Making Baby Phillips

Oh my we are already in the threes

2012-01-11T22:17:00.003-05:00

This was a portrait of Mommy I managed to photograph before it was erased.
At the Minnesota State Fair this Fall

This is our new street in Minnesota

What, I haven't written anything on this blog in almost a year and a half! Ack! How will I remember these years? Well, here's a brief overview to bring you up to speed.

Since I wrote last Anika turned 3, learned to write her name, and has fallen in love with the Wizard of Oz. Michael was accepted to a PhD program at the University of MN so the whole family packed up in July and moved into our new apartment in Saint Paul on August 1.

After temping at Wells Fargo for a few months I have just landed a permanent position at Lifetouch national headquarters and so far I love it.

Michael has had more time to be home and take care of Anika and she is asking him to do things for her more and more. When they aren't together, Anika attends preschool full time and is very happy at her new school. They are teaching her conversational spanish and some sign language. If she is there next year she will also learn some French - finally a language where I am familiar.

Right before Christmas break she got sick and had to stay home from school. Then she stayed home with Michael for two weeks since he didn't have to go to work. This was her first week back and she just found out she hasn't been sick for weeks she was just on vacation.

Fun words I heard Anika say today: Metamophosis, Conservatory, and Migration. We got a library book about butterflies she is pretty fond of, "Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly".

Games she likes to play: Wizard of Oz, Rapunzel, Hide and seek (she prefers to hide with a partner), Boggle (she tells you all the letters she can find and you write them down for her in the time limit), dress up, ice skate in her tights in the basement, work on "important projects" on the computer.

She loves to be tickled, she loves to read, she loves to make up stories

When she is upset at us she goes into her room sometimes and has her Papa read her a story. For Christmas he gave her a Winnie the Pooh book with his voice recorded in it reading the words. It is really lovely to hear him read to her to make her feel better.

At Christmas this year we decided to stay home. We missed our families, but it was nice to avoid the roads and the airports at Christmas and just stay home. 3/4 of the way through opening presents Ani asked if we could put the rest back under the tree and stop for a while. I think maybe everyone went overboard with presents for her this year.

Well - that doesn't tell you much about her as a two year old, but at least it gets you up to speed.

Maybe sometime I'll go back and add in stories from last year....

She's 2!!!!!

2010-08-14T22:15:00.002-04:00

I cannot believe that Anika is 2 years old. Where did the time go? Each individual day felt so long, but looking back at the last 2 years (and 9 months before birth) I can't fathom where the time went. Wasn't it yesterday that the midwife placed her in my arms for the first time? Weren't we waking up every few hours to eat just moments ago? Can it be she took her first steps an entire year ago?

2 years ago, I could not have imagined that I would love this little person so much.

So what is she up to now? Well, as life is giving her more choices these days (do you want lima beans or peas for dinner?) she is having trouble making up her mind. We find ourselves baffled by the toddler who requests peas only to have them arrive on her plate and scream "no peas!! no want peas". Its hard to make choices!

A few weeks ago we were in Colorado at the Great Sand Dunes and Anika and I were making sandcastles. Everytime I made a tower with our tupperware bucket, Anika would smash it with her feet and giggle. For a little while I was tricky and put the towers far away from each other so she could smash one while I built a fortress on the other side of my body. But once she saw them, those towers were done for.

In that moment, I had an epiphany. Motherhood is exactly like building sandcastles with an almost two year old. If you think that the goal is to build a beautiful castle, you will spend your life with your child frustrated and angry. If, on the other hand, you recognize that sandcastles are temporary and you find joy in the building and smashing, you will have found a way to be happy your whole life long. The fun is in the journey.

Anika is big into making words plural right now. "That's my's" is her favorite expression meaning "that's mine". She can now identify correctly an "A for Anika", "B for Bridget", "C for Callie", and "D for Daddy" when she sees the capital letters, and she finds them everywhere.

We are now attempting to night time potty train, since daytime potty training is pretty much done. We are having mixed success. Thankfully, we registered for "the ultimate crib sheet" which is intended to be a waterproof sheet you can take off when your newborn's diaper leaks. Since Anika never had leaky diapers as a newborn we thought the sheet was pretty much useless - but it is so handy in the middle of the night to be able to just unsnap the top sheet and have a fresh dry one already on the bed.

Ani and I are enjoying having Michael home with us for a few more weeks before school starts up again. She loves having Daddy home. A few days ago, she was snoozing in my lap and woke up crying "me go too daddy. I go outside". She was very upset and clearly dreaming about Daddy leaving to go outside without her. I think having him back after missing him for 3 weeks has taken its toll. She really blossomed again when he came home.

I can't wait to see what this next year brings. Pictures soon.

23 months - but acting like she's 2 yrs old already

2010-07-19T22:26:00.002-04:00

You can tell 2 is approaching. The answer is often "no" even if she ultimately wanted to do whatever you suggested. The most fun game ever is run away from Mommy. Things are very hard to bear when they don't go her way. "No like that Mommy" is becoming a common refrain at the table, even when she is in fact lying, because she does like apples (or macaroni, or peas, etc).

"My turn" is popular right now, or "Anka turn"

But she is still the sweetest baby ever. She loves to kiss her Daddy's picture (he's out of the country at the moment) and say things like "I love you so much Daddy picture". She's also started asking "What toots say?" (in other words, what did my toot just say? to which the obvious reply is "toot") and substituting words she likes into songs - Oh Donna, that fabulous song from the 50s or 60's, can now easily morph into Oh Nana, Oh Mommy, Oh Sasha (that's her doll).

She loves to play outside, especially with water. This month she learned how to hold herself up on a big toilet, just like her cousin Madelyn. Madelyn three and a big girl in Ani's eyes. Her run is adorable - kind of a prance - and runnng is one of her favorite activities. The folks at church taught her to play red light green light during VBS. She still doesn't understand when to go and stop, but she loves to play.

Her giggles are contagious.

She loves to pretend to go to sleep, pretend to clean counters, floors, etc. She pretends her baby dolls need to use the potty and she takes baby wipes when I am not looking so she can wipe their bottoms properly when they are done.

She can now tickle my feet so successfully that I have to remove them from her grasp.

Her favorite book at the moment: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
favorite color: yellow (it was red, but we have gone back to yellow)
favorite time of day: cuddling with mommy after naps (or at least, that may be mine)
favorite doll: Sasha (new baby Tessa is losing her status)

Its hard to imagine that the next time I blog she will be a 2 year old. The years go by so quickly, even though the days take soooo long sometimes.

22 Months - oops where did the time go?

2010-06-28T13:45:00.002-04:00

So I clearly have neglected this blog long enough. Anika is 22 months. We are done with daytime potty training. She just has it all down. We still have to do some night time training, and I am not looking forward to getting rid of pacifiers, but she is getting so grown up already, we'll just take that stuff slowly.

Ani loves to care for her dolls and stuffed animals. She takes their clothes off and puts blankets on them and sings them lullabies. Sometimes she sits them on the potty and wipes their bottoms when they are done. Yesterday after her doll Tessa had imaginary potty success, she proceeded to literally wash her hands in the sink. We heard the water running and discovered a very wet cloth bodied doll. Poor Ani was so disappointed that Tessa had to spend the night drying out in the kitchen.

At this age she does all kinds of cute things, like calling for her dolls when they are in a different room. I guess she thinks they are able to get up and walk to her. The other day I caught her scolding one that did not come with a "listen to mommy". I guess that phrase may have showed up in our conversation a few times lately.

She learned to zerbert and loves to blow raspberries on our bellies. She's fond of choosing her own shoes but hasn't had much interest or opportunity to pick out her clothes yet.

Her hair is getting really long now. It easily fits into one of my ponytail holders. I love that people in the store can easily tell she is a girl.

She is speaking in complete sentences now and saying things like "I missed you mommy", "no Bridget, my turn now", "no run away from Mommy". She has stopped calling me Mama and switched to Mommy. It makes me a little sad, but I definitely prefer Mommy to "Julie" which is what she calls me if she thinks she needs to use my full name "Mommy Julie!", for example if she wants to be picked up out of her crib and I am slow to wake up.

She is still quite a good dancer. You can tell she is listening and she likes to move her body to the beat. "Oh, Donna" a song from the 50's or 60's is one of her current favorites. Go figure.

She loves nursery rhymes and requests that we read from her nursery rhyme books several times a day. Michael Finnegan, Little JAck Horner, Humpty Dumpty, and Hush Little Baby are some of her favorites. I am getting pretty good at memorizing them so I can read from across the room as she turns the pages, which is very helpful!

Lest you think it is all joy and giggles, she has also started having a harder time sharing. Monday morning is a rough battle as both girls have to re-learn that they need to share toys. She also hits, bites, pulls hair, and pinches when she deems it necessary. This activity is pretty frustrating but I think some of it is stemming from jealousy and possibly the pain of her two year molars working their way out. I have seen quite an increase in drool in the past few days and she seems to feel better with something in her mouth.

Ani is sometimes jealous of Monty. "No sir" she says when he tries to cuddle with us. She definitely also does not want Mommy and Daddy to cuddle. So far its because she wants Mommy all to herself, but yesterday she did wake up from her nap and ask to cuddle with Mike instead of me. So I think my days as preferred parent are numbered.

We are very happy to have Daddy home with us during the day. If only the school system would pay him to not work and hang out with us, life would be perfect. Its also handy to have the car around, as this morning's grocery shopping trip would have been miserable walking in 100 degree weather.

I'll have to post some pics soon, but that is all I have for now. Happy last few days of June!

