Ultrasound at 18.5 Weeks

As you can see, I went for my ultrasound at 18.5 weeks today, and our little BOY was extremely cooperative! The ultrasound tech said he is a very photogenic baby. He is definitely the first of my three kids to cooperate so well on the mid-pregnancy anatomy ultrasound. Everything looks just like it should for this stage, and we got some nice pictures of our baby boy. I even saw him trying to suck his fingers, and trying to grab at his feet! Right now he is lying sideways, with his head on my right side, and his legs stretched out to my left side.

side view, with hand by face

view from opposite side, with hand by forehead

close-up of hands/wrists/fingers

bony legs and bum, with umbilical cord (and boy parts) between

close-up side view of face

We told the kids about the baby tonight, and Andrea is VERY excited. (Kevin doesn't really understand yet.) Andrea knows that there is a baby boy in my belly, and she will have another brother, but we still have to wait a long time before he's ready to come out. Oh, and she knows his name . . . RYAN. :))

Ob.Gyn. Appointment: 4 Months

Today I went to Dr. P. for my monthly pregnancy appointment. Actually, I will be 17 weeks pregnant tomorrow. She said everything looks and sounds good. My blood pressure and weight are holding steady, and we got to hear baby's heartbeat. Baby's heart rate was about 143 bpm--right on target. It took her a few minutes to find the heartbeat, because Baby was wiggling around so much! I am starting to feel some of that movement. :))

Last night, I did my traditional juggling act at 16 weeks, where I use my home doppler, find Baby, and get a video of the first time we hear Baby's heartbeat. It took me about 40 minutes to get Baby to cooperate (I kept getting "wooshes" as he or she swam away!), but I finally captured Baby's heartbeat for about 15 seconds. :))

Kevin's New Pediatrician

We went to visit Kevin's new pediatrician today. The one he had before left the country on a two-year exchange with this new doctor.

Anyway, the new doctor took a look at Kevin's numerous tests results, and asked us a bunch of questions, and examined Kevin. He sounded pretty positive about Kevin's progress. He brushed off the MRI diagnosis of chronic sinusitis as if it wasn't important. He said Kevin is socially and physically at the appropriate stage now, and his speech delay is probably an isolated thing he'll grow out of.

Oh, and Kevin's latest measurements: 29.5 pounds and 35 inches tall!

This doctor is going to send us for another hearing test (I'm still not convinced everything's clear there) and also some more detailed blood work, but he's pretty sure nothing will come up.

He did notice that Kevin has missed his 15-month immunizations (?). My doctor never mentioned them for either child, so now I have to find a day to take both of them to the family doctor and get those done. Once again, my family doctor's office has messed something up. Argh.

Of course, everything is bothering me extra right now due to lack of sleep and miserable cold symptoms (for which I can't take anything!). Kevin has been up every night since Saturday with the croup, I have a rotten head cold, and Daddy has been doing late nights at work--as if we aren't all worn out enough, already! ;p

Andrea's First Day of School

Today was officially Andrea's first day of elementary school. She went for an hour-long visit last week, and has been driving us crazy every day since, wanting to know when she could go back! Well, today was the big day!

Kevin: "Where you going? Can I come, too?"

Andrea: "I'm going to BIG KID school!"

Andrea is in afternoon junior kindergarten, so she goes to daycare in the morning. After lunch, one of her daycare teachers walks her and the other kindergartners a few blocks down to the school. Daddy and I were sad that we couldn't be there to walk with her, especially on her first day, but we knew she would be fine.

One funny thing happened this morning: when we got to daycare, another little girl in Andrea's class had the exact same dress on--and she was going to H.J. Lassaline for afternoon JK, too!

***

Gram and Papa picked Andrea up from Lassaline after school. Andrea's teacher said Andrea had a great day! She said Andrea is working on "waiting patiently for her turn," and is doing a very good job at that! Andrea told me that she had a hard time closing her juice container, but besides that, she had a good day. :))

Andrea was really excited because her teacher sent her home with a school t-shirt. She wanted to model it for me.

