32 Weeks

I decided this week that I needed to get a picture in my work clothes instead of my last few casual Saturday looks. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather so I can wear skirts and dresses more often. Today it was rainy and cool, so I wore pantyhose instead of bare legs and that was quite the effort! :-)

Not much to report for this week. Jason would tell you that it's noteworthy that I wanted pancakes for dinner twice this week already. But, really, I was just trying to use up the milk and yogurt in the fridge! Nothing fancy to my pancakes - just Bisquick - but I did use plain nonfat yogurt on Monday and vanilla lowfat yogurt last night instead of just milk. It makes the pancakes super light and sweet! Actually, you still need to use milk to thin out the batter to the consistency that you want. But, I start with 2 cups of Bisquick, 2 eggs, and 1 cup of yogurt. Then I just add skim milk as needed until it's runny enough for me.

The Iris Lady

In honor of my grandparents' wedding anniversary (and my grandpa's birthday) next week, I am posting about them. It's a few days early, but I didn't want to miss it.

The picture and title are in reference to my grandma's green thumb. She had hundreds of iris varieties on their Kansas farm and she transplanted many of them when she moved to town in 1988 shortly before my grandfather's death. There, she spent another 19 years cultivating her flowers until her death just days before her 85th birthday in September 2007.

I was actually prompted to post this blog after I saw a commercial for the 2009 Kentucky Derby. My grandma LOVED watching the horses and the rodeo, and on the last day I saw her, we watched the 2007 Derby. It was just weeks before I moved to D.C. I picked Circular Quay, since quay is one of my favorite Scrabble words. I think she picked Curlin. We had a great time talking and watching the run up to the race and eating yogurt for a snack.

A few fun memories of my grandparents from the 1980s - back when my brother and I spent parts of our elementary school summer and winter vacations at their farm:

Grandma's cure-all: cough drops were the answer to everything that ailed you.

Biggest adventure for a city kid: When a steer got loose at the county fair and charged! A woman was hospitalized after she got plowed over. Grandma - in her flowery blouse - served as a distraction as the rest of us took cover. There was newspaper coverage about that day. . .

Biggest project: Speaking of newspapers, she kept books of all of our newspaper clippings and pictures. That was practically a full time job when Ryan and I were in high school on sports teams and in debate. I can't wait to get the books out of storage when we move and do my annual flip through. (For me, it was making and baking Shrinky-Dinks! Ha!)

Best outdoor summer fun: playing with Grandpa's homemade toys and setting up fishing poles at the "crick" after navigating a pasture full of "cow patties."

Best outdoor winter fun: sledding behind the barn, although I only remember it once. . . .probably because I almost broke my leg when I got it stuck in the runner. Ryan tried to haul me and my sled up on his sled, and then Grandpa had to haul all of us up! I spent the rest of the day inside with Grandma watching Phil Donahue and the other TV programs she got on one of her 3 channels.

All of these memories are from childhood when my grandpa was still around. My best memories of adulthood are definitely our shared love for travel. She had already been around the U.S. via bus trips in their early post-retirement years (and around the world via the Travel Channel), so she liked to see my close up pictures and stories of all the places I was seeing!

31 Weeks

I had another doctor's appointment this week (every 2 weeks now instead of every 4 weeks), and everything looked/sounded/measured on track. The glucose test from last time was fine - thankfully the more stringent 3-hour, 3-drink test won't be required!

Spring may be around the corner finally. It's cool here today, but sunny. Rachel made a new friend named Calvin, a 5 month old German Shepherd puppy. He was out in the yard with his parents this afternoon and the two dogs got to chase each other around while we chatted about all things German Shepherd. Calvin is going to be a big boy! His feet are twice the size of Rachel's and he is already almost as tall - of course he is skinny and gangly at this stage, but his vet said he should be 100 pounds plus. (Rachel is 70, for reference.)

The Tourists are Coming!

I haven't seen any Segway tours yet, but these past few weeks I have noticed the arrival of tourists! Like the Groundhog looking for his shadow (which incidentally, was 6 weeks ago. . . doesn't that mean Spring should start now?), in March, we look for the telltale signs of the spring tourism season:

• Giving directions on metro regarding correct stop (Friday)
• Giving directions in metro regarding correct exit to street level (Monday morning)
• Large group of school-aged students being counted outside of museum (Monday noon)
• Tour bus dropping off outside suburban metro station (This morning)

If any of you would like our tour guide services, you'd better get out here fast! Remember, we'll only be here another 3 1/2 months - and I don't expect we'll be conducting many tours after mid-May due to baby.

