Merry Christmas to All!

Damon, Rachel & Elanor wish you a Merry Christmas and a Wonder Filled New Year!

Merry Christmas!

My First Snow - December 13th

 Her face says it all:

"Ooooh! It's cold."

Yes, I showed her the snow. No, I didn't ask her to touch it. :-)

"I Eat My Feet." - December 6th

Hurray! Elanor has discovered nibbling on her feet. Best of all, Daddy Damon and Nana Melody were here to see it too!

Standing Ovation - December 1st ~4 months old

Look! Elanor stands with hardly any help! She loves to be on her feet. Before we know it she'll be walking. Yikes, she's going to keep mommy insanely busy soon. :-)

P.S. Thanks to Vanderbilt's Health Plus Babies & You Program for the informative programs and fun gifts.

Laughing with Daddy

Elanor loves playing with Daddy.

Playing in her Highchair

Elanor is sitting well enough now to play in her highchair for brief periods of time. I'm amazed at how rapidly her eye-hand coordination is developing. Such joy! :-)

EcoFriendlyReviews.blogspot.com

Do you ever find an awesome link to a product or service and then wonder where it went? ecofriendlyreviews.blogspot.com is my online equivalent of bookmarks that lets me describe and share what products I have found work best for a given situation.
Each blog entry has a logical title like "Books", or "Washable Nursing Pads", or "Rechargeable Batteries". The main text then reviews the best products I have found, or introduces the website which contains an excellent review. I will add more details to existing reviews as time permits.
I would love your feedback. 

Standing?

Wow! Guess who stood leaning against the couch tonight? It may have been a random fluke, but I'm still impressed. Daddy & Nana Melody called me downstairs to see Elanor's latest feat. I saw about the last 2 seconds of it. :-)

First Halloween

Beekeepers Daddy (Damon), Mommy (Rachel), and baby bee Elanor

We had a fun Halloween! We dressed up as beekeepers, and Elanor was our little bee. We created quite a buzzzz at the Franklin Pumpkinfest. Pardon the pun. We also gave out candy Halloween night in our yard.

3-Month Joy

While she certainly has her unhappy moments (like fussing right now, because she's too tired), Elanor is generally a happy little girl. Here's a fun picture. Enjoy!

First 3 Months in Review

Well, here is a quick review of Elanor's first 3 months:

August 1st: We are sleeping a lot. Elanor is amazing. I'm at a loss for words. She's so precious. Starting to go about 4 hours between feedings at night, with a burp & fart session about half way through each cycle. Joyful and tired mommy starting to get a bit of rest.

August 13th: She's 16 days old, and nearly 10 lbs already! She's grown an inch too!


August 18th: My daughter is 22 days old, wearing 3-6mo clothes, and 11lbs if my scales are correct. She's growing fast! No wonder she eats so often. P.S...and it is raining and thundering beautifully at home.

August 27th: Rachel is sleepy. Baby has been very fussy this last week, and eats about every 2- 3.5 hours so not much else gets done. This too shall pass. In the meantime, I'm trying to treasure these moments. She is already 1 month old today!

September 5th: Elanor's first visit to church at 40 days old (picture)

September 14th: Rachel is tired and happy as she cares for baby and takes 2 MTSU classes toward her teaching degree.

October 8th: Our little daughter is growing up fast! 2 months old and counting. We are happy and well. She sleeps well at night, with at least one 5+hour duration every night... sometimes starting at 7pm LOL

October 26th: Elanor is 3 months old tomorrow! She rolls, sleeps 5-8 hours each night, grasps and shakes her rattle (2nd picture), smiles, laughs, and today she even grasped her toes while I changed her. Time sure flies!

Healthy Baby Girl!

At 8 lbs 2 oz. & 21 inches long, baby Elanor was born naturally July 27th at 11:34 am-16 hours after my water broke. 9 & 9 on Apgar scale. We are happy and healthy, and were released from the hospital just over 24 hours after the birth. Sleeping a lot and recovering.

