch for some pictures, and we also got a small pumpkin for Owen to paint at his preschool pumpkin party night. So I can reminisce, and so you can come along, here are pictures from the past two years for comparison:

October 2009 - 6 months old


October 2010 - 18 months old


And here are a handful from this year - October 2011 - 2 1/2 years










And from Halloween, here is Owen in his skeleton "costume" (and his terrifying runny nose):




And heading out for his one block of trick-or-treating:


As for our upcoming pumpkin, I am 26+ weeks pregnant right now, and feeling good. I just had my second test for gestational diabetes on Tuesday (smart the day after Halloween, right?), and passed with flying colors. We also had a growth ultrasound on Thursday, and Baby looks great. He/she is measuring about a week bigger than his/her gestational age, and weighs 2 pounds 5 ounces right now. We now start having appointments every 2 weeks, and after we get back from Kauai (Thanksgiving week), we'll start the extra monitoring for fetal movement and development. If all goes well, we'll have this baby in our arms in 11 weeks!

Here's how I look this evening:


We're looking into doing a 3D ultrasound in the coming weeks too, so look for those pictures if we get it scheduled.

23+ Weeks, Take 3

I am currently 23 weeks and 3 days pregnant, about a month away from the third trimester. Overall, I'm feeling really good. I'm tired and I am moving differently (read: slow, awkward, waddle-y), but I was expecting that. Our new kiddo is very active, like his/her older brothers were in utero, so that's no surprise either. By now, Dan is able to feel kicks and hiccups too, so that is a great milestone to have hit again.

We had a routine appointment last week that went perfectly, and starting in a month, we'll be starting our appointments every 2 weeks. Already!

While this pregnancy has gone pretty quickly already, it still seems like we have way too long to go. The months will (hopefully) continue to fly by, and they always seem to in hindsight, but from where I'm sitting (on the couch with Owen!), 3 months still seems like a pretty long way to have to go. One day at a time, right?

Here are two photos from about an hour ago:





In Owen news, he's doing really well. His last molar finally broke through, and it seems like this was the hardest of all of his teeth. At least he was able to tell us he had an owie in his mouth, so we could give him some tylenol and cold foods to chew on. Preschool is going really well, and Dan has been able to leave him there the past two Wednesdays. Since we rarely leave him, that's a big deal! He is singing songs all the time, and can't get enough of his Thomas trains. He's getting taller and taller every day, and eats like it's going out of style. Last week, he got the flu mist for the first time, and that was SO much better than the shot for him. He "smelled" it and we were done. No tears, no screaming, no problem. He's a great kid, and just past the 2.5 year mark. Crazy!

Fall Means School!

Owen started preschool last Monday! He and Dan are doing a pre-3s co-op preschool two mornings a week, for two hours each. The goal is for Dan to go on Mondays, and get a two-hour break on Wednesdays. So far, Owen LOVES it, and gets very excited when we ask him about school.

The structure of the class we chose is perfect for him. The day starts with 30 minutes of outside play on the playground. Then comes snack/lunch. And then there is a 45-minute free play time, with several dedicated theme rooms. There's a climbing room, an arts/crafts room, and a room with books, blocks, and "dramatics" (baby dolls, toy kitchen, etc). The kids have free range during this time to do as they please, and group as they want. The day ends with a circle time for stories and songs, and then the kids get stamps on their hands.

After Owen's first day, he went down for a nap an hour earlier than normal. You KNOW you've succeeded when two hours wears him out that much! :)

Here are some first-day pictures of our big guy:





And for good measure, here's my 20 week belly picture:



17 weeks to go!