Happy Easter!

We hope you had a wonderful Easter.

With my folks in Germany on a river cruise, we had a "no parents allowed" Easter dinner at my sister Michelle's home in South Tampa with my sisters. We all brought different dishes and enjoyed a nice afternoon together. Katelyn selected her own Easter dress this year and we found a sweet Easter bonnet that she actually wore on and off throughout the day. On Easter morning, she was a little disappointed there was no live bunny in her basket (guess we weren't clear enough on the whole Easter bunny thing...), but enjoyed the gifts in her basket. The highlight for her was hunting for Easter Eggs in Michelle's condo. I was very proud of her behavior all day, especially while we sat around the table and ate and chatted. She entertained herself with toys and sat with Ali for ages, never bothering us. Nice to be able to enjoy the day!!

21 Weeks Along :-)

More than halfway through this pregnancy...wow!! Actually, I feel like time is crawling, but now that we're barely over the halfway mark, I'm glad for the time. I feel like we have soooo much to do converting our guest bedroom/playroom into a nursery, getting the baby clothes/supplies down from the attic, setting them up, cleaning them, etc. Bryan doesn't seem to be in much in a hurry and when I buy a little something we need for the baby (so far just bibs and a pack of lap pads), he does get a little irritated. I can't help it...guess it's a mom thing to get things ready and organized.

We FINALLY took a picture of me pregnant at 21 weeks (I feel huge) and this is the only pic we have of my belly. I'll try to do a better job of remembering to take pictures more often as my body changes.

Speaking of body changes....I should change my name to Dolly Parton!! Dear Lord!! My boobs only went up one size when I was pregnant with K, but this time around it's ridiculous!! I just bought a nice new bra at Kohl's (size 38DD...up from 36D...gulp) and already that bra no longer fits. I don't even know where to buy the huge ones. I think I'm a 38E right now!!! And I'm only at the halfway mark. They might have their own zip code in July when I enter the hospital.

All went well at my dr. visit this week. Baby was extremely active and difficult to get a good read on the heartrate. The nurse had to keep chasing it and eventually just settled on 137, as it kept fluctuating. We are on target for a July 30 due date, based on the measurement of my belly. Good visit :-)

Funny Comment from Katelyn

I had to write this down and share it before I forget..
Yesterday, Katelyn was talking to my belly (about a week ago, she leaned down and said, "Hi Baby," and the baby kicked. I told her it kicked and she said, "mommy, that is not very nice!"). She looked at my belly button and told me that is where the baby will come out. Then very sweetly told me, "it will hurt a little bit, but we'll put a band-aid on it!!"
If only it would be that easy...

Surprise Trip to Sea World!!

Sea World is one of the best parks we've ever been to. We received free passes about 2 years ago and have been hooked since. They have a great deal where you can pay for one day and come back all year, no blackout dates (unlike Disney!). Well, we decided to renew our annual passes and Katelyn has been begging to go back. I woke her up yesterday morning and surprised her with the news that we were going to Sea World that day. You should've seen her face!! She was so excited! Her mind started racing and she started listing everything she wants to do once we get there. First thing on her list (as always), is a trip to the dolphin show. This show is amazing and there is a female trainer called "Marina" who is featured in the show. K is just so taken with her. We hear about Marina often and this trip we were able to meet Marina after the show and get K's picture taken with her. To put it in perspective, it's like me getting my picture taken with Bono. She was thrilled!! And sweet Marina took her time with Katelyn and talked to her a bit. We might have a future dolphin trainer on our hands...

Now that we have our passes, we'll be going often. I'm looking forward to the spring break crowds to leave at the end of the month. I have to admit, I'm slowing down now and can't keep up Katelyn's pace all day. My feet really swelled by the end of the day and I was exhausted when I came home that afternoon. A big benefit to having an annual pass is not feeling like you have to stay all day and a few hours at the park is plenty. Sea World, here we come :-)

Ultrasound :-)

A big sigh of relief....all is well with our baby! We had our 20 wk. ultrasound today at Winnie Palmer Hospital (has to be the most awesome hospital...totally dedicated to pregnant women and babies and is very new). Our baby is now 11oz and 8 in. long and everything looks good (they look at everything...internal brain structure, fingers and toes, kidneys, the cord, heart, spine). The ultrasound took about 20 min and most of that time was spent trying to get the baby to cooperate. We had to get a good look at the 4 chambers of the heart and the baby was curled up, facing away from us. After lots of poking, tapping, and pressure, the baby finally flipped and we could clearly see the 4 chambers. It was very quiet in the room until we got a good view, even got a little tense. What a relief to see everything is okay :-)

Big Ultrasound Tomorrow (and I'm nervous!)