20 Months Today

2010-04-11T21:50:00.003-04:00

Let's see. Anika is growing in amazing ways. She is becoming such a little person instead of a baby. She crouches down and her eyes twinkle right before she runs over to tickle you. She is crazy about ice cubes. She likes to hold them and eat them and put them in a little cup to carry around the house. When the ice melts she drinks the water (i.e. ends up pouring it all over herself).

Its been fun to watch her interacting with friends this past month. Bridget is of course still at the house about 45 hours a week, but this past month we have had Callie 3 days a week as well. Callie is just a couple weeks younger than Anika, so the 3 girls have a lot of fun together. I am very proud of the way Ani plays with both girls.

She is very friendly and loves to get the attention of strangers - at church, in restaurants, at the grocery store.

Lately she hasn't been sleeping as well - and I would swear she is teething except there are no teeth coming in that I can feel. She has all of her teeth now except the 2-year molars so hopefully teething is almost over for good!

This last month she learned how to say "I love you daddy" and "I love you Mama". It sounds a little bit more like "I la la Daaaa deee" and "I la la Maaa maaa" and sometimes "I la la Daa dee Maa maa". We love hearing those words and ask for them often. She is also known to love Bridget, Papa, Nanny, Nana, Bumpa, Ani, and yellow.

Her current favorite song is "Baby Mine" from dumbo. Whenever she doesn't feel well or is tired she asks for "Baby Mahn".

When she is excited, her feet do this little stompy dance I cannot accurately describe - but I love it. She still loves music and asks for it whenever she sees the ipods. Ani loves to dance and now has started singing along with songs. She even made up her own motions to Baby Mine and sings it to her dolls. "baby mine don't you cry" is "baby Mahn sh sh sh with finger to her lips. "Baby Mine dry your eyes" she points to her eyes and says "eyes", "hold your head close to my heart, never to part, BAby of mine" she holds her head with her hands and then hugs me. I swear I did not have any part in her making up these motions, she choreographed the song all by herself.

Being a mother of a 20 month old is wonderful. She is so inquisitive and talkative and funny and beautiful. I am very blessed.

18 months - what Ani can do

2010-02-18T12:54:00.002-05:00

Mostly for my benefit, I like to record what is going on since I am not keeping up with a babybook.

Words she can say:
Daddy Bye bye
Bob (her favorite sock doll)
Buddha (bird)
boot
boot (book)
Bridget
Midget (Monty)
Mama
moo
hoo (what owls say)
bizzsch (buzz)
more
wah wah (water)
juice
muck (milk)
dah doo (thank you)
pees (please)
elmo
wii
rock
row row row (for the song)
la la la la
rubbt (ribbit)
roar
papa (grandpa)
bumpa (grandpa)
Nana (for both grandmas)
ya ya (sarah)
yawn (jon)
baby
etc.

She can climb a stepladder, get into a chair, climb into the rocker, get on (but not off) the rocking horse and airplane car, drink from a cup (but not without spills), use a spoon and fork to eat with help, color with crayons, markers, and pencils. Get in and out of Mama's bed successfully, put her binky in her crib, pretend to blow her nose.

This morning she was telling Bob (the doll) "no no no no". Clearly Bob was a bad baby and needed to be told what was what. I believe he was stealing her pacifier.

She loves to have pretend tea and feed it to you. She loves to be tickled. She loves to wash her own hands with a paper towel, loves brushing her teeth, loves the bath.

She is not fond of green beans, having to be in the car for a long time, and getting shots at the dr.
:)

18 months

2010-02-18T12:25:00.002-05:00

Boy, its been a long time. Well, Anika is so much fun. Of course, I am sure you all assumed that was the case. This video of reading a book together should really say it all.

Sweet 16

2009-12-11T22:05:00.002-05:00

Anika is 16 months today. This past month she just barely figured out how to climb on top of the ottoman and launch herself over the arm of the couch in order to stand on the sofa. Today, however, she forgot how to do it. I must admit, I am not disappointed that she cannot remember how, but I am surprised.

At the moment she is a bit miserable. She has a stuffy nose and a cough and a horrible diaper rash, all of which seem to stem from the fact that she is getting all 4 pointy little canine teeth simultaneously. Up until now we haven't had much of an issue with teething. She is a pretty easy going good natured little champ. But this one is a bit harder on her. poor thing.

I posted last month about all of her words. Well she has lots more words now, and is getting to be a pretty good mimic. My current "favorite" word is when she asks for her Bib. It sounds a lot like "boob" and I just picture myself trying to explain that one in public. Monty is May may, Bridget is BB or Babbette, Da da and Mama are obvious, even though she used to say Daddy. She asks for nack when she needs a snack and says day day instead of thank you and peas instead of please, but uses please and thank you in the appropriate spots of the conversation. Her favorite song is "hush little baby". She hates getting her diaper changed most of the time, loves brushing her teeth, LOVES shaking the bell ornaments while we sing jingle bells.

Still is a big fan of bathtime, and adores her ponies from great Aunt Chan. The pink pony gets carried around the house while Anika yells "NAY". The brown rocking horse gets ridden, and Anika can mount the pony and make him sing all by herself - though she sometimes needs help getting down.

She can eat applesauce from a bowl with a spoon all by herself and probably 2/3 of the applesauce gets to her mouth. Just this week she has started furrowing her eyebrows to tell me she does not like the question I am asking her or she is not pleased.

Ani adores music of almost every kind. Loves to dance, clap, and is trying very hard to get the sign language right for "sing" so she can tell me when she needs a song. She gives kisses on command (or request) and loves to play chase up and down the hallway, though she prefers it if you chase her. Curtains are a big guilty pleasure, as mommy is displeased with playing in them but they are so much fun to hide in. Today I was wearing a long sweater and she decided to hide in that since I have moved all the curtains out of reach.

Most nights she wakes up once or twice before we have gone to bed, but she sleeps through the night until morning. Probably mommy and daddy are noisy with our tv watching and talking. She is very cuddly and still loves to be in the wrap that Jenna made for us while I am cooking dinner or we go for a walk. Hopefully she will still love it after being cooped up on the planes at Christmas time.

She used the potty for the first time this month. Mostly it was accidental, but after she pooped on the floor while getting down onto the potty, she did manage to pee in the potty. It was very exciting. Anika was a bit scared so we have not had a repeat performance. Plenty of time for that later. She does love to sit on the potty, naked or clothed, and we read books and sing.

I hope you have enjoyed this little update. Its good to remember how wonderful it is to have a 16 month old. I want her to stay 1 forever. It is so lovely. We are better rested now, and enjoying each other's company. This week has been hard with the teething and cold, but most of the time she is a joy and I can't imagine my life without her. So in case we don't meet again this month on the blog - Happy Christmas to all!

Phillips Family Photos

2009-11-01T21:04:00.004-05:00

We took photos this summer while we were visiting my brother Dave and his family, but I don't think I have posted them yet. So here they are. Enjoy.

Words Words Words

2009-10-25T15:56:00.003-04:00

It seems that 14 months is a time when toddlers often pick up new words. I thought it would be a good exercise to try and remember what words Ani is saying, what she is signing, etc. If I don't write it down now, I will never remember.

So,

words she can say:
Bah (ball)
Daw (dog)
on
on (sometimes it means again)
awlp (help)
MMMMoooore (more)
moo
Neigh
Daddy
yesh (yes)
nnnnoooooh (no)
nnnnooooh (nose - I know, it sounds the same as no, but the z sound isn't there yet. this is usually accompanied by pointing at her nose)
Ah dun (all done)
AAAAHHHHHHH (I am very frustrated right now!) - ok, so that isn't a word. But she is definitely using this one very often and trying to communicate so I felt it belonged here.

words she can sign:
more
light
milk
water (she can't actually do this sign yet. BUT, when I do the sign she makes a very specific hand motion not at all the same as mine, which I believe is her attempt to do the sign. So, she can sign water, but it is just a sign she has made up on her own)
food
please (this one is adorable - usually very emphatic and done with both hands, just in case mommy isn't getting the hint)
shoe
all done

Hope you have enjoyed the vocabulary update.
:)

And finally some pics.

2009-10-04T22:23:00.003-04:00

Ani and her little buddy playing with water in the bathtub. Aren't they adorable?

Its music day! Heart and soul anyone?

Ani and her Aunt Sarah just before Sarah has to head back to the airport.

My happy girl rolling around on the floor just a day or two ago. Look at all those teeth!

Why all 1 year olds should have a Dog

2009-10-02T21:29:00.002-04:00

1. No need for Mommy to sweep after meals
2. someone who will eat the asparagus when you don't want to
3. there's always a friend to cuddle with, even if he doesn't like it and growls
4. there's always someone to follow around the yard
5. a buddy to sleep under the crib and chase away monsters

13 months

2009-09-19T22:42:00.002-04:00

Well, I have more video and pics to post, but unfortunately up until a few minutes ago, I misplaced my camera. So you will just have to wait.

Ani is 13 months now and she is quite a character. She walks around regularly now - and has mostly given up crawling altogether. Last week she discovered running, which is so cute since it ends in lots of tumbles. I am sure it will get less cute when she gets faster, but for now it is adorable. Her arms are still in the air like frankenstein's monster in order to maintain balance, so if she keeps that up we may have to dress her like a monster for halloween and have her walk around the neighborhood.

After much debate, we have decided not to delay most vaccinations. Perhaps this is not much of a choice for most people, but there is compelling anecdotal evidence to suggest that waiting a few years on the vaccines is not a big deal and may be beneficial. We have chosen not to wait for the very simple fact that our pediatrician recommends we don't, and many of the early vaccines are for diseases that could be fatal if an infant catches them. We considered not immunizing her for chicken pox, which is recommended now, simply because it appears to be a stronger immunization if the just gets the disease in childhood. But since she is too little to respond when we tell her to stop scratching, we decided it would be best to give her the first dose, and then decided later if we want her to have the booster, or just be exposed to the disease after that.

