November Phone Photo Digest

I would have created a photoshow for all of these, but Geoff always complains that he can't download the pictures from those directly to his digital frame at work. To make it easier on him (and other folks who are printing pictures from the blog), here are photos from my phone from November. Happy scrolling (there are a ton)! The new double stroller is getting a workout - she likes riding with a friend!
What a face! (Her shirt says "Happiness is all around" - it should say "Happiness is all over my face")

See my pink cowgirl boots? They're my favorite!

Not sure what this face is about, but Daddy thought this was a cute picture.

Bill Cosby moment in parenthood: "I got this paper for you. You don't want it? Can I have it?"

More time in the stroller - always with a friend!

In the past 6 or 8 weeks, the blanky has to go everywhere.

Cheese! (Grilled cheese that is)

Tuckered out after her doctor's visit - we're still working on this dropping the morning nap thing. This morning it was skipped for shots and that was too much!

Not sure why the tears, but she looks adorable in Daddy's hat (even while crying)

Nothing works better in our house for teething issues than a popsicle - except perhaps TWO popsicles

She LOVES the Christmas tree and expects the lights to be on EVERY time she sees it

Thanksgiving visit from South Carolina cousins - they each received free lessons from Uncle Geoff's School of Tree Climbing

Wyatt's turn - what a ham!

Love my Daddy!

Nothing goes better with a Christmas sweater dress than red stockings and pink cowgirl boots!

Four Weeks from Friday

Assuming all continues as well as it has been, we will meet baby Evelynn Jane on Friday, December 31st around 7:30am. I can't wait!

Evelynn at 33 weeks and 4 days

I had another routine ultrasound of Evie this morning to see how she's growing. She's looking great! She's 4lbs and 12oz (only 3oz shy of where Claire was at birth) and has a head full of hair. The environment is still looking good in there, so while I can't imagine another 5weeks and 3 days of carrying her, it could very well happen! Here are the best of the pictures, most did not turn out even this clear, so you will have to use your imagination. You would think ultrasounds would get easier to see as the baby gets bigger, but they're actually less and less clear... Above: Face (her little hand is covering part so it's a little hard to make out, but you should be able to tell at least the one eye and go from there)
Above: Her right ear (again, hard to see, but look near the label)

Above: Her hair - the white fuzzy stuff on the crown of her head is hair. Everyone always seems to wonder if you can tell if a baby has hair when you have an ultrasound, so here's the answer. I'm taking the ultrasound tech's word for it, because these pictures are getting fuzzier and fuzzier to my untrained eyes!

Fun Fifteen

So Martha Claire is fifteen months! It seems only yesterday I was updating you on her 14 month milestones - probably because I was behind on blogging...
She is ever growing and ever learning. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to learn how much she has gained and grown, but I feel confident the doctor will be pleased. She is up in clothing, shoe, and diaper sizes, so I know there has been some good growth in the last three months.
Claire has six teeth - 4 top and 2 bottom. She appears to be working on her two canines on top, but the way this girl cuts teeth, it could be another month or two before we see them. I'm not complaining, and luckily, neither is she.
We are working on consolidating her two naps into one. Some days this works great, and some days we go ahead and take two naps. This change has been harder on me (mommy) than on her, as in this 8th month of pregnancy, I need all the rest I can get! However, I have already found that having a big block of morning time without the need for a nap increases my productivity. We can run errands, do some cleaning, play a little and have lunch - our day is much less broken up than before.
She continues to love books more than possibly anything else in the world. We are patiently trying to teach her to put them back on the shelf as she finishes. Most evenings I end up with a pile of books beside me on the floor as we wait for Daddy to get home from swimming. Her other loves of the moment include her baby doll, walks in her stroller (much to mommy's chagrin as she struggles with sciatic nerve pain), and a new one - bubble baths!
Claire talks all the time and recognizes more words than she can say. She loves to point to things when you ask where they are in a book or around her environment. She also loves to make animal noises. Her favorite is the elephant (somewhat like blowing a raspberry), but she can also do a dog, chicken, horse, monkey and one or two others that I'm drawing a blank on at the moment. One of her favorite games is pointing to various parts of her body (or mine or Daddy's). She knows head, hair, eyes, mouth, tongue, teeth, ears, shoulders, knees, toes, and belly button. She also loves to blow whistles and to give kisses - so sweet.
Claire has recently begun working simple wooden puzzles on her own - a real treat to watch! She is also doing well with a fork and spoon much of the time. I am definitely encouraging all sorts of independent activities knowing that Evelynn's arrival is only weeks away. (For an Evie update, scroll past the pictures)...

Of course our cat, Irving, has to see what all the splashing and camera flashing is about.

