Lulu's Birthday Party

Elena's best bud at school, Lua "Lulu," turned 4 and had a birthday party Sunday.

 With triple digit heat yesterday and all the excitement of the party, Elena was all out of sorts today.  She was a roller coaster and we ended up leaving early.

 The girls had fun with silly string...

 ...and birthday hats.

 These mischievous girls were excited for cake and even tasted the frosting before we sang Happy Birthday.  From left to right: Lulu, Elena, Evelyn.  These girls conspire and encourage each other to have bad behavior.  Amazing to watch it at such a young age.

 Singing Happy Birthday...

 ...and blowing out candles.  Wait--do you see Elena blowing out Lulu's candles?  She also wanted to open Lulu's presents.  At school the girls are always together and share well together.  Elena was not happy that I would not let her open Lulu's gifts.

It was another hot day and the kids enjoyed playing with water guns.  I just love the tree Elena is standing under.  Despite her meltdown at the end, we had a nice time.  This was the first party where Elena had a meltdown at the party.  I'm sure the heat had a hand in her bad behavior.  I was glad to get my sweet girl back after cooling off and a long nap.

I'm getting bigger!

 We are nearing a few important dates so I've been doing my best to squeeze in some girlfriend time.  Last weekend I had tea with a group of friends who surprised me with a book shower for Baby Stiehl and another friend's baby who is expecting 6 weeks after me.  Completely surprised and unexpected.

  Today, I headed up to a friend's house for brunch and to visit with friends I haven't seen in what seems like forever.  It may have been December since I've seen some of the girls.  I've been fairly tired during this pregnancy and have missed many gatherings.

We are 33-1/2 weeks along and I don't feel huge but I look huge :)  I am having troubles sitting up right and getting up from any sitting / laying down position.  My belly feels like a torpedo sticking out of me.  Our estimated due date is August 16th but it looks like August 9th the doctors may start intervening, If I haven't delivered already.  I have my last growth scan / ultra sound on July 16th.  This scan will determine our delivery course of action which primarily depends on his size and specifically his belly size.

I only have 3 weeks of work left, yay!  Once I'm done with work, Elena and I will have a little time for Mommy and Me time before Baby Stiehl arrives.  Elena will be taking a break from preschool/day care and will restart at 3 days a week in September.  It's weird to think in 1 year, we'll be preparing for kindergarten--how did so much time pass already?

So Much Fun to be 4...

...Or is it trouble?

Today Elena and I spent a few hours with her school friends Maddy and Livvy celebrating their fourth birthday.  There was an amazing bounce house complete with slide.  The girls had a great time.

 Attempting all three friends to slide at the same time.

 There were water balloons.  The kids just walked around with them until they popped.  This was a first experience with water balloons for many.

 Sparkle tattoos and cupcakes with flower sprinkles.

 And the party wasn't complete until airplanes were flown.  The girls didn't want to pose for a picture but funny faces are always a hit with this age group.

And then a little happy face :)

We had a great time and the weather was perfect.

Bare Belly, Warning: Not for the Sqeemish

Today marks the beginning of my 30th week of pregnancy.  This baby is riding all out in front.  I no longer trust myself to go down stairs, not only can I not see my feet but I'm very front heavy and a bit off balance.  You can see by the picture below, I really am carrying the typical boy basketball.  Many times a week people tell me I don't look pregnant from the back and how surprised they are that I still have so many weeks to go (10 as of today).  People, aside from my doctor, think I am big.  My weight gain has been much better than with Elena and I'm within the normal/expected range; however it is primarily showing on my belly so the concentration seems to appear bigger.

I'm doing okay.  Since he has shifted his head down and even dropped a bit, my hernia hasn't been bothering me nearly as much.  Now it is just a sore spot which is much more tolerable than the searing pain I had before.  I'm careful not to twist as this agitates the muscles/hernia.  I still feel sick most of the day, I walk around feeling like I'm motion-sick.  Despite the midwife thinking I am not drinking enough water, I've logged it and I drink way more water and fluids than necessary.  I really do think it has something to do with his constant movement of my organs/muscles while I'm sitting still.  As it has always been, the late afternoon / evening seem to be my worst time and his most active.  Good news (or bad) chocolate and junk food taste good and I'm craving them.  I'm doing my best to curb these cravings but everyday it becomes more difficult.