 

That first night in the hospital, Damon asked if someone had turned her onto her side... she already can turn from her back to her side! About 5 days later, Nana went to pick her up and found she had turned onto her stomach... she hasn't repeated that feat since, but mommy is staying very aware. In the last 10 days her neck has gotten very strong and Elanor can normally lift her head and turn to the other side as you hold her.

 

Elanor responds to talking with a smile more and more often...the question is whether it is intentional yet. :) Today she gave a brief coo with her smile--probably just coincidence--but I loved it all the same.

 

The whole family is happy and healthy. More details will follow as sleep and baby care permit. Love and blessings to all.

 

 

3-Year Anniversary

We celebrated our third wedding anniversary (7/7) today since I had finals to study for last night. The Gerst Haus is a tasty German Restaurant. We shared an appetizer with 3 sausages, sauerkraut, potato salad and mild rye bread. For a main course we shared a weinerschnitzel with mushroom sauce, spatzel, and "german fries". The sauce and spatzel weren't amazing, but the rest of it was quite good. Then, much to Damon's surprise, Rachel gladly shared an apfelstruedel with him. Yum! Of course, he had to eat 3/4 of everything because I tend to run out of space. But the baby was very accommodating and didn't kick my stomach even once during dinner. Thank you! :-) 

38-Week Baby Belly

Wow! This photo [will upload soon...] from yesterday was taken the last day of week 38. 13 days until baby is officially due! Most of my siblings and I were born between half a week before and a week after our due dates... so theoretically it is likely my babies will also arrive near that timeline. But you know what assuming does... :-P

I finished my class final today, so now she gets to choose the schedule. :-)

36 Weeks Already

Time sure does fly! Although I'm not due until July 21st (40 weeks), technically a baby is considered full term from 37-42 weeks.

Between starting college this summer (classes end at 38 weeks) and expecting Elanor soon (wouldn't it be funny if she turned out to be he?) we are very busy and excited. I'm consistently a bit short on sleep, not because of the baby making sleep impossible, but because my schedule is too full to get as much sleep as I should... so I typically make up for it with after-class naps. :-P

Pregnancy really can become hilarious. Between waddling across campus and up steps I make quite a sight. And the other day I was sitting on a couch in the cafeteria and leaned forward to pick up my drink from the end table in front of me... but I couldn't reach because baby's bum was firmly wedged under my ribs. I tried again...like it would make a difference. Finally, I scoot-hopped forward to the edge of the couch to get my drink, and oomphed my way back into my seat after getting a drink. About the second or third time of doing this, I finally decided to do the logical thing and hold my drink on my belly--where she kicks it.

Pregnant life is also a bit ironic. Today after my midterm I tried to slip my sandal back on without bringing attention to the fact that it had been off. Elanor had other plans. In an hour or so my foot had swollen enough that the previously snug fit now required a hand to push my sandal on. Anyone other than me would celebrate an excuse to have to go shoe shopping. How ironic that I don't like shopping.

Braxton Hicks are now a daily occurrence. Most of the time it feels like a band of relatively mild cramp-like tension across my back that sometimes reaches to the front of my belly. Occasionally my entire belly gets firm and tight...but I have to feel my belly to be sure whether baby is moving or if it is a practice contraction. She likes to stretch and move despite the amount of space that remains. :-) An average gestational length is 41 weeks and a day. So, theoretically I have little reason to worry she may arrive early.

Only 14 days until classes are out, then baby gets to choose her own schedule! Until then, no productive Braxton Hicks allowed--practice only! (Keep your fingers crossed...)

I Sewed A Crib Sheet, Hurray!!!

I finally did it! Friday I decided, now or never: time to make that crib sheet I've been wanting. Yes, I will need many sheets. However, I wanted one in my favorite ABC pattern--besides, the materials cost equal to or less than a basic sheet on the market. So, I indulged. I'll try to remember to take a picture and post it. :-)

The little things in life are typically the most fun!

