Here we are. My belly and me.

If anyone had told me that I'd be publishing pictures on the internet of my expanding belly I would tell them they're crazy. But I've had requests and so here it is. I've now officially reached the point, I think, where my belly looks like a baby container and not a beer gut. So that's a nice change. And thanks to lovely, generous friends like Jenny (previous wearer of above dress, new mama of Maeve) and Natalie (new mama of Mabel), I think I've got enough clothes to adjust to my growing little rider.

I'm now well into my 23rd week and things are going smoothly. Our little surfer seems to be getting early practice on currents of amniotic fluid... regularly. Other than needing more pillows than I can count in order to accomodate my various sleeping positions, I'm happy that our little guy seems to be pretty low maintenance these days. After feeling pretty grody for a couple of months running, I am feeling good and am thrilled to be feeling that nesting urge coming on again. And I'm sure GK is relieved that I have begun cooking again. I think he had started to think that nothing would get done if he didn't do it. I'm sure he'll get his turn to take care of us all again, but for now I'm doing great.

We are not even thinking about names as much as we probably should considering that I'm only two weeks away from the third (and final :) trimester. But he'll get named, I'm not that worried about it. We are still accepting bribes though, so if you'd like your name considered please let us know and include your proposed bribe amount and the currency you'll be paying in.

The only thing better than spring... Spring Break!

I kind of think that Spring Break should be universally adopted regardless of vocation. (I may change my tune when I'm rangling fourteen kids and counting the minutes til when their break is over). The gift of higher education is definitely not limited to the windows it opens, it prolongs the enjoyment of a break right when you need it most.

GK got a week off and even though we had talked ourselves out of it initially, we decided to head down to Virginia to spend some time with good friends. And this time we took advantage of being so close to DC. We had a few significant experiences including Chuck E Cheese with some of the most genuinely enthusiastic and good-natured children I've seen.

But one of the highlights was going to the National Zoo and seeing the Pandas. I have been moderately in love with Pandas my entire life. I did my first report on them in the second grade and have received a Panda Calendar almost every year of my life from my mom for Christmas. My room was decorated in various Panda paraphernalia. Although the majority of my wall decor changed, my favorite animal didn't (I have the most recent Panda poster hanging in my kitchen right now). In spite of my... obsession?... I didn't see one in real life until my freshman year in College. In fact it was one of the pandas that is still there. But now, it has a mate and through the miracle of IVF, it has a 3 year old. Female Pandas are only able to conceive during two short days each year, and so they nearly never conceive in captivity.

Anyway...

They were beautiful. I loved seeing them wander around (and sleep). This is a picture I got during the 3 year old's nap time.
The other memorable moment was watching a few peaceful demonstrators get arrested in front of the White House. They were part of a motley crew speaking out against the war in Iraq. It was fascinating to watch. And then there was this guy, not part of the other protest, but getting a lot of tourist attention. Hmmm. Interesting.

Spring is here! It is so wonderful to walk through our beautiful park and see the grass becoming so green and the animals out and flowers starting to peek out of the earth.

I don't know what I love best about spring. I love longer days (tonight the sun didn't set until close to 7:30), I love daffodils, I love leaving the house with a light sweater, I love budding trees, I love the relief that the dark cold winter is over. I don't think I've ever greeted a spring with more excitement than this one.

We took Reggie walking in the park the other day. His favorite thing is to chase the birds and watch them scatter. We worried a little about letting him chase the geese because they can be down right nasty, but these ones were still green enough that our little monster scared them away. He was thrilled at the effect.

GK has loved having our new little camera. It's so handy we can take it everywhere... and he does. He takes pictures of everything. Some time soon I'll make him do a post showing you all the pictures he took at the Met. Every time he saw something he really liked, he would stop and takeabout fifteen pictures of it. We didn't get through

very much of the museum, but we had a very good time! Anyway, he seems to like to take a lot of pictures of me, which I'm sure I'll appreciate some day... or at least my kids will. He took this one at the park and when I saw it I said, "Oh my goodness, I look pregnant!" Until this week, it was pretty much my little secret, but it's out and here's proof for those of you asking.

The placement of Easter in the Spring couldn't be more perfect in my opinion. What better way to help us understand the importance of the restoration of life than to see it all around us? I'm grateful all of the forms of new life that are surrounding us at this time of year. For the earth's renewal, for this increasingly active little man in my belly, for a promise that all of these things are types to remind us of a perfect plan.

We're back in the game

If I ever had regular readers to my silly blog, I'm sure they've all given up on me by now. But I can't really apologize for my lack of writing because GK and I took a long needed and much enjoyed trip to see his family in California.


We left on the morning of February 22 when New York got several inches of snow. It was an adventure. We took a car to the subway to the Long Island Railroad to MacArthur airport on Long Island (because we flew SWA). Once on the plane we stopped in Chicago, Las Vegas and FINALLY landed in Los Angeles. Whew! (And Reggie made the whole trip in his little bag, coming out only to go through security. What a champ!)

But once there, our trip was relaxed and wonderful. We just got to relax and enjoy 80 degree weather, and go to the beach and enjoy family. At the end of the week we went to our friend Jackie's wedding and reception... a truly wonderful occasion.



Then we were able to spend a couple of days at the Beach with my two brothers and their wonderful families. This is a picture of GK and my bro Nathan (and scantily clad Little Paul) burrying Maren... no, that's not just a pink hat in the sand, that is what is left of Maren.


All in all it was a wonderful trip and we were a little sorry to see it end. But once on the ground here and in our city we were happy to see that the weather was warm, the sun was out and the days seemed to have gotten a little longer. We felt refreshed and happy to face real life.


And I guess it helped that the morning after we got back, we had an appointment for our ultrasound... what they call here the "anatomy scan". I should let GK write about it, he describes it as sort of like winning a video game... you watch the screen, the nurse clicks and then the screen lights up with MALE! That's right... it's a boy, and we are absolutely thrilled.


That very basically brings us up to date. But we're back in reality... and got a beautiful new little camera (thanks Cherrie!) so we'll try to make our posts a little more colorful.