Why we're going to love our new Zoo pass:

Friday:
We sprang for a season zoo pass to the Mill Mountain Zoo, which, incidentally, is also a zoo pass to, among others, the Seneca Park Zoo and the Baltimore Zoo! We'll probably be taking most advantage of the Mill Mountain, however, as it's only 45 minutes away.
Here's Miles, wearing his chosen zoo-going shirt and grinning like a maniac because I told him where we were going today!

You should come visit us in the Blue Ridge Mountains sometime! A view of Roanoke, VA from the top of Mill Mountain:

Miles is extra happy because he now recognizes the word "Zoo" when he sees it.

See?

This was probably Lissa's favorite animal encounter:

Look at those FEET! We think he resembles Grendel.

The prairie dogs furnished a lot of giggles today.

The boys check out the white leopards, as seen below:

The playground is a perfect break. We're experiencing a large amount of willful toddler behavior, but when given frequent opportunities to pursue his fancy, we can usually stave off major meltdowns.

Miles says "Wheeee!" when he sees these pictures.

Another shot of the surrounding landscape. The view from the playground:


Here I am, 19.5 weeks. I'm not even HALF way. People can't believe it when I tell them I'm not due till Thanksgiving.

Miles wishes this was a real specimen:

Probably Miles' highlight: a ride on the Zoo-Choo.

He was beside himself. Why is this so appealing? Does anyone remember?

We stopped by the Discovery Center outside the zoo before we left. It's a kind of mini-nature center. Very entertaining, and AIR CONDITIONED.
Oh, and Miles gets to dress in one of their bee costumes while exploring.

We're so glad to be able to get some novelty so close to home (relatively speaking). Especially good, since I'm a stay-at-home mom for the next month! (Pray grace for us BOTH).

Pictures from within the womb

Oh Hi!

This is our darling little one, whom we finally saw on Tuesday. We wanted to spend a little time as a family getting used to seeing this one before we showed everyone else. Selfish, not at all.

But anyway, here are some pictures of Pockets:

Isn't she precious!

When we got back from the ultrasound and lunch, we took Miles to our room so we could tell him that he would have a baby sister, and he came out to tell his grandparents "Baby Girl!" We'd have him tell you, too, but he's not always camera-cooperative.

We're very excited to have a daughter, and we want you to share in the excitement with us. But we're not telling you any names. But Melora isn't high on our list. Neither is L-a, which is pronounced "Ladasha."

Happy Pentecost!

We made Holy Spirit headbands in Sunday School today!! She is welcome in this house.


Also, look what Mummy and Papa got me at the zoo yesterday!

I only like to wear them for about 30 seconds at the time. But I still think I'm pretty cool for having them. I put them on and say "Hey baby!"- and dash them back off again.
Wish you were here- the weather's fine in my boat!

Okay, a belly shot, then

I'm going on 16 weeks, so I suppose I'll post a belly shot. Last pregnancy, I didn't post one earlier than this because there wasn't a belly to photograph. For example, here is me at 15 weeks last time.

This time, though, I just feel like 16 weeks is far enough that I can publicly admit to having a belly. But seriously, I have looked quite pregnant since about... 9 weeks.
I don't think the picture below does justice to what I'm actually lugging around; the black is too slimming. You'll just have to trust me.

The maternity clothes are here.

Meanwhile, Miles continues to be a whole lot of fun. He saw my necklace and wanted to wear one too. Here's my little hippy :-)

Popped into the doctor's again this morning. I'm a paranoid doppler addict. The nurse found Pockets' heartbeat the moment she placed the device on my belly. It's a lovely way to start the week.

Memorial Day in Maryland

Okay, I'm a little late in reporting back. But we were in Maryland for Memorial Day for the best possible reason: Our friends, Josh and Melissa, FINALLY got to bring their baby home! I may have mentioned them to you before; they have been waiting what seems like FOREVER to meet this little boy. We all go to great lengths for our kids, but how many of us have to wait for years and then travel to Korea?? Sweet baby Thomas is home in Maryland now and has been baptized by his daddy.
He had such a good attitude for a jet-lagged, confused, sleep-deprived little mite! As long as Mama and Daddy were near, he was pretty happy.
...
Another happy family. Prego hormones combined with this visit made me rather teary this weekend.

I was rather bad about taking photos this trip. Too busy experiencing life? We got to visit Kinderfarm Park on Saturday with the Browns and the Sutters (well, minus their Pater Familius). So, three babies, one five year old, five friends, animals, and no pictures. Go me. We had a splendid time, however, including animal visiting, giggling kids, the playground, a picnic, ice cream and a group participation project to break into Marijke's car! Good times!

A couple shots: Miles always LOVES playing piano, with our without help. Here he requests the alphabet song (over and over and over). He impresses me with his efforts to match pitch!

Yay Ma-mah!

Miles poses in Annapolis with Kunta Kinte. We had just had a lovely coffee, getting caught up with old friends downtown.

And you can see how enormous I already am! More on that later...

14 weeks

No actual pictures of Pockets this time, but this is what he/she supposedly looks like at 14 weeks. Actual size: 4 inches.

I got to hear a heartbeat on the doppler for the first time yesterday. It took them quite a while to find it; this baby is a wiggler! It was like tuning into a radio station when you're in a moving car; just when you get it sounding clear and perfect, it moves on you. It kept flitting between picking up my heartbeat and picking up Pockets', which was pretty cool as it provided a clear distinction between the two sounds. I knew the moment the doctor first found it because it was about twice as fast as mine: 152 beats per minute. So how does that fit into the Old Wives' Tales for gender prediction?

If you're wondering, we are going to try to find out the gender of this child. We need all the preparation time we can get if we have to get a wardrobe for a girl! That appointment is scheduled for June 28, 2011. So you can all look forward to that with us :-)


Next update will contain pictures of our trip to Annapolis and of our little 1-year-old reason for going: a little boy will have traveled halfway around the world to become part of a new family in Annapolis, and he'll be baptized and welcomed into an even larger family on Sunday. Welcome baby Thomas!!

Why I Love Craigslist

Due to a lovely person's spontaneous decision to try to clean out her house of unnecessary stuff, we came away very rich on Saturday. Among our haul was about 20 maternity items for me, and THIS for Miles:

His very own big boy bed! Complete with mattress Crayola sheets, pillowcase (not shown), comforter and ABC pillows. He loved it immediately, as we suspected he would.

However, the question was, would he sleep in it?

I won't lie. Saturday was a bit rough. Naptime, when it happened, ended up being about 45 minutes long. He's quite confused by the ease with which he can get out of bed. At night on Saturday there were a lot of night wanderings, which we silently redirected each time. Twice in the past couple nights we've checked on him before turning in, only to find him curled up asleep on the floor.
But last night was loads better, with just one night waking. And he hasn't slept anywhere but his bed (and the floor, briefly) for the past two nights. Hoorah!

Oh, and the bed, mattress, and linens were a total of 30 dollars.
Start searching craigslist! What will you find?

Random, but I had to include: Miles and Papa camping out on the floor. I loved this.