I hope she continues to love school this much for the next 12 years or so!

Kevin's MRI Results

We finally got our follow-up appointment with the neurologist this week. The good news is, Kevin's MRI shows there are no brain anomalies, and everything looks intact. So, there are no serious problems or neurological problems at this point. Basically, she said she wanted to see him in a year, just to follow up on his development, and for us to call if anything came up in the meantime.

What they did find, which surprised me, is chronic sinusitis! I guess the signs of this show up on MRIs. The doctor said to notify the pediatrician of this result, and he'll decide if we need to see another specialist from there.

As for me, I'm now curious to know if this can be linked to his frequent ear infections, the frequent fluid in his ears, and his "muffled" speech. Guess we have to wait and see!

Papa's Birthday

On Friday, September 4, we two reasons to celebrate: we got to see the Stanley Cup, and it was Papa's birthday! Papa and Gram, Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Tony, and their kids were all at the Stanley Cup party, too. We went from the Stanley Cup party to Gram and Papa's for Papa's birthday party!

Papa encouraging the grandkids to dig into the icing

He even made sure Hannah got her share!

Hannah's had enough, but look at Kevin shovelling it in! (and see dedicated Gram rushing in with the bib . . . too late; his beige pants got chocolate-ified). :))

Andrea was so excited to give Papa his presents from us. She picked out this rock n' roll music card herself.

"Grandpa's Taxi Service": kind of a joke gift, but then again, if you knew how often he drives the kids and I home from school, and to appointments, etc. . . . Well, he deserves an honourary taxi plate. :))

***

It was really nice out, so we took the kids outside to play in the pool.

Izzy's special birthday gift from her to Papa was a bar of soap, because he baths the kids so often, that she knows they use up all his soap! On Friday, Papa decided to bath the kids out in the pool, so that soap was immediately put to good (and fun!) use. Kevin especially enjoyed getting his underarms washed (it tickled)!

Party with the Stanley Cup!

Friday, September 4, 2009, was one of the best days in Daddy's life.

His close friend, Scott Adams, is the Assistant Trainer for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Because the Pens were the NHL winners this year, Scott got his day with the Stanley Cup! Daddy, who is a long-time, die-hard Red Wings fan, had a tough time in the playoffs this year, since the Wings played the Pens. He didn't know who to cheer for--his beloved Wings, or the Pens--because he knew if the Pens won, Scott would have a Stanley Cup party, and we'd all get to see the real cup in person.

Yes, the Pens were victorious, but Daddy was happy; he knew he'd get to lay his hands on that Cup!

So, Friday was the day. Scott kindly brought the Cup home to his family and friends in Windsor, and his parents generously hosted the party in their backyard. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a great time!

Scott Adams, The Man of the Hour :))

Scott and The Guys celebrating the Cup

***

Daddy and Kevin with Phil Pritchard, the Keeper of the Cup (a.k.a. "The White Gloves Guy")

***

Kevin touches a piece of History

***

Andrea is happy to finally see the "Big Trophy" Daddy's been telling her about.

***

Family Photo with the Stanley Cup

***

Daddy's "True Love"

***

Would you look at this guy? After Scott hoisted the Cup, Daddy said, "Let me have it, let me have it!" He practically grabbed it from Scott's hands. Scott said, "You can't lift it over your head; Phil will get mad!" but did that stop Daddy? Of course not!
***

Getting to see the real Cup in person was surreal. I say "real Cup" because most of us have seen the copy that they keep in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. It was amazing how beat up the cup is, when you see it close up--lots of nicks and dents and smudges, which just makes it that much more historical and awesome! It was funny because someone had added Scott's name, written on hockey tape, onto the Cup, because it hasn't been inscribed for this year yet. But he will definitely be there! Thanks for sharing an amazing event with us, Scott. :))