34-Week Baby Belly Eve

Wow, tomorrow I'm 34 weeks along! So here's a picture to see how much I've grown. Notice the ever-present item I'm missing--my rings. It feels strange not to wear them, and I miss my beautiful engagement ruby that Damon spent 3 months selecting. But I can enjoy them again in a couple months. ;-)

My hands and feet have gotten a bit swollen, and I now enjoy a laundry list of common pregnancy symptoms that thankfully are not all constant: cold-natured me is now burning up while Damon freezes with AC running, aches, congestion, reflux, nausea, need to eat frequently, easily exhausted and out of breath, baby kicking ribs and stomach, etc. However, this is all worth while as I feel Elanor moving around. I think I might miss her acrobatics.

The baby responds to Damon!
Sometimes when she is especially actively kicking and elbowing me, he will come talk to her and rub the appendages sticking out. She consistently calms down. Beautiful!

Recent cravings: Milk, Silk (soy milk), cottage cheese with fruit on a bed of spinach.

It's hard to believe she's due in 6 weeks. Only 4-8 weeks remaining...

Sweet dreams to all!

My Rings Don't Fit At 33 Weeks :-(

I'm sad to say that the slight swelling and tightness in hands and feet that I only noticed some evenings at 30 weeks along is now the norm 24-7. Today after church I squeaked my rings off after a bit of effort. So, for safety sake I'll have to wait a couple months before I get to wear them again.

Spicy Kick!

This week Damon taste tested several artisan cheeses at Costco and decided he just had to buy the jalapeno and cayenne cheese. Now, I know that spicy foods will catch up with me, so I had only a tiny stick of the cheese. Delicious!

About half an hour after sampling the cheesy delicacy, Elanor started moving, kicking, and making my belly dance. She stayed active the entire evening! However, during TV ads when Damon talked to her and held my belly, she calmed down noticeably. Amazing!

Nursery Painting Nearly Complete!

Hooray! Monday, May 10th my mother-in-law finished painting all except the nursery border. (It will be off-white and decorated with A, B, C's--but first the other paint has to dry.) I only helped over the weekend for a few hours by taping off the room for the vertical stripes. She said she would finish painting the stripes before I got home Monday. However, I didn't expect her to have set up the crib, etc. already! I was so happy and surprised at the extra work she did that I think my eyes leaked with happiness!

32-Week Baby Belly

We had our 32-week checkup today. Due in 8 weeks, there's only 6-10 weeks until we meet her! Baby Elanor continues to be healthy. Mommy had a 31" belly measurement, and has gained a total of 23... so far. I miss the flat belly and sleeping on my back and tummy, but baby girl's strong and busy movements are a joy. Wow! Time sure flies!

I'm constantly eating and drinking (water, milk & Silk primarily) to keep up my energy. This is the last week of tutoring at school for the year. Yay! I'll take a week off and then start summer classes which end 2 weeks before my due date. We are working to get ready for her arrival. I still have a lot to do--I hope to complete most of that this first week after work ends.

P.S. Two hours after my bedtime snack I awoke feeling hot, achy--and hungry again. After turning on the fan and stretching, I realized the food I'm craving is cottage cheese! I rarely eat cottage cheese more than once or twice a year. So, in order to avoid a 1:00am trip to Kroger, I made do with milk and salty green olives. Tomorrow I'm going shopping so I can make cottage cheese and pears on a bed of spinach. That sounds ridiculously good right now! (Elanor must think so too, because she is very busy at 1:20am!) Now to attempt sleep...

29-Week Baby Photos

Sleepy

So, some of you may wonder as to the medical purpose of sonograms this far along. In a nutshell, we needed to be sure the placenta was high enough for me to safely give birth. It is! The fun side effect of the sonogram,  is now you can enjoy pictures! 

Almost Smiling

New Flooding Records!

This weekend, May 1st and 2nd, Tennessee has had record levels of rainfall and thus flooding:
2-Day Rainfall: 15 inches (Franklin)
1-Day Rainfall was a new record too
Wettest May in TN
6th Wettest TN month on record (only 2 days into the month!!!)

Nashville's Second Street has several feet of water that overflowed from the Cumberland River:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neuski/4574132155/in/set-72157623857990623/

Franklin, too, has many areas underwater:
  http://vimeo.com/11405686

Sadly, these new records translate into many homes being inundated with water, forcing some families to evacuate. All schools are closed Monday. Rivers are expected to crest by today if they have not already. Monday through Thursday have a good forecast of Sunny and Warm (81-87 degree highs).