So... this means that right now Anika is covered almost head to toe in little red spots. Apparently one mild but common side effect for both the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and chicken pox vaccinations is the appearance of spots that resemble the disease we are immunizing her from.

She is also enjoying playing each weekday with her buddy Bridget. They are just one month apart and very cute together. They are learning how to hug, and while one child usually ends up falling down and crying, they seem to enjoy it and keep trying. They are also just big enough to take turns riding on our little push airplane and pushing each other up and down the hallway, which is super adorable.

At 18 lbs 15oz fully clothed, she is still in the 5th% for her weight, 50th% for height, and 75th% for head size. An interesting combination, no?

As far as words go, Anika has made great progress with nodding. She now mostly knows the difference between nods and shaking her head no so it is easier to figure out what she wants. She can also ask for more using sign language, which she does regularly.

Most excitingly for mommy, she has begun to put herself to sleep with Mommy sitting near her crib, instead of rocking forever. It also means she is going longer in her crib at night, hooray!

She has now cut 10, possibly 11 teeth altogether. The last 2, possibly 3 molars have come in the last 2 weeks. We were surprised because she skipped the pointy incisor teeth and went straight to the first molars, but apparently that is what is supposed to happen. Go figure. All the other teeth were right next to each other but the pediatrician probably knows what she is talking about so I am not sorried.

Well, as the laptop battery is dying, this shall end the post today. Much love to all

Happy Birthday Anika

2009-08-11T23:18:00.004-04:00

Ani turned 1 year old today, and I think she had a pretty special day. It actually started yesterday. We had a pre-birthday trip to King's Dominion to play in the water park. Aunt Sarah is here visiting so we took Sarah to the water park and we took turns going down slides and playing with Ani in the pools and kid parts of the park. Anika LOVED being in the water, and had a great time. I am happy to report that even though it was quite hot outside, there were no sunburns for baby.

Then, and this is most exciting, she celebrated by sleeping in her crib in her own room all by herself all night long for the very first time. It was WONDERFUL. Of course we cuddled a bunch extra during the day today to make up for the lost cuddle time.

Today we stayed in the house and played. Anika had cake before dinner with strawberries on top. She loved the strawberries but was not into the cake at all. I guess we are doing something right.

I hope you enjoy the video.

July update - 11 months

2009-07-18T22:56:00.002-04:00

Well, we are off visiting relatives, which for the most part seem to be the folks who read the blog anyway (sorry Jenna, Stephanie, and Karie). This week we are with the Phillips family in Cathlamet, WA. Apparently instead of celebrating the fourth of July, in Cathlament they have Bald Eagle's Day today and the town fireworks will take place this evening. Ani is now 11 months old and getting bigger every day.

She's mostly done with baby food and willing to eat just about any kind of adult food we can cut into small pieces. She says "hi" to everyone we meet, and some inanimate objects. She can also say Daddy very clearly and sometimes she can say "yay" "whee" "yeah" and "doggy". She loves the kitten at her grandparents house. The kitten is named Zoe and Anika adores playing with her. So far Zoe is very gentle and never puts out her claws so she and Anika are good friends.

On Monday we will fly to LA for a week to visit my brother Dave and his family, which should also be fun and exciting. Well, that's about it for now.

Packing, Packing

2009-06-11T17:57:00.003-04:00

I know it has been over a month since the last post, and I do apologize - I have been so remiss. But I am merely writing to tell you I shall be remiss some more. My digital camera is not near my computer so I cannot load any pics I may have taken in the last month to update you.

Anika has 7 teeth now - 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. She was 10 months old today, which is a wonderful age. Last night as i was getting ready for bed (Mike was out), she woke up and cried for me, so I sat on the bed and patted her tummy and she scooted her little body next to my leg and went right back to sleep.

It was a nice little moment. All she needed was to snuggle with her mommy and then she was safe and comfy and cozy and ready to drift off to dreamland again. I of course promptly abandoned her to finish getting ready for bed, but then we cuddled together for a while as she slept and I thought how wonderful it is to be a mom to a little person who is happier just being next to me than anywhere else in the world.

So we are packing up all of our belongings, because the summer of travel has almost begun! First we will move out on June 23rd and spend one night in a hotel (as my last day of work for the summer is not until June 24th). Then we will spend just under 3 weeks at the lakehouse (aka my parent's house in NC). After that it is off to Washington state to show the Phillips side of the family how much Anika has grown and spend some time catching up with all of them. It sounds like Jon will even be there so it will be one big family reunion.

After 1 week there, we move on to LA to visit my brother Dave and his family for a week. This will be our first time staying in their new house, so it will be very exciting. I just hope we will have been able to save some spending money because there are so many things to do in LA (and eat) if you can afford to go out.

Then its back to NC for a few days before we pick up Monty (who will be staying with Nana and Grandpa Locke while we are traveling) and head to our new little house by Willow Lawn.

After that, I train my replacement at VCU for 2 weeks, and then I start my full time stay at home mom daycare service. I'm open to catchy business name ideas so the government can snicker at my taxes "Julie's jubilant daycare" "Babes in Arms Childcare" "Julie's Playhouse" etc.

Milestones and Mother's Day

2009-05-09T22:37:00.002-04:00

Anika finally has a top tooth. The little bugger broke free from the gums on Monday - making Monday Anika's favorite growth milestone day. She was born on a Monday, and now has cut all 3 of her teeth on Mondays.

Next Monday will be her 9 month birthday. I know, I know, you only get birthdays once a year, but 9 months is a very big deal for her mommy, who has now had her on the outside just about as long as she was on the inside. It only seems right that this particular milestone happen right around Mother's day.

For those of you who are interested in my other baby, Monty, he is adjusting to life with a little sister. She adores him, and he is being very patient with her (most of the time). I am proud to report that he has been seizure free for 9 months - so he is also celebrating his own anniversary. Hopefully his epileptic period will just be an anomaly we cannot explain but that never gets repeated.

To all my mothers and grandmothers who may be reading this post, Happy early mother's day. I never appreciated how hard it was to be you until I'd stood in your shoes for a while. Sometimes it used to seem like not that big a deal, since so many women are mother's and seem to be surviving - but this job is tough. Rewarding in new and surprising ways everyday, but still tough. Thanks for all being such great models for me.

Anika's top 10 list

2009-04-30T09:08:00.003-04:00

Here is the list of Anika's Top 10 favorite things (or at least what I think she would say if she spoke English)

10. Electrical cords

9. Looking in the mirror

8. Scratching the sheets with your fingernails and making a fun noise. (preferrably at 3am)

7. The sound your little teeth make on a metal spoon

6. The wind in your face

5. The lines between things - like the edges of carpets

4. Daddy coming home

3. Mommy in physical proximity

2. Monty's tail

1. Playing with water

Thesis Time!

2009-04-30T09:02:00.002-04:00

Its that time of year again when the grad students at VCU scramble to finish their degrees and enter that big bad world of (un)employment. So this week I am on two thesis committees, both planning to defend.

I am actually, secretly, super excited about it. At the moment, reading theses is the only theatre type intellectual stimulation I am getting so I am trying to enjoy myself.

I must add that one of my thesis students was in my grad pedagogy class last fall, and a quote from one of my required readings made it into her thesis. While it could very well just be kissing up to the committee, I choose to believe that I inspired her.

Anyone else out there trying to get an MFA in theatre who needs a thesis committee member, let me know. I'd love to. and I am apparently very inspiring.

Anika's First Haircut

2009-04-24T13:51:00.003-04:00

We finally cut Anika's hair - and it is much more manageable now! Here are the pictures of the process.
Final Product. She was such a champ. No crying at all. I am not sure she ever even saw the scissors.

Part way through. Michael was her stylist and I was the photographer, and attention seeker.

Just starting out.

Learning to Crawl

2009-04-12T17:12:00.003-04:00

Here she is, crawling like a champion last week, her final week as a 7 month old.

Resurrection Day

2009-04-12T16:32:00.003-04:00

Today is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For Jesus' followers, it was a day when all hope was lost and faith had become a distant memory. God had allowed him to die, and I believe that the third day was traditionally believed to be the day when the spirit left the body. But in an act of grace unparalleled in human history, Jesus returned to life, conquering death and sin and bringing an everlasting hope to humanity.

We were sitting in service today as a family, in the very back of the balcony because the room was so full, and I was so grateful for that hope; that I have something to believe in that transcends death and guilt and pain; that each time I look in Anika's face, I see the wonder of new life. On this easter sunday, resurrection sunday, I hope that wherever you are, you know the peace of God. And if you don't, then I pray that you find it.

To new life, the chance to begin again, and hope in the midst of heartache.

Almost 8 months

2009-04-10T20:55:00.002-04:00

This week we went to upstate NY to visit family and meet Anika's youngest cousin, baby Nicholas. We spent so much time actually just being with family that I didn't take any pictures, or almost none, but we did manage to see my friend Jen Badia, a photographer in the studio I used to work at. She met us outside of work time to catch up and take Anika's first professional pictures (I know her uncle Dave is a professional, but they don't count if it is your relative taking the pictures). So here is just a taste of what we have. Jen wants to play with the images, so this is just a raw version of what may come later. She's an AWESOME photographer, and especially great with kids.

So I hope you enjoy this "Almost 8 months" picture

Sunday Carrots

2009-03-29T18:08:00.001-04:00

Happiness - is a bowl of mashed carrots and pears on a Sunday

7.5 months - standing, stepping, talking, and Pig Tails!