So I marked this entry with a warning because below are links you can click to see this baby moving.  I have to tell you it is hard to capture the movement but trust me the little bops you see are strong movements, sometimes taking my breath away.  If you had your hand on my belly it would feel something like fireworks going off on in there.  Most of his movements in the afternoon / evening are not just uncomfortable to me but painful.  He also likes to push on my pelvis/hip bones, I'm glad he isn't kicking my ribs like his big sister did.  He feels strong enough, even this young, to crack a rib.

Below are two links to take you to my private YouTube videos....if you would like to see this baby in action:

Baby Belly Dance, June 1st

Baby Belly Dance, June 5th

This pregnancy has seemed long for so many reasons.  I'm happy to report that we are in the final stretch.  I entered into the 3rd and last trimester a couple weeks ago.  My next check-up is next week, I'll have my final ultrasound/growth scan 4 weeks after that appointment and then the following week will be my last day of work before starting maternity leave, which puts us at 36 weeks.  Elena arrived at 37 weeks and we're hoping this little guy doesn't appear before then.

Until then, we're working on a name.  Here is your opportunity to leave a comment for any name(s) you would like us to consider.  Carl and I both have names we like/love but haven't found the name we can agree to both like/love :)  Knowing he could come sooner rather than later based on our first experience, I'm feeling a bit tight on time.

Domestication Update: Garden & 1st Quilt

 We spent some time in our neglected garden this weekend.  I'm so glad we have the water automated or else we probably would not have a garden right now. 

 Of the 10 fruit trees we planted in January, 3 have come to bear fruit: a peach, nectarine and the nectaplum.  I've thinned the trees of fruit so they would produce something but use most of their energy to establish good roots.

 Today I gleaned the 2 peaches and 3 nectarines....they were still hard so we set them out on the counter to finish ripening.  Update: a couple days later, I began eating these fruits and they were delicious--so juice and sweet.  I can't wait for next year's fruit!!

 We've been enjoying an assortment of fresh lettuce for months.  Today Carl got in the garden to weed because the grass started taking over.  He found some large zucchinis (you can see even the zucchinis have sort of taken over).  He harvested 6 zucchinis which yielded over 10 lbs!  The vine growing vertically would be our green beans, trying the vine this year instead of the bushes.  So far we've had a fair amount of beans, yum!  We also have some tomatoes fighting in there but I think our bell peppers were a dud this year.  Not too bad starting off with seeds instead of plants for the first time. 

 Elena picked flowers to give me.  Mostly dandelions but also my hydrangea.

 She loves picking flowers.  It was my intention to build her a small flower garden this past spring.  Alas, not feeling well scratched that project off the list.  Next year she will definitely have a flower garden to tend to and pick all she wants.

 This was a potted hydrangea for inside.  I thought it was a goner but it has started bouncing back in it's new location.  Now we just have to keep the grass from overtaking it :)

 This is an old picture but I wanted to share my first quilt.  I worked on it from January - March and for my first attempt it turned out wonderful.  Of course there are some things I would have liked to change, maybe improvements for my next one.  Quilts, even easy ones like this, are completely time intensive.

And also addictive.  Before I was done with this one, I was ordering material for Elena and Baby.  I have the material but haven't started even started designing.  Elena loved the space print so much, she's requested to have some of it in her quilt..she also asked for purple :)

Memorial Weekend in Arizona

 We took an extra long weekend and drove over to Arizona to visit with some of Carl's family.

 We had a nice German breakfast at Lynx Lake followed by a hike and skipping rocks into the lake

 Elena loves exploring nature.  She found a pine cone she just had to share with Grandma.

