Archive for October, 2009

I’ve successfully made it to the third trimester, though I guess I can’t take much credit for that, since other than me not doing crack, growing a baby is pretty much God business.

Ever since she started kicking me at around 19 weeks this whole pregnancy thing has actually started to feel real. Then about 3 weeks ago she got big enough that she can do this creepy drag thing where she jabs some sort of pointy appendage (knee, elbow, heel?) against my belly and drags it from one side to the other. It feels odd, and definitely freaks out anyone that happens to be touching the belly when she does it. My favorite so far was when Lorna had her hand on my belly trying to feel her and she did the drag thing and Lorna jumped like 2 feet away, we both laughed pretty hard. It was also funny when she kicked Leah and Leah startled a little and said something along the lines of, “ew!” but then put her hand right back for another kick. She has also been kind enough to perform on demand for Marlene and both my parents.

I just keep getting bigger, apparently that’s how it goes from here on out. Tuesday I had two different people ask me if I was due soon, hahahaha. Not even close. I had this dream that I could sleep tons right up to her birth so I’d be ready for the lack of sleep, but I think maybe pregnancy is some form of sleep deprivation training, as leg cramps, constant bathroom trips and fetal attempts to escape through my skin make it a little challenging to sleep very much. It’s nice to feel her moving around so I know she’s still doing okay.

We’re feeling pretty good about being settled and the baby’s room being pretty much ready. There are a lot of things that would make having a baby easier, and hopefully we’ll be blessed with some of those at my shower. We’ve got some clothes (thanks to Vicki and the girly hand-me-downs!) and we have a little bassinet from a garage sale, so if she shows up tomorrow well be okay. Plus Marlene got us the worlds cutest car-seat and stroller set, so we could even bring her home from the hospital if she were to arrive.

I’ve been enjoying settling into my not-so-new-anymore job. I’m also getting to do volunteer counseling at the church 3 hours a week. So with that, helping with the middle school on Sundays, leading a home group and keeping the dogs fed and exercised we don’t get too bored. We have gotten to actually sit on the couch and watch a little tv which has been a fun change in pace from the crazy month of remodel and moving. Hopefully we can get back to blogging more regularly.

I wanted to try some new picture software, and did so when I first posted about pictures getting added to the site. After using it a little bit I realized that it wasn’t rotating images correctly, so finally now that I’ve gotten some what settled in, I finally installed a new picture hosting option which seems to be much better. So, to check out the new pics go to http://pics.beckerproject.com or click on the pictures menu item at the top of the page.

We are officially unpacked, and we’ve just been here a week. Horay! I even put an add on craigslist to give our cardboard moving boxes away and got a response in less than 10 minutes, so now the garage is looking pretty good with the boxes gone.

Our house definitely isn’t done being organized, there are a good number of piles and Adam and I both have tubs full of stuff from our desks that need sorted, but we know what’s in them. We’ve been having fun figuring out where to put things, especially since now we have 3 bedrooms, so there are actual choices.

Adam has been working hard, he spent today putting the trim in the main part of the house, so it really looks finished out here. We got the trim so he can do the bedrooms when he gets the chance. Aside from a little bit of touch-up painting, the renovation is pretty much done. Though we’re learning that home ownership means that there is always something to be fixed, updated or tweaked. And we’re loving it.

I made it all the way to work without stalling! I’m sure I entertained several people behind me in traffic as I did jump the car around a bit, but I never had to restart, and I even backed out of the driveway, and backed into a parking spot here at work! I am enjoying my reward of a dutch brothers mocha freeze. Delish. =)

There is this joke that goes something like this:

A guy gets a friend to watch his cat while he’s on vacation and he calls one day to see how things are going and asks about the cat and his friend says, “your cat is dead,” and the guy is all upset and explains to his friend that you can’t just say stuff like that, you have to gently lead into it. Maybe when they call you say the cat has been missing, and then a few days later you say you hear it but can’t find it, then a few days after that you say the cat is on the roof and the fire department is working hard to get it down, but it may be tough, then eventually you say they tried as hard as they could but they couldn’t get to the cat in time. Then the friend who was watching the cat says, “well, you’re grandma is on the roof.”

So in my family when something is on it’s way out, we say it’s on the roof. Adam caught on pretty fast and when I was explaining last week how the truck was acting funny and not starting or driving right he very aptly put it, “the truck is on the roof.” It has remained there for a good while, but made it very clear this weekend that it doesn’t intend to last much longer. It’s a transmission issue, and since the car isn’t even worth 1k, it won’t be worth it to fix. I have a longer drive to work than Adam, so we figured he could get a bike and bike to work, or take the risk with the truck, but the catch is that his car is a stick. He really wanted a manual, and I figured at some point I’d learn to drive it, or we’d get another automatic, but I’d been lazy about learning. I did promise to learn before the baby came, so the truck situation forced that to happen much sooner than planned.

Last night Adam very patiently spent some quality time with me stalled out in traffic. I know he’ll be the perfect labor coach because as I repeatedly stalled the car on busy roads with drivers behind my honking he would be calming telling me what a good job I was doing, and not to panic or feel rushed, that they could just go around me. He’s fantastic. I did really well at first, even made it from our house to dairy queen without stalling (okay so it’s like 2 blocks, but still!). Then my first stall was trying to reverse out of the duplex driveway without gas, apparently you can’t use momentum if you’re on a flat surface. Then in traffic I got all nervous because there were a ton of cars behind me, and stalled, then got more nervous and stalled several more times, it was pretty funny. We did a practice drive to my work and even though I managed to accidentally shift from 2nd to 5th (the very forgiving honda just went with it) a couple of times, we made it there okay. Today on the way home from work the truck took 7 restarts, so tomorrow will start my new relationship with the honda. I’m planning to give myself lot’s of extra time to get to work, and just try and be as zen as possible. Luckily having the truck constantly stall out in traffic has helped prepare me for being a terrible stick driver, since I’ve gotten good at just shrugging at the other drivers who honk as I restart. Mom thinks I should get out and show them how pregnant I am so they just chill out and back off, haha.

Oh the bump note, things are progressing well. I’m 6 and a half months today. I had a doctors appointment Monday and am measuring about a week and a half ahead of schedule, so either she’ll be big, or come early, or maybe she’s just in a growth spurt. I certainly am, and admitted that to myself a little today by packing two tubs of clothes that no longer fit.

We’re having a blast getting situated in our new home, and I’m very excited to get the nursery all set-up. The guest room is all ready if anyone wants to visit. =)