2009-03-26T17:40:00.004-04:00

look at those gorgeous eyes

my favorite

So here are some pictures I took today of Anika playing. This week was very exciting. On Monday she pulled up for the first time to a standing position - no help from any adults. by Wednesday she decided that just standing up next to a toy by herself wasn't good enough, so she nonchalantly stepped around it until she was on the other side. She hasn't mastered crawling yet, but it looks like walking will not be far behind.

Tuesday (I think) Mike came home and Ani took one look at him, grinned, and said "Dada". No other sounds or babble. I think she really knew his name. And of course, today is her first official day of PIGTAILS!!!!!

Featured in the photos is one of her Christmas presents from her Aunt Jeannette, a little plastic toy that sends streams of air out of various places and makes the attachments twirl and the balls in the tube spin around and a little monkey pops up whenever she presses the button. Along with the air is fun calypso music. Anika actually really loves this toy - and we do not mind it except there is no VOLUME CONTROL! Why oh why do toy manufacurers not put in volume controls? Picture, if you will, a pivotal moment in a program like LOST, where Mom and Dad are waiting to hear what a character will do in a crucial moment, when suddenly loud calypso music eclipses all sounds in the room. Now if this fun little toy had a separate on/off switch for the music, these little problems would solve themselves.

I'm just saying.

Foods Ani likes:

Pears (still the fav)

Avocado

Banana

Carrots

Foods she doesn't like:

Peas

Things she says sometimes:

Dada

Mamamamamamama

screaming

r rolling

grrrrr

ninininininini

chewbacca impression

7 Months already

2009-03-13T11:29:00.002-04:00

Boy, time does fly. It has been a month already and no updates on the blog! Sorry for those who have been eagerly awaiting my updates. So, Anika is 7 months now. At her 6 month checkup she was 13lbs and 13oz - which put her in the 10th% for weight. Interestingly enough, she was in the 75th% for height, so we may just be raising a supermodel after all. The doctor said not to be too concerned though. Most babies grow tall, and then fatten up and then get taller, and then fatten up, etc. so she thought that if we brought her back in after a few weeks she would probably have evened out those numbers a bit.

No news on the teeth front. She still just has those same two bottom teeth she got in January. Those top ones are definitely working on growing, you can see them under the gums, but none of them have broken free yet.

Anika is now tall enough to sit in her jumperoo without standing on an enormous Bible. She can actually reach the floor! I guess it is better to not have a child jumping all over a Holy book, but it was fun to say she is standing upon the word of God. Alright, so no one thought that was clever but me, but it was still fun for me.
:)

The job/phd search continues. No acceptances yet for Michael to Phd programs, no interviews lined up for jobs for me. We are just hanging out in a holding pattern. We are hoping to spend most of the summer at my parent's house in North Carolina, and we talked to our landlord about that yesterday. He seemed to only be ok with us leaving early if we could find someone else to take our places. We haven't yet asked him if we are allowed to sublease the apartment if that becomes necessary. So if anyone is in the market for an apartment in the fan....

Anika is working toward crawling, but not quite there yet. She can roll, and she can reach for things on her tummy, so if she really wants something she does a combination roll and reach in an attempt to get there. It actually works sometimes, but it sure takes a lot longer than crawling would. She spends a lot of time now on her knees, reaching for things, so it is only a matter of time before she starts figuring out how to use those knees more effectively.

Anika has now started solid foods - She can eat rice cereal (which makes her constipated when eaten alone) and pears. I made my first homemade baby food pears, and they are actually pretty tasty. I also made baby food peas, but she hates them so far. So we will save the rest in the freezer and try again another week. She took several bites of peas, and eventually started gagging because she didn't like them. So now, whenever I feed her pears, she gags on the first bite, just in case I am sneaking peas into the mix. Once she figures out that it is pears, she shovels the rest down just fine. So I have a little stinker on my hands already.

She talks all the time - mostly incoherent babbling, but it would be complete sentences if she was able to achive words. She can say "Da-dee" and "Mamama" and sometimes looks really convincing, like she knows what she is saying. But we are pretty sure she doesn't quite know yet. But hey, we'll take what we can get. She is also pretty fond of screaming with joy - especially when her favorite doggy enters the room.

Monty is doing quite well. He has not had any seizures since the baby was born, and is adjusting to being "a dog" now, instead of the baby of the family. We had a big snow last week - even VCU had a snow day - and Monty LOVED it. Anika didn't seem to notice really, but Monty treated it like manna from heaven. He claimed every tree in the neighborhood for Monty land.

So that is the scoop. Until next time, stay smiling.

6 Month Birthday

2009-02-13T15:57:00.004-05:00

Happy 1/2 Birthday Anika! This week Anika turned 6 months old. Her wonderful babysitter, Sarah even made her a crown, which made her laugh and laugh whenever we showed her the mirror. So here are some pictures of my little 6 month old. Enjoy.

A New Cousin and a second tooth!

2009-02-02T21:40:00.003-05:00

Happy Groundhog's Day everybody. I heard today that the groundhog's predictions are accurate approximately 38% of the time - so hopefully Puxatonie Phil is not batting well this year with his prediction of more winter.

But on to more important news. Anika's newest cousin was born on Saturday. Nicholas James Hampp entered the world at approximately 4:30 pm lat Saturday. This is her second boy cousin to be born since her birthday, and Ani is very excited to meet the new arrival. It may have to be in a month or two, but she'll be biting her nails till then.

Which is now easier to do since the arrival of her second tooth! It has just poked through her bottom gums, so now there are two teeth right next to each other down there. If you zoom in the picture without her thumb near her mouth, you can just see her first tooth sticking out - its first photograph.

Just a lazy Saturday

2009-01-24T20:12:00.004-05:00

This is hopefully the first of many posts highlighting just a typical day in the life of 5 month old Anika. She played in her jump up today, practiced sitting, and of course ate and napped. Whew! What a busy day. If her tongue wasn't in the way you could see her brand new tooth.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

2009-01-24T20:07:00.003-05:00

This month we braved (what for us in Richmond) was a cold wintery night, so we could see all the lights at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. My friend Kara and her daughter Bridget joined us for an hour or so of looking at fun lights and decorations. I'll bet Anika would love the gardens if we went back this summer when she can run around. So here is our family picture (minus Monty who of course was not allowed to hang out in the gardens).

One of Michael's lovely students gave us the tickets for Christmas, so a shout out must go to whichever boy or girl thought of that one.

5 months old

2009-01-23T10:25:00.002-05:00

Wow, I haven't posted since Christmas, shame on me! So this is a very exciting week for Anika. She cut her very first tooth on Monday (MLK day) January 19, and while she wanted to be held a little bit more than usual we did not have the common fever, crying, and rash that can accompany it. Whew hew! One tooth down, lots more to go.

This week Anika has started doing pushups and extending her hands all the way so she can look around the room. It is very exciting when she pushes her legs around to and makes you think she could crawl at any minute.

Well, her happiness in her jump up has ended so I must go, but more to come eventually, I promise.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Anika has much enjoyed all the wrapping paper and new things to play with. On Christmas Eve we had to leave poor Monty behind and fly to Seattle where we met up with Mike's parents. They live in Cathlamet, Washington which is about 2.5 hours away from Seattle, so there was lots of travelling this Christmas. But Anika was very good on the airplanes and is enjoying visiting with her Grandparents, Uncle Jon, and Aunt Sarah. To all who are far away, we wish you a very merry christmas (even though it is a little late).

All three of us have now gotten colds over the Christmas holidays and we are anxiously awaiting the abatement of stuffy noses. Meanwhile, Monty is holding down the fort at our house and hanging out with JC who graciously agreed to watch him last minute, as our previous dogsitter needed to back out.

Well, we are still here with Phillips family so I am going to get back to family fun and merriment. Merry Christmas from the west coast, and Happy New Year.

4 months old

2008-12-20T11:12:00.000-05:00

Today Monty decided to cuddle in. Little did he know that Anika can reach out and grab stuff. It took a bunch of tries to get this shot because she kept trying to reach into his eyes. But Monty is a good sport and stuck it out. Anything for a pet, right?

This is Anika and her friend Bridget. We lay them down next to each other and they decided to hold hands! Don't you love her hair in this?

Ok, so after looking back at those very old pictures, I had to include some more recent ones. So here are pictures all from December.

Its been a while...

2008-12-20T11:00:00.001-05:00

Right after her first bath at home

During her first bath at home. Look at how little she is! She was 11 days old.

Snoozing with Papa Mark (Grandpa Phillips) way back in the day

In case you can't read her shirt, it says "I'm big in Japan"

Snoozing with her Grandpa Doug. My how yellow she still was then.

I realize it has been almost a month! Wow how time flies. Anika is now 4 months old. She is 12.4lbs and in the 50% for height and head size. Which means she's just about perfect I believe. She is very busy these days chatting and rolling over. She can also sit for miliseconds at a time which is most exciting. I'll have to add new pictures soon, but alas, that will have to be another day. We are looking forward to seeing my parents this weekend and Mike's whole family on Christmas Eve as we fly to Washington State to be together! It will be quite an adventure with Anika in tow, but we think it will be worth it. I can throw in some random pictures from long long ago, but keep in mind that none of these are recent so you aren't confused by why she has shrunk.

A new video

2008-11-23T13:27:00.000-05:00

And here she is again. All dressed up for my birthday.

13 weeks, 3 months, and 30 years old

2008-11-15T15:38:00.000-05:00

This has been an eventful week for us. On monday, Anika turned 13 weeks old, on Tuesday she became 3 months (which seems like it should be at 12 weeks, but apparently not) and on Friday I turned 30. Mike took me out to dinner at a new restaurant in Carytown called Mezzanine and then we went ballroom dancing. It was so fun! I wish I could do that every week. We of course don't actually know how to ballroom dance, so we were pretty awkward about it in the beginning, but it was really fun. Unfortunately, my shoes hurt my feet. So I think I may spend some of my birthday money and get a good pair of character shoes. Anika stayed at home with Daina, a friend from church, and seemed to have a good time.