30 Weeks

30 weeks already?! The crazier part might be that there are only about 10 weeks to go (and what we intend to do with those 10 weeks)!

I'm definitely feeling more aches and pains (especially my back) and general fatigue these past two weeks. But, I'm enjoying all the little kicks and moves that baby makes. He's all over the place. I'm not enjoying the Braxton-Hicks contractions or the fullness in my rib cage, but it's nice to be able to put my hands on my belly and feel the little guy moving around!

This t-shirt, which says "Future Wildcat" above the Powercat, is one of my favorites for around the house. It's lightweight and soft, which is great since my internal thermostat seems to be malfunctioning these days! Unfortunately the Wildcats are already out of the Big 12 Tournament, so I won't be watching them play this weekend.

I also wore this shirt last weekend when we rode our bikes on the Mount Vernon trail. Let's just say that the biology/physics involved in being 7 1/2 months pregnant don't translate well onto a mountain bike! Ha!

An Evening at Ford's Theatre

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Ford's Theatre has recently reopened after a year-long restoration process. In this picture, the left side is all new, and the original theatre where the stage is located (in red brick building to the right) has been restored.

A variety of events have been planned for this spring to coincide with Lincoln's 200th birthday. We were able to get tickets for the final weekend of "The Heavens are Hung in Black," a three act play that was commissioned as the opening production.

The play has Lincoln as the central figure (this would seem obvious, but the playbill said he has rarely been a central character in plays) during a 5-month period in 1862 as he wrestles with his grief over the death of his son, Willie, and the idea of issuing the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves and win the Civil War.

We had excellent seats in the second row. Although, the theatre is quite intimate, so all seats are probably pretty good. This is the picture that I took from my seat of the box where President Lincoln was sitting the night of his assassination. My understanding is that it is decorated as it was that night. John Wilkes Booth then jumped out of the box and onto the stage. It is believed he caught his boot in the flag, which caused him to land awkwardly and break his leg, and led to his capture a few days later.

The museum has not been reopened yet, so we may have to check it out at a later date. I went through before it closed, but I'm curious to see any updates.

Fruit Punch and Butternut Squash

I had my 28 week appointment this morning (even though I'm 29 weeks in a day). This meant it was time for the glucose screening. I was a little worried about drinking grape soda at 8 a.m., but it turned out fine. The flavor was actually fruit punch, and it tasted fine going down. It was cold, and I was thirsty. The real hit came over the next hour as the highly concentrated glucose syrup was raging through my body awaiting the blood test (and later some water and a carb snack to soak it all up). Most of you know my fondness for the sugary cocktails when I'm not pregnant. This was like having 3 or 4 sugary martinis at a happy hour! (Desiree, it was almost a Red Vine moment! :-)) Then, I was a bit dehydrated, so the blood draw was going slowly. . . .but, I survived! And baby sounded great during our regular exam. Heartbeat was about 150.

The 29 week fruit/veggie on Baby Center is the butternut squash - the equivalent of 2 1/2 pounds of baby. Considering I've gained 18 pounds, this seems like a pretty small portion of it being baby! :-)

{Sidenote: The newest Angelina Jolie movie, "Salt" is doing some early filming in D.C., and I happened upon the scene as I exited the metro this morning. When it hits DVD in 2 1/2 years, I'll have to rent it. :-)}

28 Weeks

We enjoyed a weekend visit from Jason's mom who drove out from Indiana. Unfortunately, she has to drive home in freezing rain today. On Saturday we went to Old Town to tour the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Museum. To our surprise it is closed for 2 weeks to install a new exhibit. But, what little we could see from the lobby looked neat, so Jason and I will go back another time.

Since we had nothing else to do, we went to Buy Buy Baby for some shopping! :-) Jason and I bought our bassinette (and he did an awesome job of assembling it!), and Grandma Hilary picked out more adorable outfits and other "necessities" like a Sleep Sheep for our little guy and his new cousin in Kansas (she's expected to arrive one week before him)!

All set up and ready for baby!

The baskets are already full of blankets, bath towels and burp cloths from friends and family! I wonder if it will look this perfect once it's occupied and being used?! It's impossible not to be excited about the baby now that we have this sitting in our family room!