 We played in the pool and at the playground.

 Elena getting some assistance with the monkey bars.

 And some goofiness with Grandma and Grandpa.

We also were able to visit Grandma and Grandpa Newman and Grandpa Grossi (and his bird).  We love visiting everyone, just wish we lived closer so our visits could be more frequent.

Family Photos at the Presidio

Recently we had a mini-photo shoot with a local up-and-coming photographer.  We were well overdue for family pictures, so my Mother's Day present was a 20 minute session and it turned out wonderful.

Baby Update

Today we had our first of two extra ultrasounds to check in on this big boy.  Space is becoming tight in my belly but if you look closely, you can see his chin is tucked into his chest with a profile of lips and a nose and a hand above his eye.  

Today I am 27.5 weeks along, Friday will begin my 3rd trimester.  The ultrasound confirmed the findings 10 weeks ago--this is a chunky baby.  He is growing asymmetrically with average length and a 97th percentile tummy.  His weight is estimated at 3lbs 1oz, the average baby is estimated about 2lbs 8oz.  Aside from his weight, the perinatologist says he looks great.  During the ultrasound I did ask if we were really having a boy.  The previous ultra sound didn't seem so clear to me...but this one was crystal clear, we are most definitely having a boy.

This is one active baby.  I was surprised by all the movements occurring within my belly during the ultrasound since I could only feel about half of them.  There are four different types of movements measured during the ultrasound and this boy received an A+ in all categories during the test; and the test wasn't completed during his most active time.  This boy loves 6pm on, if I'm wearing a fitted cotton t-shirt, you can physically see my belly contorting and moving with his flips, stretches, punches and kicks.  

  Nearly all my weight gain (which is right on track) is in the belly, it looks like a basketball sitting in there.  As I enter the 3rd trimester I wish I felt better.  I'm still plagued by nausea / constant feeling of motion sickness, upper abdomen pain from a hernia and braxton hicks (false contractions) along my lower abdomen and of course exhaustion, acid reflux and the feeling of an overly full bladder day and night.  This pregnancy isn't as enjoyable as Elena was but I'm looking forward to meeting our little guy soon, well within the next 3 months. 

I'll have a final ultra sound / growth scan in 7 weeks.  The the doctors, Carl and I will determine how this baby will be born....naturally or by Cesarean.  Until then, we'll keep on growing :)

Happy Birthday to Carl!

 An ice cream cake was fitting this year for Carl's birthday as we experienced a heat wave.  Elena asked to place the candles on the cake.

 She was very pleased with her efforts.

 Just a little assistance in blowing out the candles for the old man ;)

Yay!  

Now can we eat the cake?  Yumm!

Swing Bliss

 Carl and I have been debating and discussing swing sets for the past two years.  Although I fell in love with a low-maintenance, no splinter wood swing set made on the East coast with sustainably harvested white cedar, the cost was just too great.  We looked at other wood swing sets, but who are we kidding we will not keep up the maintenance required.  Our wooden fence is pleading to be re stained.

 So the beautiful wooden swing set was out, the wooden swing set was out so we were left with metal.  I've been eying a specific set for a few months, it's just 3 swing spots, no slide or climbing structure but in reality our yard is too small for a climbing structure.  The weight limit is 600 pounds which means us adults can swing on it too, unlike the slightly less expensive options from TRU.

 The swing set arrived in 2 boxes last night.  After double checking all pieces were accounted for, we set to work assembling the swing set.  We finished this morning and Elena is extremely excited; she was in bliss swinging away.

 The set is tall, 10' to be exact so the swing height is a smidge high for Elena.  She can wiggle on and it will be a good height to grow into.  I can attest the seats are comfy, even for me; I've never been a fan of the belt seat but I don't mind swinging on these.  The little man likes the rocking too. The middle spot is a trapeze bar and is too high for Elena to reach, we'll need to get some extenders.

 Daddy with a push.  Elena is still learning to pump.

Just hanging out in her world of bliss!