This morning we had Phillips cuddletime on the couch, Mike was holding Anika and I was holding Monty. Too bad there wasn't anyone else to take a picture!

Trying to roll over - 12 weeks

2008-11-08T21:20:00.001-05:00

Here is a video we shot today of Anika trying to roll over. She only gets halfway, but what a cute smile we captured. Its getting really fun as she tries to sit up, hold her head up, kick her legs, roll over and generally not succeed yet at any of them. She's also started screaming, in her cute little baby way, which is adorable. I'll have to try to record that for you later.
Enjoy.

Another Anika video - 11 weeks

2008-11-02T17:43:00.000-05:00

And finally a video with a smile

Happy Pumpkin Day

2008-11-02T17:40:00.001-05:00

Hey buddy, I think your parents got you the same halloween costume as me!

Happy pumpkin day!

I like to call this one "the Farmer dog and the sleepy pumpkin"

For Halloween we dressed Anika up in a pumpkin suit and wandered around Hanover street looking at all the decorations. Monty even dressed up and tagged along. Hope you enjoyed the pics

11 Weeks

2008-10-28T15:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a video we shot today - for all you long distance fans who haven't seen her in a while. I tried to get a smile for you, but alas we will have to try again another day.

6 week pictures

2008-09-23T14:26:00.001-04:00

Stop taking my picture!
Ouch. Someone is poking me in the eye!
Ahhh, a thumb! I can never find where I left this.

Still no milk

2008-09-18T08:50:00.001-04:00

We are starting week 3 of the poor milk production saga, and I have a little teeny tiny bit more milk than when we started. One time I made a whole ounce! Of course, she should be eating more like 4 ounces per feeding, so its not actually good yet.

No tbeing able to nurse exclusively is perhaps the biggest disappointment of my life thus far. But you can't make the milk come in if it won't. My plan is to rent a hospital pump to see if it changes anything, and if nothing changes much, we will probably stop this nonesense in a week or two. Since all this work is keeping me from spending as much time with the baby as I would like - which honestly defeats the whole purpose.

On a side note, Ani is sleeping through the night and trying really hard to smile for us - she's not quite there but her cheeks and lips are working on it. Right now she sneers if you smile at her. but in a cute nice way. We like to think that God knew we were having a hard time and gave us a good sleeper since the eating is so disappointing. I don't even like beer, but I may just give it a go all the same (see comments on last post for reference). New pictures soon.

Almost 4 weeks

2008-09-07T16:18:00.001-04:00

I know its been a while since I posted, but motherhood is kicking my butt. Last week we went to the doctor and Anika had only gained 1 oz all week. She should be gaining more like 1 oz per day, so this was very disconcerting. So we have had to supplement with formula after all. I saw a lactation consultant to see what we could do to get my milk supply up for her, and so now we are on a very involved and difficult feeding regimen. I'm also taking a supplement and a medication and medicinal teas all to help my milk come in. So far its been 5 days, and I am still pumping exactly the same amount as when I started. But its still early. So if you think of us, keep us in your prayers. I really want to nurse and I am not giving up yet, but its a lot harder or at least more complicated than I originally thought it would be.

Week 1 - 6 days old

2008-08-17T12:28:00.001-04:00

Anika is 6 days old today. I thought this picture with Monty would put her size into perspective - though you should know we took this picture on day 5. Monty is adjusting well to having her here. He is very cautious and tentative with her, and mostly in an attempt to get past her so one of us will pet him. She hasn't really noticed him yet - she's mostly in a sleep/nurse cycle with very little time for looking around. And here is a picture of the two of us. See - I swear she smiles already.

Labor and Delivery Photos

2008-08-14T15:37:00.000-04:00

Here is Anika on Tuesday at 1 day old. Doesn't it almost look like she is smiling for the camera?
Isn't her hair impressive?
This would be us walking the hallway to try and get labor going.

After 33 hours, Mom and Dad were really happy to be able to see her.
A little Daddy daughter bonding right after birth
Here she is just after birth.

This is me in very early labor at my largest
Here we are walking the streets trying to help labor progress. Mike made an excellent helper during contractions.
At one point, Monty decided I needed comfort and curled up in my lap during contractions. Petting him was actually very comforting and helped take my mind off the pain.
I feel much better, but he still looks worried!
Finally to the hospital, 4 cm dilated

Happy Birthday Anika Sage

2008-08-14T15:14:00.000-04:00

Well, after 33 hours of labor Anika was finally born at 11:48 am on Monday August 11th. She was 7lbs (actually 6 lbs, 15.5 oz) and 20 inches long. Giving life has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life, possibly the most wonderful, exhilarating, scary, joyful experiences I can even imagine.

And since I imagine many of you would like to see her, I will include some pictures. She does not look at all as I imagined her, but I still think she is beautiful. During labor, she was a trooper. She never even went to sleep during the last 6 hours, which is pretty unusual, and it wasn't until the very end that the contractions even seemed to change her heart rate. Once born, she didn't have a wet diaper for 28 hours, and the pediatricians wanted me to supplement with formula to make sure the plumbing worked after 24 hours of being dry. But I knew she would figure out what to do and we were right. No formula for us. Then they were concerned because she hadn't had any poopy diapers (though she did poop during delivery - too much information?) and although they knew the plumbing must work apparently it is worrisome because they don't want her billiruben count to go too high. So they said we had to go visit our real pediatrician if she hadn't pooped by this morning. But once again, she was just on her own time and has since provided the required poop.

So the moral of the story is - already she is her own little unique person and people just need to let her be herself.

"Here we go"- from daddy

2008-08-10T08:20:00.000-04:00

In between resting her eyes and body in the recliner and moaning with a low primal voice during contractions (which is somehow so sexy), Julie has asked that I update the bog. So here goes....it's time.

Julie was having braxton hicks all day yesterday and woke about about 3 a.m. this morning with some back pain. She laid in bed for awhile, eventually got up, took both a shower and a bath, and around 5:30 woke me up. Her contractions have been very frequent ever since 6:00-- lasting about a minute per contraction and 3 minutes between them. Leslie, one of our midwifes, said that Julie seems to be in labor and even though the contractions are frequent, since they are not extremely strong yet (Julie is still laughing and joking), we are in the early stages still and should call back around 9 with an update assuming everything stays on its current course. We, however, probably will not be updating the rest of you until Anika makes her appearance. (fingers crossed)

Mini Watermelon week

2008-08-02T09:33:00.000-04:00

Week 39 - Anika is "due" in 8 days and according to the web is roughly the size of a mini-watermelon. So go out to the grocery store and cradle that watermelon, cause she is almost here.

As we are preparing for birth, one of the suggestions we found was to imagine the animal that most said "motherhood" or "labor" for us, and draw a picture. I drew a kangaroo - perhaps influenced by A.A. Milne as the symbol of mothering, and Michael drew a killer whale. What? you might say? How are killer whales motherly? Well apparently he wanted to make a fish, but then realized that they lay eggs and don't "give birth" so he had to think of a sea mammal, and voila, the killer whale.

But actually, killer whale birth is totally awesome. Lots of them just spiral around and use centrifugal force to push the baby out. You can watch the head first birth at this website to see what I mean. It is awesome.
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/killer-whale/birth-&-care.htm
I wish I could just do it that way.
:)

38 Weeks - our little leek

2008-07-26T17:21:00.000-04:00

So this week she is roughly the size of a leek (again I think we are going with length on this one). I am still working, but my replacement is now working with me so we get her completely ready to go in case we go into labor at any time. Michael was born 2 weeks early, so if she follows in her father's footsteps, that would mean she is really due tomorrow!

Of course, I doubt that its genetically passed down from the father's line but it sure would be nice! We pretty much have the apartment ready to go, bag partially packed, and are just trying to keep busy so we don't feel like these last few weeks drag on and on. Most first time babies are actually in the womb 41 weeks, rather than 40 so I am trying to not wish every day would be her birthday, since we could have 3 more weeks to go!

37 weeks and 5 days

2008-07-24T22:41:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures, I knew it had been a while, but you might be blown away!
:)

37 weeks - Full term

2008-07-19T08:08:00.000-04:00

We are 37 weeks now, which means I have officially carried this baby to full term. Although she is not "due" for 3 more weeks, there should be little doubt that she is developed enough to live comfortably out here in the big bad world. So now it is just a question of when our little roommate is moving in for good.

For those of you who love your vegetable of the week, this week she is a swiss chard, which I can only believe must be in relation to her lenghth. See the picture below in relation to the size of a quarter.

Top 10 Reasons Babies are so fun

2008-07-16T06:15:00.000-04:00

As my unborn baby woke me up at 4:30 this morning and I couldn't get back to sleep, I have finally given in and just gotten up. Being 36 weeks along is a little bit like it constantly being Christmas eve. You know you should sleep because Santa Clause will be here quicker, but you are so excited because SANTA CLAUSE IS COMING!!!! So that is how I feel. Except the baby version of Santa Clause doesn't do anything nice like come on a set day of the year so you know when to expect him. He's creepy that way.

So I thought I should think happy thoughts about the baby. I may not come up with all 10, but I figured some of you might have a few you want to contribute. So here goes:

Top 10 Reasons Babies are so Fun: Draft 1

10. When you are awake in the middle of the night, now you can have a buddy
9. Until they can talk you get to name all their stuffed animals for them (hence Monty's plush cow, Mr. Moo) - see picture in a previous blog
8. They're squishy (don't you just love squishy things?)
7. You get to buy new furniture
6. When you used to talk to yourself, now it looks like you are talking to another person, even though you just might still be talking to yourself
5. People will no longer talk about your abdomen - instead the baby can draw the main spotlight
4. You always have something to break the ice with strangers ("excuse me, have you admired my beautiful baby yet? She gets those looks from her beautiful mommy. Oh, my name is Julie, what's yours?")

