Little Man in the Capital City, aka Uncle Dude Territory

How Miles spent his Saturday in D.C.

Though he didn't get much of a nap, Little Man crashed hard that night. Very hard.

It's a Penelope!!!

And she is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!

The calm before the (spaghetti) storm

The Weather Channel will be posting pictures of the aftermath. Regardless, kudos to the crab cake for trying new foods! Yes, I called Miles a crab cake.

In 9 days...

Greeting from 2.0!

... we find out what side of Old Navy the 2.0 will be eventually shopping on. Will it be for dresses or cargo shorts? Most folks tell me I am lugging around a little lady because this pregnancy is very different from Miles. At this point, I am only leaning toward girl because we have absolutely no boys' names in mind. Nothing. Nada. Zilch- but the girl's name is covered.

Honestly, I have bigger worries on my mind than gender. This go around, as mentioned in early posts, we have forgone with much of the prenatal testing. This ultrasound, to be conducted at a special clinic, will give us the most insight, outside of the AFP test, on potential developmental areas of concern. I ditched the quad screen because it didn't work last time, and this time it would already begin as inaccurate because it can't report my rates for trisomy 21, which are inevitably much higher than the general population. So in this ultrasound we are looking for soft markers in addition to decorating directions.

I am anxious because that is who I am. Not that evidence of genetic defect would lessen my love for this child or discourage me to prepare for his/her arrival, not in the least. Besides, trisomy 21 has opened my heart and mind in dimensions that I didn't know existed prior to becoming a parent. I worry because I want so very much for Miles to be a big brother. This is a role he was born for- his spirit and courage are so inspirational. And his constant love for the baby ball, which is how he is signing my tummy's name now, melts my heart on a daily basis. His excitement over the bump is only a glimpse into the joy he's going to experience meeting his little brother or sister. 9 days also marks the halfway point, so we are halfway to arranging that meeting!

Belly Woes

Today has been a total guttural washout. Silly me, I thought the "morning sickness" was over. Oh no, it was only taking the vacation I didn't get to this summer. Sigh.

Without getting into too many details, I have just kept my first meal of the day down (and it's 2 p.m. EST). Don't think I haven't been trying, and that's the sick part. As violently ill as I have been, I am still dreaming of tomato bisque with white cheddar grilled cheese sandwiches. My gut's gone bi-polar: ill, starving, ill, starving, ill, starving... I am exhausted, even after a glorious nap made possible by the grandparents. And my tummy's still acting pissy, but I would walk across a field of broken glass right now for an M&M Blizzard. Literally.

But blasted all- that picture is making me feel queasy. Here's hoping I don't toss my cookies and cream, again.