Living near the top of our subdivision, we have been blessed to only suffer mild water damage (small roof leak and possible moisture concerns) and no serious personal danger. Please pray for all those less fortunate.

26 Week Baby Belly!

Okay, technically these photos are from one day shy of 27 weeks (this most recent Tuesday), so take it either way. :-) With a due date of July 21st, she's officially 13 weeks away (11-15 weeks in all probability). Time flies when you're having fun! Damon & I are savoring our last weeks of sleeping in and mostly functioning on our own schedule. Natural changes, however, serve as a gentle way to break me in to being wide awake in the middle of the night, and having to pause whatever I'm doing to feed (myself) again.

Elanor is a very busy little girl. She is now active enough to sometimes wake me at night. Just today I could feel her little feet at the top of my belly during lunch. I'm starting to be able to distinguish the difference between her head and feet sometimes! Today one of her feet seemed to reach my ribs as I was lounging around. I find that a good, tall posture typically increases overall comfort... although sometimes she can make good posture quite uncomfortable! In those cases my belly sticks out a bit more, like the first pic.

A baby moving and growing inside is perhaps the most awe-inspiring journey I have yet experienced.

Wal-Mart Deals - Baby Registry

So, after carefully considering my registry options I chose Wal-Mart (affordable), amazon.com (accessible), and Babies R' Us (adorable) Below is my Wal-Mart wish list. See Babies R' Us and amazon.com for my other registries under Rachel Miltner, TN:

Wal-Mart's Best Deals:
ITEM                                  COST   QTY
hangers;                                10/$1    x2
outlet covers:                         50/$4    x1
brush & comb set           1/$3    x1
nail clippers                            1/$2    x1
no-scratch gloves                    2p/$    x1
nasal aspirator                         1/$    x1
canvas bin                              1/7.50    x3
lansinoh lanolin topical cream    $10      x1
Lansinoh ultra soft nursing pads            x1
 Pooh, bee huny (yellow & green):
*hood towel/washclth              1/$?     x2
*keepsake pillow                     1/$    x1           [DOB, wt, length, etc]


For baby comfort, I prefer 100% cotton clothes, and please remember she will mostly sleep the first 3 months. Oh, yes, and, gently used clothing is awesome! Try Nashville's craisglist for clothes and other gently used items: http://nashville.craigslist.org/bab/

Nursery In Progress!

The nursery is progressing from office to baby room. This weekend we will finish combining the office and guest room into the largest room of the two. Then we can finally start painting the baby room a pale yellow that will brighten it beautifully. In addition, I happened across a perfect baby-room theme I can enjoy for girls and boys--ABC's! Melody (aka Grandma-to-be) showed me the fabric as a backing to a blanket she's planning to make, and I immediately knew that's the theme I want. So we bought some extra cloth to make window dressings and other accents. :-) At about $14, that fabric will pay for itself easily ten times over rather than purchasing nursery accents at ridiculously high prices. Hurray! Besides, this has a more personal touch than store-bought! Goody, goody!

Baby Kicked my Laptop!

23 Weeks Already! And this weekend Elanor kicked my belly enough to make my laptop visibly move. How FUN! I've also noticed that she particularly enjoys snuggling down on whichever side I lay, left or right, and will move to the other side when I turn over. Her movements are now noticeably big enough that I rarely fall asleep before she gets comfortable.

At 23 weeks baby weighs around 1 1/2 pounds and will continue gaining at about 6 ounces per week (16 oz/lb= ~1 lb/3 weeks). She can also hear now, and can start to recognize Damon and my voices. What a beautiful miracle.

We are all well. Hormones have make the last month a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me, and I feel tired much of the time. However, there are many joys in pregnancy and my hubby works particularly hard to be extra thoughtful and helpful.

