Dairy Queen

Snuffy is a true blue Wisconsinite. She loves dairy! The game at Miller Park was sponsored by the Wisconsin Dairy Council today, and Grace was in heaven. Free samples of milk, chocolate milk, strawberry milk, ice cream, and cheese! It was her first time trying flavored milk, and I think it took her one minute flat to chug the chocolate! Strawberry was obviously just as tasty to her, but it's hard to chug with a belly full of chocolate milk. She loves every kind of cheese we have given her to try-we have a cheese speciality shop near here, and she loves them all. Sweet, spicy, plain, she doesn't care it's all good to her. She samples so many varieties of cheese at the store that she has gone through a whole sippy cup in one visit just to wash it all down. Good thing she's not lactose intolerant!

Week 20 Checkup

Halfway there! Woo hoo! I had my check up on Tuesday, and it was pretty uneventful. Which is good, I guess. Blood pressure is good, weight is on target, etc. I asked if I should be concerned that we have had problems hearing her heartbeat and now they are having trouble seeing it and the doctor assured me not to be concerned. They actually did get a good photo of her four chamber heart, but want a better view of the blood flow. She said since we are waiting six weeks for the next attempt, it should be successful. She didn't think we waited long enough between our first and second attempt at the ultrasounds. That was good news.

Giggly Girl

Gracie loves her Daddy time!

Aaannd. . . She's Off!

The video isn't the best, but I was more focused on catching her than making the video. She tends to take 2-3 steps and throw herself forward, but has made it halfway across the living room on her own without falling. I'm sure by next week she will be running all over the place!

Splish Splash!

Just imagine how much fun she has when we add water!

Gettin' Ready for Richard's Visit

Raining Cats

Brian and I went to a movie tonight, leaving Gracie with her favorite babysitter. When we got home, she told us that baby got kitty good while we were gone! Kitty likes to sit in the window sill like the above photo whenever I open the window. Apparently Gracie snuck up on kitty and pulled her tail, sending her flying across the room to get away! Brave little kitty was back on the window sill moments after Gracie was put down for the night.

POV

We brought the van to our friends in Milwaukee to make a minor repair today. Gracie was a bit confused when her carseat was in the Saturn, but took advantage of the new point of view to waved to our friend behind us the entire trip to Daddy's work to drop off the car. She then had another adventure when we put the carseat back in the van-forward facing! She was very excited to share a Popsicle with our friend, who was in the front seat. Our adventures tired her out, and she has been sleeping for almost two hours!

Key! (Gracie's name for Kitty)

Tired of videos if Gracie and Kitty?
I just can't help it, that cat's patience is awesome.
She has bit Gracie twice-but to be fair, Gracie was flattening her!

So Big!

Gracie never ceases to amaze me. My sweet baby not only can get around the apartment so fast it's not even safe to go to the fridge without locking her up, but she is starting to ask for a diaper change! She used to holler at diaper time until she realized it was just diaper time. Daddy made up a "Diapy Time" song, to help her understand that it's just diaper time, not nap time when we lay her down for a change. The other day, she actually picked up a diaper and a wipe and handed them to Daddy for a change! Later, I said "Gracie, do you need a new diaper?" and instead of running, like normal she smiled and walked right to me for a change! She also has started to take her sippy cup out of our hands and drink on her own. She's fine, as long as it's full, otherwise she doesn't tip it high enough yet. I can't get over how grown up she is already!

Halfway Done!

Week 20- halfway done! I had another ultrasound today, and this time she was pretty certain of the gender-but we'll get to that. Once again, she couldn't see the chambers of the heart. I told her that makes me a bit concerned, as the doc has also been having trouble finding baby's heartbeat at checkups-we've only heard it once! She said not to be concerned, baby's just small still. I have yet another ultrasound schedule for six weeks from now. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the ultrasounds, I've had five already! Granted, we did find out about Broster much earlier than we found out about Gracie. Anyway, I have a doctor appointment on the 26th, so we will see what she has to say about the whole thing. I haven't seen her since before my last ultrasound. Curious about gender? It's a girl! Now for a name. . .

BabyCenter's thoughts on Broster:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

19 Weeks

Broster has been kind to me this week. With the exception of a little heartburn, I've been feeling really well. It's been an exhausting week, but that is more due to a full schedule than the baby. Daddy and I are pretty sure Snuffy is starting to work on her first molars. She is constantly chewing or sucking in her finger, and is much whinier than normal. When I get out the bottle of teething tables, she gets excited and grabs at them before I can even get them open! Poor baby, I hope it goes quickly, and she gets a bunch popping out very soon!

BabyCenter's thoughts on Broster:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Gracie Cena

You can't see me!

Gracie has a great nesting ball set. The smallest is a baseball that sings, which goes inside a football, then a soccer ball, and finally a basketball. Momma always takes half of the basketball and peeks at Gracie through the openings. Gracie has started to do the same!

Snuffy Loves Snuffy

Sorry about all the background noise. We had some friends over after the Brewers game, and Gracie started playing with Bret and her stuffed Snuffy. She was giggling so hard, I just had to get the camera out!

Family Zoo

Mama! Let me out!

Engaged

I was looking at the BabyCenter site that was emailed to me for Broster's 18th week, and was entertained by a comment left by another expecting mother. . .

I find that if you are in a place where you are sitting very still for a period of time and paying attention (church, 12 Step meeting, doctors office) you are more likely to feel the baby. Watching TV counts only sometimes, since your mind and other senses are very engaged.

Maybe I'm wrong, but shouldn't your mind be engaged in church, or a 12 step meeting? I kinda thought that was the point.

The Name Game

We don't officially know what Broster's gender is, and we still don't have a girl's name. I have been perusing the baby name web sites and thinking about it here and there. Today I found a site with a link that said "Take the Baby Naming Quiz!" Figuring that it was a quiz to help me determine what is important to me in a name, and help me to find a name I decided to take it. I was wrong. Apparently, I have no idea how to name a child as I only got 2 out of 10 correct. I think the site is run by hippies.

Week 18

I had my ultrasound today. Broster is growing well, and the tech was able to get a lot of measurements. However, because this ultrasound was scheduled for two weeks earlier than Snuffy's developmental ultrasound, they were unable to clearly see Broster's heart. The doc assured me that it does not mean anything is wrong, just that it is early in baby's development and hard to see. I am scheduled for another ultrasound in two weeks to verify everything and hopefully see that heart a bit better. As far as gender goes, they also aren't sure. The tech told me what she thinks it is but also said we would verify gender at the next appointment. So I ask you, friends, do you want to know what they think it is, or wait until we have a more definite answer?

What BabyCenter has to say about Broster this week:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Housing

So I fell in love with a house. . . it is cute and little like we want, well maintained, across the street from a park, close to the grocery store. PERFECT. Oh, and it costs TWICE what we could afford to buy. *sigh.*