Bubble Beard aka her best Poppa Peel impression so far

Little ladybug on Halloween - she wanted to don this costume over and over for about a week before and after Halloween, several times wearing it over her pajamas

Big girl helping mommy rake the leaves around her playhouse

Reading "Goodnight Gorilla" (a big time favorite) with her Daddy. This book afforded me one of my favorite moments with her vocabulary so far. She showed me the book and pointed to the elephant and said, "Elephant!" I was in the midst of praising her for saying that word for the first time when she quickly switched over to the armadillo and said, "Chicken!"

Evelynn Update:

Yes, in case you have noticed and wondered, we have decided to spell Evelynn's name with two "n's" at the end. Besides being a name Geoff and I liked and being popular during the same time period as "Martha," Evelynn is a nice way to combine my grandfather's name "Everett" with my middle name "Lynn." Geoff therefore thought it would be nice to make this connection more evident with the double "n."

In regard to her arrival, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I have started the weekly non-stress tests to evaluate the condition of the placenta. On top of good results from these, we also have ultrasounds and measurements showing that Evie is growing well and flourishing in the womb. Additionally, my blood pressure remains low and my weight gain is much better than with Claire. The doctor is beginning to feel Evie is going to thrive all the way to the end and in a few more weeks, we will schedule a c-section, quite likely for 12/31 - my Nene's birthday!

New Ultrasound Pics

Some of the pictures from today would have required too much explanation. (It gets a lot harder to get a big picture of a baby when they're 15 inches long and you can only view a little at a time!) Here are two of the very best (per Nani's request). Her profile is rounding out nicely, showing she is putting on fat like she should be (something Claire failed to do in utero)
And that is one cute (tiny) little foot, isn't it??

She's in the 47th percentile for her current weight of 3lbs. This is a little lower percentile than the last ultrasound at 25 weeks, but still great. Everything is looking really great so far, so we're hopeful that this pregnancy may just continue to go more or less normally.

14 month Update

Well, we're past 14 months, but I think I forgot to do a blog update. It's hard work chasing around a toddler, especially when you add being in the third trimester of another pregnancy on top of that! The blog gets neglected sometimes, but I did this update and another post to make up for it.
So what does a 14 month old like to do? Well, she LOVES to get in the tupperware cabinet. Recently this has meant that she actually empties the whole cabinet out and crawls inside to play hide and seek. She has now taken to climbing in, and asking for her blankie and sippy cup before shutting the door. We have discovered the key to successfully getting Claire to eat just about anything: If she can dip it in something, she will eat it! It is messy, but we figure that just comes with the territory of letting her learn to self-feed. Here she is covered in tomato soup (the perfect dip for a grilled cheese sandwich). I have some great video coverage of her eating the soup with a spoon as well. It's messy, but letting her learn to be independent is worth it.
On a side note, this little booster seat has turned out to be one of Claire's favorite things. She likes to put it on the floor and sits in it whenever she can. I'm glad she likes it as the big high chair may have a new occupant in the coming months when sister Evie wants to join us at the table.

Claire has decided that any time not spent outside is a moment wasted. One of her favorite activities is going for a walk in her stroller. I'm glad she likes this as it is a good motivator for me to get out and walk. This was her last stroll in her single stroller. Nani and Pop gave us my awesome dream double stroller for Evelynn and Claire, and we are already using it every day (sometimes twice a day) for walks!

Claire also favors her independence and is really taken with the Cozy Coupe, although she's still not quite big enough to really get anywhere in it. Mostly we push her around the yard in it (constantly saying, "pick your feet up"). The other day she enjoyed her cousin Matthew climing in the thing and hoisting it up on his shoulders and running around the yard with it. It was so funny we suggested it for a halloween costume, although we were informed he was going as a white Bo Jackson.

Continuing her outdoor play theme, Claire loves to swing. We have an awesome playset in the backyard that isn't quite all put together and up and running, but will make our backyard as cool as a park when it's all said and done. We still find ways to use it now, and Claire has some growing to do before it can really be useful.

All in all, 14 months is tons of fun! She finally cut tooth #6, giving her a row of 4 on top and 2 on bottom - a very cute toothy smile. She is also showing good signs of growing, which I'm sure will be reflected at her 15 month check-up. Her shoe size has finally gone up, though she still can hardly hold up most 12 month pants. Her vocabulary grows faster than we can keep up with. She understands so many more words than she says. She can follow all sorts of directions and answer questions and point to tons of different pictures or items on command. It's so fun to discover all the things she has learned.

Third Trimester Update

On another note, we have entered the 3rd trimester with Evie. The best thing I can say for this trimester is that I feel constant crazy movement from her, which is mostly fun for me (though from time to time it does hurt). In another week we will begin weekly appointments and tests to help decide when the best time will be for delivery. The goal is to get her out before my placenta gives out, and we are all (including the doctor), wanting this to happen at least 5 weeks from now at 34 weeks. Any time before this and we will be delivering her in Birmingham. So we play the week by week game from now until December 31st. So far, so good though!