Baby Registry Conundrum - Part 1

Baby Registries... they have always puzzled me a bit. At 22 weeks along, more and more people are asking about nursery themes and other such details. So here's what has always puzzled me about baby registries: What if the parents want specific items that are found at several different stores or online sources? Why the unspoken rule that everything has to be brand new--never used? Having grown up as the second of 7 children, I was rather proud of growing into my big sister's hand-me-downs. On the other side of the coin, I gained a heightened appreciation for new and like-new items since they were not as common. At the same time, I feel rather presumptuous to list my preferences... but the reality is that if I don't communicate what we want or need I do a dis-service to all the generous people who want a list and will gift us regardless of whether I provide relevant information. So, here goes!

With the exception of diapers, cribs and car seats, there are few differences between gently used and brand new items except that the later (hopefully) has a valuable little receipt with it that allows parents to exchange multiple copies of one type of thing for something they still need. However, if I provide an accurate list of what we anticipate needing and wanting... and the general styles... then second hand is a great option. Or just send a card and a couple dollars and indicate which of the following you want me to dedicate it to. :-P

I found the perfect theme today yesterday while shopping with Melody (grandma-to-be). Alphabet ABC's! I will take a picture of the cloth we bought as well as the paint chip for the nursery to post later. We plan to make a valance/curtains, and matching crib sheet. The baby blanket will have this cloth for backing, and I bought a bit extra so we can add other accessories as desired. The yellow, green, pink, and blue squares are a bit darker and deeper than I typically think of for pastels, which is perfect! We will accent with letters, numbers, etc in these colors. I especially like that I can enjoy these regardless of whether our newest addition is a girl or boy. I get sentimental and it is hard to give away things I no longer need... so maybe I'll get to wear these out before then. :-)


Baby Wish List
1. Diapers: So all babies wear them, and at first the diapers are extra messy. So I'm prepared with a couple boxes of the smaller disposable diapers. However, I do want to transition to cloth diapers. The catch is, that typical cloth diapers are great burp rags, but they take a bit of skill to correctly fold and secure on a wriggling baby--and I DO want my husband's help. Enter the new cloth diaper. One particular brand sells fitted cloth diapers that work as easily as disposables, and have adjustable elastic which allows them to fit about size 7-35 pounds. They also have inserts to increase absorbency as needed. While I choke at the price, (sorry, I'm frugal) the fact is that after doing the math, cloth diapers actually do save money in the LONG run. Plus, I won't need to feel badly knowing that conservative estimates say disposables will take well over 100 years to decompose in the landfills. Here's the link to the style I want to get: http://www.fuzzibunzonline.com/One-Size-Diapers_c_19.html and go here to keep an eye out for occasional special discounts.

2. Cribs: I never knew so many types and pitfalls existed. The two styles I'm most interested in are: Graco Sarah and Graco Lauren. Both have high safety ratings with simple, all-wood construction at a reasonable price.

3. *Maya Wrap-Medium, no padding: This is a baby sling which many new mothers rate very highly. It allows the mother to move around relatively hands-free and spare the aching arms a little bit. The official website sometimes has gently used returns on sale at http://www.mayawrap.com/sitemap.asp or look on amazon.com
*The Moby Wrap, its cousin, sounds like it would be even better during the cooler months of the year, but too warm to use during the hot, humid Tennessee summers: look on amazon.com


Baby Clothes 
...I will hopefully discuss later. In a nutshell, I'm looking for 100% preshrunk cotton, buttons/snaps/etc that open to the front-and preferably down both legs. PLEASE consider making at least half of any baby clothing gifts neutral (no words or pictures that specifically suggest boy/girl, no pink... But red rocks, & blue is ok.)

0-3 Months (~7-15 lbs, Aug-Oct): various styles of T-Shirts, onesies, sleepwear, caps, socks and blankets are most practically what baby will likely wear... so if you've just got to buy that darling outfit, please choose sizing for the 3-18 month range--I want Elanor to get to wear it!

3-6 Months (Oct-Dec): A combo of warm and cool clothes will be useful, especially if baby decides to grow into these sizes a little early.

6-12 Months (Cold): Think warm clothes and the ever useful onesies.

