9.24.2007

Chinese Lunar Calendar

It was right when I ran it to see if what gender the boys might be ... So, for those who are interested, the Chinese Lunar Calendar says we're having a ... Girl! Now, we'll just wait till around Thanksgiving to see what the ultrasound shows! Will the Chinese Calendar be right again? ; )

9.20.2007

Sea-Doo Ride - August 25, 2007

One of the benefits of camping in the same site each year is getting to know your annual neighbors. For the second year in a row, two Sea-Doo enthusiastic families RVd in the sites behind us and offered up opportunies for us to play on the water! This year the boys got to play too!Owen had no fear and begged to go fast. He loved driving up to the ducks floating on the lake and "quack"ing at them! At one point, we got into some tall grass, and grass clogged the filter so we were forced to idle in at a less than 5 mph. Owen kept putting his thumb on the gas and trying to get us to speed up!! (Luckily, the grass was easily removed back at the beach, and we were able to go back out at Owen-speed!)
Collin had a different take on the mini-boats. He loved to go on them, but he wanted to go no faster than 5 mph! (He is a very calculated risk-taker. If he's in control, bring it on. But if there's unknown control - even Daddy's - he's extremely cautious.) One thing's for sure ... whether in idle or going super-fly fast -- What a blast!! We've already made our reservations for next year - same time, same site. Better yet: So did our neighbors!

9.19.2007

Nautical Design

Grandma and Grandpa gave the boys paint-your-own wooden sailboats during our vacation, and the boys had a fantastic time painting their ships and watching them sail!










Collin's Catch - Aug. 24, 2007

In August, we spent nine days and eight nights camping at SunBanks Resort on Banks Lake in Eastern Washington and had a wonderful time! Grandma and Grandpa J joined us for the first leg of the trip, and Collin got to fish for the first time from a boat! His "fish tale" is a doozy!

Grandpa carefully laced the worm onto the hook and lowered the line into the water. Collin grabbed hold of the reel and sat patiently. He watched his line sit, motionless. He watched Grandpa tie a lure onto his own line. He watched Dad teaching Owen to use the reel. He began to look bored.
"Hey, Bud, fishing is a sport that takes lots of patience. But it sure is fun to hook a fish! You just wait and wait and hope for a bite," I said.

And just like that - a bite. With a little help, Collin reeled in his first fish! Woohoo! The boat rocked as we exclaimed our excitement! It was just a little guy, but a prize for certain! "Congratulations, Collin!" "Good Work!" And with that, Grandpa laced another worm onto Collin's hook.

I glanced at Kevin. Collin had hardly had to wait at all. What are the chances he'll even catch another fish during our trip, let alone in this hour? No one else had caught anything yet. But at least Collin would now get to learn the realities of fishing. Or so I thought.

"Oh my gosh! Collin - your line! He's got another one!" Less than five minutes had passed! Grandma grabbed hold of Collin's pole, and the fish fought for its freedom. Collin's mouth was open wide in astonishment! The end of the pole dipped further and further into the water, and Collin gripped the side of the boat and leaned in for a closer look.
With a triumphant burst, the fish sprang from the water - posing before Collin mid-air as if to say "Here I am!"
It was a monster bass! Collin squealed in delight ~ not only had he just caught his second fish, he'd caught the biggest fish ever!!
Nice catch!!

After that, everyone began using worms. Owen loved peeking in on the fish and jumped in shock each time the fish flopped!

Amped by his trophy catch, Collin retired his pole for the afternoon, the boys played in the front cubby.
No one caught any additional fish, and we headed back to the campsite, where the boys sat very still and watched Grandpa clean the prized fish for dinner.

I'm not sure what part of fishing Collin enjoyed most ... : )

And I'm really not sure how his next fishing trip will go: will he be a lucky, er, uh, talented fisherman, always with a catch? Or will he learn that fishing isn't always a fast-action sport??!

9.17.2007

There's a Baby in There!

We had our first visit with Dr. Tu Friday, and it went very well. She has a more advanced ultrasound in her office than our last doctor, so we were shocked when it was time for the ultrasound and we quite clearly could see a BABY - not a flashing fuzzy lima bean - inside my belly! The baby looks wonderful - little arms and legs, little round head, strong heartbeat. It was fascinating. We're on number three, and still, seeing the baby so tiny and fragile, I am reminded of the amazing architecture of our lives. It is incredible, and I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful role!

Tamale's due date was confirmed: April 15, 2008 (211 days to go, but who's counting?!). Just as we did with Owen, we'll have a scheduled C-section ~ likely a date in early April.

9.04.2007

Pregnancy Update

Me: OMG. I have felt so awful! The afternoons are wearing me out, I'm beyond exhausted 80% of the day, and I feel as if I could throw up at any moment. I have had food aversions and cravings, however, nothing seems to ease my tummy. If anything, I get more queasy. The "good" news is that I haven't "grown" more after the initial burst (which probably rules out twins for those of you who had your fingers crossed). The other good news is that all of this ickiness is actually a great sign that the pregnancy is on-track and my body is reacting to its "new" state appropriately. Woohoo - ugh.

The doc: The doc who delivered Collin and Owen is (by choice!) no longer delivering babies, so we're having our first meet & greet with a new doc next Friday. Hopefully, we'll have the opportunity to hear our little babe's heartbeat and - if we're lucky - take a peak inside to see how he/she's doing!

Our Baby at Eight Weeks: Our embryo is about eight millimeters long, and an ultrasound done now would detect the tiny thumping of the heart. Although all the baby's major organs have formed, they are not fully developed or functional yet. At this point, the baby is about a quarter inch long, about the size of a small lima bean. (By next week, it'll be the size of an olive!)