That's all I have at the moment. Send me your suggestions.
:)

Baby stuff tour part 2

2008-07-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

Here is part 2 of the baby stuff tour. Enjoy!

36 Weeks - Almost full term

2008-07-12T13:33:00.001-04:00

Today we are 36 weeks, which is 1 week short of full term. So the baby could come anytime after next Saturday. Of course I shall remind both you and me that first time babies are notoriously late. However, let your excitement mount. Her day is coming!

This week the average baby is just under 6 lbs, and rougly the size of a Crenshaw melon. What is a crenshaw melon you may ask? I have no idea. But I did find this picture if it helps anyone out. I think our size comparison is based on weight rather than shape - since she should be over 18 inches long on average.

Much Awaited Pictures!

2008-07-10T19:14:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures many of you have been begging for. This one is Monty cuddling with Mr. Moo. I took a couple other pictures after this one, but he was on to me so he just looks miserable. I can't forget to include my older child on the blog after all. This next one is me taking a picture of my reflection in the mirror. This was apparently taken on 6/13 - almost a month ago if that gives you any idea of my progress since then! Don't worry, the light spots on my belly are just a result of the flash in the mirror. I am not developing spots.
I don't remember taking this picture, but here's one of Michael anyway.
This is me on that same day 6/13 but with my shirt over the belly. (so as to eliminate belly reflection)

And this is part one of the apartment Baby Tour. Enjoy, though it might be a little dark.

Week 34 and 35

2008-07-05T14:08:00.000-04:00

I realize I never actually gave a fruit update last week. At 34 weeks the baby was roughly the weight of a cantalope, and now that we are 35 weeks today she has achieved honeydew melon status.

At 35 weeks, we are just 2 weeks away from full term, although Anika is not due to join us for another 5 weeks. At this stage, babies born now have an excellent chance of needing little to no medical intervention after birth and usually even if they need help for a few weeks, they match up developmentally with their full term counter parts rather quickly.

But I do not appear to be in danger of delivering early. I'm not having contractions very often that I can feel, although apparently the uterus contracts all throughout pregnancy, rarely does it come across my radar.

We have now finished our Lamaze class, and while I sort of felt it was mostly a waste of time, I think we learned a few helpful things to get us through labor.

This week we are down in NC at my folks, and all my brothers and sisters are here with their families. Which is both tiring, and very nice. Michael is enjoying spending time with my brothers since one by one our regular hang-out friends are either in shows, rehearsal, or moving away now that grad school is over.

Yesterday my Mom took a picture of me in my maternity bathing suit, so if she ever sends that image my way, I'll be sure to post it for you. Let's just say I am so big that my family is joking about twins. Take a honeydew melon, strap it to your belly, add 20 pounds of cushy water balloons, and you can approximate what it is like to be me these days.

I look forward to walking up and down stairs without having it be a production.

Babies and Back pain

2008-06-27T12:08:00.000-04:00

So I have been having a sharp pain in my lowerback/hip kinda area and my midwife recommended seeing a chiropractor. My chiropractor recommended seeing a physical therapist. My physical therapist recommended a masseuse. (actually, chiropractor recommended both the pt and the masseuse, but it sounded better the other way). So now I have seen them all. The massage was lovely, but it made the baby very curious about what was going on, she kept moving all around. Hopefully one of these things will help my back out. It is the first time a doctor type person has recommended a massage. Since Michael and I usually get these for special occasions, I feel sneaky getting one without him and without a special occasion as an excuse.

But I suppose I am carrying his child so maybe that is special occasion enough. Though if that is the case, it seems I should have 9 months worth of professional massage.
:)

33 Weeks - Pineapple time

2008-06-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

Finally, we have gotten a good fruit of the week. It has been slim pickings lately, but I am happy to report that Anika is roughly the size of a pineapple. If she is average, she should be approximately 4 lbs and 17 inches long.

In response to having a pineapple inside it, my belly is expanding exponentially, and I really do plan to post a new picture soon. So stay tuned.

I am happy to report that the last midwife visit went well - the baby appeared to have switched into a head down position, although she was not perfectly lined up for birth or anything. So that is excellent. No one wants to give birth to a baby butt first, it much harder.

The baby is due in 7 weeks now, and if she is born after 2 weeks from now chances are good she wouldn't even need extra help to breathe! Exciting isn't it!

The other baby

2008-06-15T10:08:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a chance to post yet about my other baby, Monty the Dog. Last monday Monty had a seizure in the morning and we had to go to the doggy hospital. It was very scary for us all. The good news: they tested his blood and watched him all day and found that he is not going through organ failure, nor does he appear to have eaten poison. So he appears to be a happy, healthy dog with mild epilepsy.

Epilepsy is apparently very common in small terrier type breeds, which Monty probably has some of, and since it is mild (we only think we know about 2 seizures ever) he doesn't even need medicine or to see a doggy neurologist.

So its exciting times here in the Phillips household! Perhaps our first baby thought he wasn't getting enough attention....

32 Weeks - A general update

2008-06-15T09:58:00.000-04:00

Now I am 32 weeks into the pregnancy. Ani will be full term in 5 weeks, but she isn't due for 8 weeks and could take as many as 10 before they start thinking about inducing labor. This week, she should be about 3.75 lbs, which is the size of a jicama. In case you are like me and you have never heard of a jicama, it appears to be a mexican potatoe or turnip like vegetable.

Though we are more fond of referring to her as a jumping bean.

She moves a lot now, great big movements that you can see from the outside, but she is still very shy about when she will do them. No one but Mike (and the midwives) has been able to feel her kicking, or even see her move from the outside so far. As soon as someone's hand goes on my belly she sits very still unless it is her Dad. Strange but true.

At the moment she is hanging out in the breech position. For all you non-baby lingo savvy folks, that means her head is at the top of my uterus, instead of down by the pelvis where it will need to be for birth. Most babies get ready to go between 32-36 weeks, so its about time for her to start working her way down before she runs out of room and gets stuck backwards. It appears that she is hanging out sideways in my uterus - with her head at the right side of my body and her body stretched across my belly instead of up and down. Apparently she is already trying to avoid following the crowd of other babies and create her own position.

As Jenna has requested pictures, I will try to work on that this week. I know the last ones I took of myself did not give an accurate picture of our progress. So far I am extremely fortunate. All my weight is in my abdominal region, so I am keeping my chin and my arms and my ankles at the moment. I am also not really having any heartburn and am long since past the nausea stage, so other than some back pain, I feel great.

Well, ta ta for now.

31 weeks

2008-06-07T16:19:00.000-04:00

31 weeks today. In just 6 little weeks she will be considered full term and if labor starts they won't stop it. that's just a month and a half!

We took our second glucose screening on Wednesday and I am happy to report that I do not have gestational diabetes. I do seem to take longer than a normal person to process sugar in my system, so I am still supposed to cut down on sugar and white flours, but I am fine.

So that is wonderful news and we feel very good about that.

This week we started rehearsals for As You Like It at Richmond Shakespeare. I am the master of verse, which is sort of a co-director type position with an emphasis on text work. I love this play and I think we are going to have a lot of fun as long as I don't tire myself out.

But that's pretty much it for now. Thanks for everyone's prayers and concern this week!

30 Weeks - Glucose screening

2008-05-31T22:51:00.001-04:00

This week the baby should be around 3 lbs and approximately the size of a head of cabbage - which is apparently not to be confused with the size of chinese cabbage of a few weeks ago. I am including the best picture I could get of my belly considering I had to take it myself. Any bluish tints that show up are purely the effect of the camera. I can assure you my stomach is not blue.

So this next week will be fun and exciting. At 28 weeks we took a glucose test and my levels were too high. Which might mean nothing, and might mean I have gestational diabetes. So lucky me, I get to go back to the doctor on Wednesday and take a super duper 3 hour long test. I have to fast for 8 hours before I go (thank goodness for morning appointments) and then they will take blood samples four times. The first time will be when I get there. Then I will drink an extra large portion of glucose drink (last time it tasted like fruit punch - this time who knows). Then they test my blood once every hour for the next three hours. If my blood sugar spikes up too high on any one of those tests, then I definitely have GD. :(

The good news is, on the preliminary test, if you score over 140 they make you do this long test. If you score over 200 you definitely have GD and they don't need to do the second test. My score was around 144 I think, which is awfully close to normal. So I may be just fine. Michael is taking wednesday off to go with me to the hospital. It will be good practice for when I am in labor and we need to entertain ourselves there. So we will have ample time to explore the good hallways and sample cafeteria food (once the test is over).

On a brighter note, Anika will be full term in 7 weeks. Although she is likely to take around 10-12 weeks to decide to come out, in 7 weeks she should be pretty much ready to go. So we are down the home stretch!

Today our new sheets arrived (our old ones were pure white - and not very baby friendly) so we are working on getting the "nursery" set up for her. Of course she doesn't actually have a mattress for her bed yet, but all in good time.

Week 29 the countdown begins

2008-05-25T19:00:00.000-04:00

Now the baby should be about 2.5 lbs and roughly the size of a butternut squash. In 8 weeks she will be full term and it should be safe for her to be born with no need for the NICU. Of course, she is more likely to take 11-13 weeks to come out, but as long as she takes at least 8, we'll be just fine.

We had our planned shower yesterday which was a lot of fun. My friend Erin put a lot of work into it and I think it was lovely. We even had shower games, which I wouldn't have thought I wanted until I had another shower and we didn't play any, but they were really fun. I'm glad we had them.