12-18 Months: Many mothers tell me that by the end of 12 months their baby was in "18 month" clothes. So if you see something adorable, baby may wear that size 18 well before the label suggests.

Well, I finally feel sleepy enough to get some zzzzz's. It's almost 5am - this is ridiculous! My nap today wasn't THAT long!!! Apparently letting my mind plan the nursery can be dangerous later in the evening. G'nite!

21-Week Baby Belly

I'll try to upload the 21 week pics in the next couple of days. :-)

...better late than never:

First Braxton Hicks at 21 Weeks

Ok, this may sound like a strange malady to the uninformed, but it is actually a fancy way of saying my uterus decided to have a brief warm-up contraction to start training for the big birth day marathon. :-) It's very natural and healthy--even this early.

I had just dismissed the 6th grade tutorees at the end of a long day. Just before I reached the door of the classroom I felt an unexpected twinge in my belly. I simply stopped, relaxed my belly until the slight tightness ended, and continued on my way. The only real discomfort was that first brief second before I relaxed. Later that night I felt another milder one.

...Good thing I like reading and researching. By being well-informed I knew that as long as I didn't experience more than 3-4 of those in an hour all was well. Another benefit included knowing to stop and relax, and that this is normal! I don't believe one can be too well informed. My trick is to focus on the practical information that will likely equip me with knowledge or skills and mostly ignore the horror stories except to note any potential risk or twist in plans that I should be aware is humanly possible. :-P 

My goal is to enter labor with Plan A and a contingency plan (B-Y). I want a low-key, relaxed atmosphere as much as possible--yet I'm also aware I should expect the unexpected (Z). ...Hurray for a body that is preparing too! (Yes, I'll probably eat those words by the end of this pregnancy.)

It's a GIRL!

Wow, the last 4 1/2 months (20 of about 40 weeks) have sped by. On Friday, March 5th, our ultrasound showed we have a healthy baby girl, Elanor! She currently weighs about 12 ounces, or 3/4 of a pound. My hubby Damon, my mother-in-law Melody, and I got to watch her on the monitor.

My favorite part of the ultrasound occurred every time we saw Elanor move...because I felt her movements at the same time! Words fail to express my awe and joy. Here are a few pics to enjoy!!!

Felt Baby Kick Against My Fingers for the First Time!

Ever since 14 weeks I've felt baby in my belly. (Early, I know! I could hardly believe it for the first couple weeks, but it is a distinctive sensation!) Just last night I felt Baby Miltner doing backflips into my hand too! I'm now 19 weeks along. Assuming baby doesn't hide the good news, we get to find out boy or girl a week from today, Friday. :-)

The more pregnant I become, the better I understand my dear mother! I'm sure motherhood will make that even more true. :-)

Damon and I attended our first consignment sale last week. There is definitely potential there. However, I think if I want to have a chance at the very select few things I want to buy, I will need to volunteer to get into the earliest shopping group possible. That should be fun...

In just the last couple of days, I've started to feel night time leg cramps, and today one calf has stayed semi-cramped despite exercising this morning...and averaging about 1 banana daily. On the bright side, these cramps are increasing the length and frequency of my exercising. :-) That is a healthy side effect. LOL

Damon and I are healthy and blessed. Please pray for a healthy, happy baby. Blessings to all!

Sooo Sleepy!

Who ever would have guessed? I've heard of ladies being extra sleep prone during the first trimester, so I thought I had perhaps slipped past that experience. Well, I'm in my 2nd trimester. It can't be my cold causing me extra drowsiness, because that annoyance has pretty much disappeared. (I'm quite thankful, too!) Apparently, I need closer to 10-12 hours per night to feel rested. LOL After almost 7 hours of sleep last night I feel like the aftermath of a High School age all-nighter lock-in. I haven't needed this much sleep in years. How impractical!