Where has the first half of this pregnancy gone? Okay, the first trimester was awful (probably up there with one of the most difficult times of my life. Imagine 6 weeks of a terrible stomach flu..for those of you who haven't already suffered through...and for those of you who go on longer than the first trimester puking away, I don't know how you do it!!), but once 12 weeks hit, this pregnancy has hit warp speed. There are days I actually forget I'm pregnant, mostly because I'm feeling so good and Katelyn keeps me so busy and distracted (oh yes, distracted...more on that later!). Every once in a while I feel a little kick and flutter and it brings me back to reality. Well, tomorrow morning at 10am we have our "big" ultrasound. This takes close to a half hour and the big deal is you can find out the gender of the baby. I'm always nervous before every visit (please let everything be okay/let's hear that heartbeat/it that too slow or too fast/etc), but I'm v. nervous about tomorrow. I think it's because we're bringing Katelyn this time. The last time we brought her to an ultrasound, we received the heartbreaking news that we had miscarried. I'm also nervous to accidently see the baby's privates...I want this baby's gender to be a surprise. If I were to take a wild guess, just based on what I feel, I would guess this baby is a girl (terrible morning sickness and I'm carrying exactly the way I did with K, also have been having a high heartbeat), but I don't want to know. We have decided on a boy and girl name and will wait until the baby is born to know. It's so, so tempting to find out tomorrow (and I could've found out a 12 week ultrasound), but this one is going to be a surprise for all of us :-) Will keep you posted....

Still A Mess!!

After eating some toast with jelly on it for breakfast, Katelyn's face was covered in sticky jelly!! I had to take this picture of her. She can be such a mess! Now she's trying to drink without lids on sippy cups and has decided she's just way too big for them. It's been a messy process!! Working on cleanliness in the bathroom as well...sometimes she gets so excited about going or doesn't want to miss a thing going on outside of the bathroom that she runs out of the bathroom mid-potty going. Yes, it's a big mess! I need to strap her down. She insists on "privacy" but I think it's mostly so she can mess about in the bathroom. She can be such a mess, and as much as I complain, I wouldn't have her any other way!

Weekend in Key West

Oh and I WISH we were still there....

We've been wanting to visit the Keys since moving to Florida. It took 6 years, but this weekend, we took advantage of some work Bryan was doing in Miami and extended the trip south to the Keys. Katelyn and I hung out in the hotel pool all day Friday (and I mean ALL DAY..she was in the pool from 9:30am-3pm) while Bryan was working in the hotel (the Wyndam by the Miami Airport...very cool hotel with the most amazing fresh squeezed OJ in the am). While we were being pool rats, we noticed the Gator Baseball Team was staying at our hotel and they were also chilling by the hotel most of the day, then had a team meeting nearby (and they were nice to look at...). The night before, Bryan and I slept terribly with Katelyn in the room. She is miserable to share a room with...very restless and noisy sleeper. We also notice she stops breathing for a short amount of time, then gasps for air. This is what keeps us awake the most. It's so scary. To top it all off, we realized she grinds her teeth in her sleep and this is the worst sound you could imagine!! I probably slept about 3 hrs. and my eyes were feeling very heavy by lunch time at the pool. It was a struggle to stay alert and we couldn't return to the hotel room because we had to check out at noon, so we were homeless. When Bryan finished his meeting just before 5pm, we got intot he car and headed south to Marathon, a 2.5 hr. drive. Traffic wasn't bad at all in Miami. We were getting hungry, but K had fallen asleep (much needed nap!!), so we didn't dare stop and wake her up along the way...just kept driving. As we were getting very close, she awoke screaming. Poor thing was exhausted, very hungry, uncomfortable in the car seat, etc. We had to pull over to calm her down...she was just out of her mind (and so were we!!)

We found our hotel, the Kingsail Inn, and pulled in. We were pleasantly surprised by the location (right on the water) and the amount of space (a separate kitchenette area/living room area and the bedroom/bathroom was closed off). Do you ever smell something and it takes you back to a place you've been before. This hotel room, especially the bathroom, smelled just like my aunt's house in South Africa. I couldn't sniff enough!! I think it's because we were so close to the sea.

Katelyn got her second wind and we were all starving, so we found a nearby restaurant, "The Barracuda," and had the most delicious soup and shrimp and bread. Excellent food!

The next morning, we started our drive to Key West and this is the most gorgeous drive. The futher south you go, the bluer the water gets, similiar to the carribean. We were at our next hotel in Key West by 10am, and caught a free shuttle to nearby downtown Key West. And we walked!!! Bryan sampled Key Lime Wine (not good) and Key Lime Pie (very good) and we strolled around the waterfront, Duval Street, and saw the cruise ships dock. After lunch, we took a trolley tour around the island and stopped the southernmost point and Hemingway's house. The weather was perfect for spending the day outside and Katelyn was a trooper. A few little meltdowns, but did well overall. After watching the sunset celebration at Mallory Square, we went to get dinner. By this time, it was 7pm and Katelyn was unraveling. We went to an Irish Pub and she just couldn't handle dinner. Bryan had to take her outside at one point, then she just sat on my lap like a zombie. We caught the next shuttle back to the hotel (where Katelyn made new friends from Minnesota...you should've heard her chatting away on the quiet shuttle..."mommy has a car, daddy has a car, and I have a bike. Mama Nana got it for me. I go to Sea World. My teddy bear is a baby and you have to be careful with him. I went camping with Grammy, Jenny, Jeff..." etc. The folks from Minn. were very sweet and patient with her!! She is such a motor mouth!!! We actually all fell asleep with the tv on around 9:30...just exhausted. I woke sometime after midnight to use the bathroom and noticed Katelyn had not moved since she fell asleep. I stepped closer to her and couldn't hear her breathing, so I put my hand on her back. Without opening her eyes, she said "sleep with me mommy." and that scared me!! I had no idea she was awake!

Sunday morning, we had a delicious breakfast at our hotel, outside near the pool, then started our long drive home (7 hours). If you haven't been, I HIGHLY recommend a visit to the the Keys, esp. Key West. We loved it!