Of course we now have lots of clothes for the baby, who can resist buying all those cute clothing items? I took my glucose test on friday to test for gestational diabetes. We won't know until the results come back, but I am not very high risk so I am not too worried about it.

I also had the joy of my first Rogam shot. (spelling might be way off). Apparently my blood is negative, and Mike's blood is positive. Which means if the baby has positive blood and her blood comes in contact with mine, my body will build antibodies against positive blood. Which probably won't effect her. But if any future babies are positive I may miscarry since my body will see them as an infection. So the Rogam prevents me from making antibodies to positive blood. I'll get another shot at birth just to make sure.

So that's all we have. Ani (ah-knee) and I are doing fine. She is kicking a lot stronger now, so that is a good sign she is getting bigger and stronger.

:)

Welcome to the Third Trimester!

2008-05-19T22:15:00.000-04:00

We are down the homestretch! Already 28 weeks along, the baby will be full term in approximately 9 weeks. That's just barely over 2 months. Of course, since she is a first time baby she will probably take at least another month after that to finish "cooking", but we are definitely nearing the end.

This week the baby is approximately the size of a Chinese Cabbage. I am not sure what is different about Chinese Cabbage vs. other kinds of cabbage, but this week I am being culturally insensitive and referring to her as my little fortune cookie. It just sounds cuter than chinese cabbage.

My belly button, as can be observed in my previous post, is now spending a majority of its time as an outie instead of an innie. Not all of its time, interestingly enough, but most.

And finally, we have begun telling people the name we picked out. Let me preface this with the knowledge that until I sign that birth certificate we reserve the right to change our minds at any time. That being said, we think we will be naming her Anika Sage Phillips (that's AH-nick-uh - not Ann ick uh). Anika means gracious or graceful and sage meaning wisdom. So her name would mean gracious wisdom. We thought that was kind of pretty. I suppose we will call her Ani for short.

So that is your reward for reading the blog through to the end. More to come I am sure on another day.

My Mother's Day Locket

2008-05-13T19:08:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of the locket that Michael and the baby got me. Thought you all might want to see how spiffy it is. And for good measure, the last picture is a shot of my feet, as I see them now. You might notice there is something getting a teensy weensy bit in the way. :) Cheers

27 weeks and my first mothers day

2008-05-12T08:33:00.000-04:00

Now we are 27 weeks. One more week left in the second trimester. In theory, the baby will be full term 10 weeks from now and could be born anytime after that. Of course, in reality, she'll probably take 15 weeks to show up, but I am hopeful nonetheless.

Baby center says she is roughly the weight of a head of cauliflower this week. So I am referring to her as my little flower. That should be almost 2 lbs, and approximately 14 inches long if she is average. She is certainly kicking a lot and has increased the pressure on the bladder in the last week or so.

My first mothers day was very nice. Mike and the baby went in together and bought me a locket made of silver and turquoise. Inside it is a picture of her at our latest ultrasound that says "I love you, Mommy". So now I can look at her whenever I wear it. It was very thoughtful and I love it.

We took a trip to Virginia Beach and played in the pool and walked on the Boardwalk. It was a little too cold to go in the ocean, but maybe later in the summer we will go again so I can dig a hole in the sand and lie on my stomach. Since this mothers day also falls around our 7 year wedding anniversary, we celebrated them both this weekend.

Why there are some strange items on our registries

2008-05-08T20:05:00.000-04:00

I have had several questions about some unusual items on our registries, so I thought I would take the time to explain how some of the unusual items are really baby supplies.

1. The magic bullet - this is a mini blender that I think will be really useful for making baby food. We currently don't own a blender, because we just don't have the kitchen storage room for another large appliance, but this little blender will be easier to store and clean and should make baby food making possible

2. duvet cover - currently our bedding is all white. White sheets, white comforter. As we will now be sharing our room with a poopy, spitting up little person, it seemed practical to register for some darker sheets and a duvet cover for our bright white blanket.

3. small flat screen tv - alright, I admit this one is more marginal than some of the others. The thought was that at 3 am when the baby has woken both of us up to eat or be changed, and we can't get her to sleep, it might be nice to have a tv in our room while we all try to get back to sleep. And, it might be useful in providing soft lullaby music while mom and dad watch some other program in the living room.

4. flameless candles - these are purely a selfish Julie item. I really want to have soft candles during labor, and the hospital does not allow an open flame in rooms where oxygen is dispensed. So I thought some flameless candles would do the trick. Also, once baby comes, these might make nice nightlights.

If you are curious about any other items, leave a comment and I will explain what on earth we were thinking when we registered for that.
:)

26 Weeks

2008-05-04T21:09:00.001-04:00

For all you faithful readers who anxiously await the fruit of the week update, we are 26 weeks into this pregnancy, which means the baby is approximately the length of an english hothouse cucumber.

The baby should be developed enough now that if something went wrong and she was born, most likely she had developed enough to live after some time in intensive care. So I am definitely the mother of a human being now, rather than just an idea.

Got a card today addressed to Mom and Dad Phillips.

That was weird. But I suppose I will need to get used to that.

Baby Showers and Registry Update

2008-05-04T18:29:00.000-04:00

Today was very exciting. Glynn threw me a surprise baby shower, which was very fun and exciting. I can't say it actually came as a surprise by the time today rolled around, but I appreciate the sentiment just as much. In fact, it enabled me to put on a little makeup so hopefully I will look cute in the pictures. If you didn't get an invite, do not dismay. There will be a planned baby shower to come and invitations will go out for that one.

And, I discovered two things.

1. Lots of people really care about us quite a bit. A group of them even went in together on a crib. And even though we will have to exchange it for a different one that meets our specific needs, it was very impressive.

2. not one person used the myregistry.com website, perhaps since they don't plan enough in advance to account for shipping time.

So... we have registered for more things at babiesrus so that people who are shopping last minute can pop into the store and grab the stuff they want.

So now we are registered at target, babiesrus, and myregistry.com

And the things we really need still are:
stroller
car seat
changing pad
baby carrier/sling
breast pump

though there are oodles of other things on the registry to choose from if people want to get away from functional.

New symptoms!

2008-05-01T21:07:00.000-04:00

So now, it appears that sometimes my fingers or wrists go numb for no reason. Books say this is completely normal, but I have never seen a woman on tv or in a movie complain about numbness in her fingers. So I thought I would share.
:)

25 Weeks - A new Picture

2008-04-25T21:29:00.000-04:00

Here is a new picture. We will technically not be 25 weeks until tomorrow, but I figure one day will not hurt. I think I have gained 7 lbs since the last picture. But I am not complaining. So far, it all seems to be in the belly area, which means I get to keep my lovely little arms for now. And my chin. I always have been a fan of my chin.

Anyway, just in case you think this maternity shirt is making me look bigger than I am, here is another picture to prove that it really is pretty much all me. Well me and the baby girl. Well me, baby girl, and a soccer ball sized uterus.

Enjoy!

24 Week Update

2008-04-20T18:19:00.000-04:00

This week, the baby is approximately the length of an ear of corn, and probably around 1.25 pounds.

I am starting to outgrow the early maternity clothes I received - which is just too bad really. You hate to have to get more now that we are over halfway there - but such is life.

We are 24 weeks along. The baby will be full term at 37 weeks, but most likely will come between 40-42 weeks. So we are nearing the home stretch. Yesterday, Mike and I bought her first real stuff. We got a storage unit for her belongings (clothes and toys etc.) as well as a cute little onesie and a hoodie. So today we worked on cleaning off one of our bookcases so we can make room for her dresser/shelf thingy.

It has been storming like crazy here, and poor Monty the dog is scared silly. He keeps shaking and panting. Every once in a while he forgets there is a storm and recovers, but as soon as he hears the thunder again the shaking starts all over. Hopefully, his little sister will not be as frightened of storms as he is.

Well, that is all I have for today. Tune in next time for more exciting adventures.

Where we are registered

2008-04-16T20:48:00.000-04:00

So far, we have registered at Target and online at myregistry.com

Target items may be purchased in the stores or online

Myregistry.com is an internet only registry, but it allows us to register for anything that is sold on the internet. So if we liked it better or saw it for less, we registered here instead.

Don't look for us at Babiesrus. We pretended to register so they would send us coupons, but you will be very disappointed with your choices.

Special Requests:
We have a small 2 bedroom apartment, so we are looking for necessities (strollers, high chair seats, carseat, diapers, changing pad, crib, etc.) and not big bulky stuff - such as an exersaucer. Think compact - portable if you decide to venture off the registry. We have absolutely zero storage room for extra gear.

If you would like any other information, let me know and I will "keep you posted"
:)

23 Weeks - and the weight of a mango

2008-04-12T10:57:00.000-04:00

This week, in an unexpected twist, her fruit category has shifted from length and now she WEIGHS approximately as much as a mango - just a little over 1 pound. So strap a mango to your belly and you can feel what I feel (although you really should add at least 9 pounds of water balloons or something else around the mango if you are going for accuracy.

For those of you who are thinking of buying clothes for the baby, I have been told Babysrus is having a sale on their clearance items. The baby will be approximately 9 months next year at this time, so think about buying 9 month size items or newborn if you are buying spring/summer clothes.

My first moment of fetal embarrassment, delayed again

2008-04-08T22:47:00.000-04:00

This would be my first moment of showing off my daughter's "special parts" to the whole internet. While I recognize she may be in therapy for years because of this moment, I just can't help showing off every picture we have of her... I am so proud. However, for some reason I can't open the file on this computer.