17 Weeks = 4 Months Already!

Wow, where does the time fly? 17 weeks along doesn't sound notable until I do the math and realize that I'm 4 months along--and nearly half done already with the ~9 months of pregnancy. Yikes! So, in the hopes of remembering some of my pregnancy details here's another update:

How I've been feeling: Thank God, nausea (falsely dubbed morning sickness) has decreased to manageable levels...as long as I eat frequently, eat protein before bed, use extreme caution when brushing my teeth, and don't get too exhausted. I had headaches for a couple weeks early on, but adequate rest and water seems to have mostly fixed that. This last week I've also experienced dizziness; hopefully the slow release iron I've just started taking will remedy most of that. :)
Back pain? Not as long as I stretch, do pregnancy pilates, and/or generally stay active. Working at a school keeps me actively on my feet for a good percent of the day--a great thing so far.
My moods have been great so far! Unlike the 2-weeks neutral and 2-weeks rollercoaster of normal life, pregnancy has been a very pleasant, consistent, mostly peaceful sensation--amazingly so despite experiencing upset tummies. :-)

Funny cravings and stuff I can't stand: Most of my cravings seem to last 2-4 weeks before tapering off. Before realizing I was pregnant, fresh sweet peas were the number 1 food I craved, pomegranates too have been a favorite. I never before liked ginger anything, much less ginger salad dressing. I now have a notable appreciation for it. Damon's favorite food in the world, pizza, is now on the small quantity, low frequency list: 1 piece every week or so is all I can enjoy. Who would have imagined? Spicy foods and onions too are no longer palatable--how sad! Damon is especially sad because he has to season his food after I finish cooking. Poor guy! I suddenly have an appreciation for the sometimes bland food we grew up eating: every other year with these aversions would certainly be enough for me to settle with simple, healthy fare as the norm. Most of the foods I crave I ate as a child at one time or another, like sharp cheddar cheese dipped in aromatic honey. Yumm!!! The funniest craving I have is bananas. I normally can't stand more than one bananna every couple months, and I've been eating them almost daily for a month now!

17 week prenatal checkup: Friday we went to the 17-week prenatal visit and got to listen to the baby's heartbeat going swish-swish at 140 beats/minute. All our tests for baby's probable and actual health have resulted in good news. Baby is a very low risk for Down's syndrome and other life shortening/threatening trisomies compared to my age group. My blood type is positive, so there is no risk of developing antibodies to baby's blood. Also, cystic fibrosis is not a recessive gene so no need for Damon to give blood to get checked. Why find out about all these tests? Well, since we are quite deliberate in our decision processes, we decided it would be better to mentally prepare for and research a high-need situation if it were likely to arise. So, HURRAY! So far baby appears to be healthy, as is mommy. The only little hiccup is borderline low iron anemia... which I kind of anticipated and am taking iron to resolve.

Mommy had a cold: Well, I still am recovering. However, I feel like the cold is on the losing end. Yet another reason that sleep is so, so good! No, I didn't take the approved cold medicines. I decided that unless it tried getting into my bronchials I would tough it out. I thank God for a healthy pregnancy so far.

When will we know boy or girl?: Assuming baby doesn't decide to hide the good news, we will find out Friday, almost three weeks from now--19 more days!

Family History Fun

Recently, I've indulged in a bit of genealogy research. Thanks in most part to my grandparents and great Aunt Amy, I have had the privilege of identifying most of my recent family history. A free genealogy website that is about three years old is proving to be particularly useful to organize and share data: geni.com Another great site is Ancestry.com, although it is not free. I have traced back at least five generations to my great-great grandparents. I'm only missing one set of great-great gpas that I haven't researched well yet. Such fun!

 

A Tiny Obsession...

k! I admit it. I have always had a fascination with super tiny and efficient spaces. One of my favorite websites ever has developed quite nicely over the last 5 years. So, I am indulging my ever present fascination with small livable spaces by posting this for your enjoyment. For more, you can go straight to the website: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

14 Week Baby Belly

For all you dear friends and family asking if and how much I'm showing. Here's a little treat. Two photos say it all (so far): 8 weeks along as taken December 10th, and 14 weeks as seen on January 23rd... I had to graduate to slightly more forgiving lounge-wear in the second photo. :)

For those who care about other silly pregnancy details... I have gained 2 pounds so far since pre-pregnancy weight.





Most interesting and fun to me: my belly has grown most noticeably in the last two weeks.
Best change: Nausea has lessened over the last week, although today wasn't quite as nice
What's making this easiest: A sweet and thoughtful hubby who makes extra grocery trips to feed my ever-changing tastes, to name just one blessing.

Hurray! Snow!!!

Believe it or not, we actually got snow in January! Having grown up in the sometimes frigid North, I miss having snow that will stick for more than 12 to 24 hours. I think this month may have been a record for how long the snow lasted--5 days in the shade of our patio! I loved it.

2009 In Review: Christmas Newsletter

In January Rachel started as a tutor for Nashville metro at Croft Middle school. She likes it a lot. It took a while for her to get an official list of students, but is getting into a routine. There were lots of snow- and “extreme-” weather days in January. Damon is happy as a clam at Vanderbilt where he plays with computers all day.

February - has been good to us. We both enjoy going to the monthly beekeepers meeting and look forward to ordering bees this year. We’ve been researching and studying bees for the last year. Valentine’s day was fun. We went out to eat at a local deli with American sized portions of tasty tapas with white wine. Our favorite restaurant is still La Terraza: it’s tasty, affordable Mexican fare, and within walking distance. At a recent Predators’ hockey game we were reminded that they aren’t doing so hot this year while “building the team”, but it was fun anyway. Rachel started her 25 volunteer hours for 2009 Mastergardener recertification, went to the monthly meeting for the first time in ages… and got to visit with a dear friend from Thomas Nelson Publishers at the same time! Rachel & Damon are both researching the possibility of Master’s degrees but are still undecided. Rachel’s Mom & younger brothers moved back home to Omak, WA last month where Mom Roberta works as an LPN>

March - came in with a roar of inclement weather. Rachel is enjoying her Spring Break as a tutor. We began planning for our belated Europe honeymoon plans, and purchased tickets. On a family note, Damon’s grandpa was rear ended and his car totaled. He is recovering well. Rachel’s niece Danielle is walking while holding people’s hands. She’ll be running around in no time at all and be keeping mommy Elizabeth busier than ever. Rachel’s other sister, Deborah, will manage an Inn in Chelan, WA this summer and is already preparing the premises.

April - was busily filled with end of school year efforts to keep students on track and to compile progress report data.

May – The weekend after school got out, Damon & I took our original honeymoon trip we wanted to take 2 years ago. We traveled through Germany and Spain (See our photo album link for pictures). Each of us got to show the other some of our favorite towns. I also got to visit with my Spanish family who hosted me several years ago while I studied in Spain for my Bachelor’s degree. We returned home tired and happy.

June - was hot and humid. Rachel has spent quite a few hours in the yard weeding and trying to save a couple of beautiful maple trees in the front yard that are strangling themselves with their own roots. Strange but true.

July - was unusually cool and rainy, a nice reprieve. Damon prepared for new students at Vanderbilt University by finishing up IT projects, from inputting new students into the database to installing and troubleshooting new technologies. Rachel finished her minimum mastergardener hours, and added additional hours by translating a PowerPoint presentation regarding weed identification into Spanish. Fun, fun! July 7^th was our 2^nd year anniversary. Amazing that we met over 5 years ago! We are slowly coming down to earth, however it is safe to say we are still honeymooning.

August – school resumes at Vanderbilt University, and in the school system for children. Rachel’s tutoring job last year was not renewed until the last minute. Then, hurray, another year of tutoring is ahead. In addition, she took a medical interpreting course that was tons of fun. We are blessed.

September & October – flew by as Damon took his first graduate level management class, and Rachel tutored struggling students. Our honeybees met an untimely demise during an unusually raining summer, and a difficult year for all beekeepers. :( Better luck next year. On the bright side, the trees loved all the rain!

November – 13^th & 15^th we each get a year older, and hopefully wiser. Time sure flies! Rachel and Damon know a great secret.

December – Damon’s holiday cookies (he makes them with his mom) are well loved as always. We celebrated Christmas with Damon’s mother and grandparents in Florida after driving from TN to FL. We finally get to tell everybody we are expecting our first little one. Hooray!