When I can, it will be a picture of her cute little rear end. If you look closely you will see her little butt and her legs all curled over her body, and in the middle where the technician lovingly typed "its a girl" you can see her little vagina. So while we could still get a surprise, the pictures are pretty convincing that she is a girl. During the test she was moving all around and opening and closing her fingers. That was so neat to watch. Towards the end she wouldn't move into a position so the technician could photograph the last thing she needed, very stubborn. So clearly my baby already knows what she wants and isn't afraid to stand up to people in authority. (Hopefully, that won't include Michael and me)

Its a GIRL!!!!!!

2008-04-07T18:34:00.000-04:00

Yes, we FINALLY had our ultrasound today and the baby is most definitely a girl. Of course there could always be a surprise when the baby is born, but the pictures looked awfully convincing. We have a very clear butt shot that "tells all".

But, as I don't have that picture scanned in yet, you will have to make do with her beautiful profile instead. Everything looks normal and healthy and there were no birth defects or problems they could see from an ultrasound. So, enjoy.

Oh, and if everyone could go easy on pink, we don't want everything she owns to be one color.

Books I am reading

2008-04-05T18:08:00.000-04:00

Since I am starting a small library of pregnancy books, I thought someone else might be interested. My latest books have included:

Pushed
The Pregnangy Bible
What to Expect When you are Expecting
The Pregnancy Book
and Birthing from Within

If you have book suggestions/recommendations I am open to suggestion!

22 Weeks Pregnant

2008-04-05T18:03:00.000-04:00

The baby is now roughly as long as a spaghetti squash. Not sure what that, is but there you are. If he/she is average, he/she is about 1 lb and 10.9 inches long. The baby should look like a baby now, but wrinkly since it will be more weeks until it can fill in all the baby fat it will have when it is born.

We have our ultrasound on Monday!!! Only 2 days away, and it feels like an eternity! I hope the baby moves around enough so we can tell for sure what gender it leans toward.

On a side note, there are only a few weeks left of school and then I will go from 2 jobs down to just 1! Yay! Although probably I will try to work behind the scenes at Richmond Shakespeare this summer, and that will bring the count back up to 2 briefly.

Belly Button update

2008-03-29T23:03:00.000-04:00

This is a sideways view of my belly button as of 3 minutes ago, at 21 weeks. So cock your head to the left and be amused by the interesting shape it is taking on.

Carrot Time - 21 Weeks Today

2008-03-29T22:59:00.000-04:00

Ok, so babycenter.com claims that this week the baby is the length of a carrot which is approximately 10.5 inches from head to toe. I don't know about you, but I can't remember the last time I bought carrots that were longer than bananas, so this seems strange to me. Its almost like saying the baby is the size of a 10.5 inch plum or green bean or ruler. But maybe that is just me.

I don't own a scale, because it probably is not too healthy to pay too close attention these days - bad for my ego - but I am pretty sure that I gained most of the weight from last month in the last week and a half. Because I am starting to feel less big today, even though I am the same size. I think the rest of my body has started to catch up to my belly.

I think my belly might just fall off

2008-03-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

So, I feel as if I have grown exponentially in just the last two days. Baby and I are definitely planning to stop eating cheese fries on a daily basis.

If I look from afar, or in certain positions the belly doesn't seem that huge, but as I am lying in bed, tossing from one side to the other since I can no longer sleep on my stomach or my back, the muscles in my abdomen seem to be saying "My goodness, what is this thing you want us to lug around?"

Actually, to be honest, they used expletives I would prefer not to publish here on the blog. I know stomach muscles don't talk, but believe me. These ones were swearing at me.

So the moral of the story is, don't gain a lot of weight all at once in the abdomen, because you too might feel as if your belly is going to fall off the rest of your body. And the sad thing is, you almost wish it would so things would be normal again. (until you remember there is a baby in the belly, and you are sappy enough to weep when other mothers give birth on tv shows, so there is no way you would give up that experience for yourself). And after that, even though you want to stop lugging it around, you are actually pretty glad the baby is in there.

Breaking News: Baby resembles a Banana

2008-03-22T12:47:00.000-04:00

Today I have been pregnant for 20 weeks, which means this is the halfway mark in a normal pregnancy. It seems really strange that this is already half over, but on the other hand it will be nice to have my body all to myself again.

This week, the baby is roughly the length of a banana when measured from head to toe. This is a switch in measurements, as previously our fruit update was based on head to butt measurements. That means the baby is probably about 10 inches long from head to toe, 6.5 inches from head to butt.

There is also a new picture below, which is not a great picture of me, but will give you the rough idea of what I currently look like. All I can say is there is no longer much doubt that it is in there.

Belly Buttons

2008-03-21T17:22:00.001-04:00

In case you wanted a belly button update, mine used to be very deep - definitely an "innie". Now it is almost a "flatty", half in but half evening out with the rest of the belly.

I'll let you know when it pops out the other way.

Not much going on

2008-03-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

Since Jenna requires that I provide up to the minute coverage, as promised, this blog is all about nothing new going on.

I tried to call the ultrasound people and get in earlier, but no can do. So we will have to stick with April 7th and wait with bated breath to find out the gender of the baby.

On a side note, why is it that everyone asks what sex the baby is, rather than gender? Just a small pet peeve, but I certainly hope the baby isn't having any sex at the moment.

People have started asking to touch the belly, and I have to say so far I don't mind at all. I'm pretty proud of my little heirloom tomato. Although, they grossly misjudge where the baby is. At this point, my uterus is not quite as high as my belly button. So that bulge at the top of my belly is actually just my stomach and intestines and other organs that are running out of room in the rest of my body and are travelling higher up. But I guess, as I think about it, maybe I prefer people stick to the belly button area of my belly, as it can be awkward being rubbed below the belt. hmmm. I'll have to ponder that one.

So that's my update for today. Yesterday I felt humoungus, but today I look far more normal, so it depends on my clothing quite a bit how big I am.

19 Weeks Today

2008-03-15T14:29:00.000-04:00

Today I have been pregnant for 19 weeks, and the baby is roughly the size of a large heirloom tomato - which should be approximately 6 inches long from head to butt (the baby, not the tomato).

Baby has been moving around a lot today, which is very exciting. And a little weird, because I can feel it happening, but no one else can even see anything different. Its like when your brother pokes you in the side during church, but everyone else can only hear the thud your elbow makes on the back of the pew, and they never see the poke.

So in essence, what I am trying to say is the baby is poking me and giggling because I jump or react, and people just think I'm nuts. Already he/she has their father's sense of humor.
:)

18 weeks

2008-03-10T20:04:00.001-04:00

This week I have been pregnant for 18 weeks, which means the baby should be approximately 5.5 inches long from head to butt and roughly the size of a bell pepper. So the next time you are in the grocery aisle, cuddle up with a pepper and think of us.

Getting Ready for SETC

2008-03-03T22:15:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am supposed to be finishing up work on my two presentations at SETC in Chattanooga, TN this weekend, but for some reason I only want to update the blog and search for strollers online. When did I become this way?

So we have to wait until April 7th to find out the gender of the baby, which is SOOOOOO long from now. All the other August due date women on baby center seem to already know. But Richmond, being such the advanced city, only has two technicians that do ultrasounds and they travel from hospital to hospital everyday, so there aren't all that many appointments available for all the pregnant women out there. And both of them are planning to be on vacation the week of Mike's spring break, which is in MArch and would be the perfect time for us to go! (you can't see it, but this is me pouting at the computer now)

17 weeks...finally!

2008-03-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

As of Saturday we were officially 17 weeks pregnant... again. Which means baby phillips should be roughly the size of a turnip. Do not confuse this with a raddish or a parsnip, which are both smaller than an avocado. Turnips are surprisingly quite large.

An added bonus, Measure for Measure closed today, and while usually the closing of a show is filled with nostalgia and sadness, all I feel is RELIEVED!! Finally I can be down to two jobs and just work on making a baby in my spare time.

So now, I spent the evening recovering and will spend the next two days preparing to go to SETC in Chatanooga, TN. It will be interesting to go this year since my budget is zero and it will be an 8 hour drive each way, but life is full of interesting experiences.

And on a side note, congratulations to Jenna who has made an offer on her first house. My aren't we all growing up so quickly.

16 weeks never felt so long

2008-02-27T23:13:00.000-05:00

So we have officially changed my due date to August 10 instead of August 5th. Which means that while I used to be 17 weeks and 1 day, I now am only 16 weeks along and 3 days. So we will have been 16 weeks pregnant for 12 days. Which seems like an awfully long week.

The bright side is, I listened to the baby's heartbeat again today which had the amazing added bonus of being able to hear when the baby kicks. So even though I can only barely feel it, he/she is definitely in there moving around. The baby was even in a different spot today, which makes me feel better. The last two months the baby just sat in the same corner of my uterus when it was time to hear the heartbeat and I think I was a little afraid it didn't move. But not today!

16 Weeks Today

2008-02-19T22:48:00.000-05:00

At the prodding of Jenna, I am setting up this blog so people can see how we are doing between emails. So here is my first post. Hopefully I will remember how to get back here and what passwords I used and will be able to enter something agin.

We are 16 weeks pregnant today, and I emphasize the WE, as Michael is certainly just as responsible for our little avocado and deserves equal blame... I mean credit.

Most everyone who will read this will have received our email update, but just in case, the baby should be approximately 4.5 inches from head to bum and roughly the size of an avocado.

We are now in the second trimester, which means most of the nausea has subsided (HOORAY!) and I don't have to eat every five seconds. Some days I swear I can actually feel my stomach growing, and there have been a couple times I was almost certain I could feel the baby move. Of course, it could have been gas or digestion. My internal organs do have to go somewhere now that my uterus is taking over the place. But I am choosing to believe what I felt was distinctly new.