Finally!

After weeks of trying, Michael finally felt a few thumps from Gabriel on Monday night. The boy seems to prefer standing on my bladder all day, with his head up by my chest, and then he stomps on my bladder like he is stomping grapes for wine. So the thumping and tapping I feel all day is low in my pelvis, which is a hard spot for anyone else to feel from the outside. The last week or two, occasionally I have felt some movement higher in my stomach, over the top of my belly button height. They are always brief though. Last night, Gabriel most likely was doing a full somersault and got his feet up towards the top of my stomach. So Mike got to feel his boy give him love taps through my belly button. Ahhh! There should be plenty more time for kicks to be felt in the weeks to come. I can't believe how different those initial flutters felt at 19 weeks verses what I can feel now. And I understand that kicks can get very hard as Gabriel gets stronger. There's something to look forward to. Though, Gabriel has some room to move around right now. He will be growing rapidly from this point forward so he will eventually have very tight quarters and won't be able to somersault freely.

Happy 65th Anniversary!

This is the cutest couple I know! Maurice and Esther have been married 65 years as of September 25th, and 65 is not a typo. I was so happy to join a mass of people at the Mill Village Chapel yesterday in Rutland, Vermont as they honored the happy couple. This young at heart couple is actually the grandparents of my long time friend Kimi, thus why I have always called them Grandma and Grandpa Hawley myself. They cut their cake, smooched, and fed each other cake with as much enthusiasm and joy as they probably did on their actual wedding day. We should all be so lucky to be this happy in marriage.

Brandon Gap

This is the view from the trail head at Brandon Gap in the Green Mountain National Forest, a point on the Long Trail. It's one of my favorite spots on the drive to Vermont to see my parents. Once here, the view is gorgeous in good weather. And even better, I am within 5 minutes from my parents' house and I probably won't need to hit the gas pedal again until I am pulling into their driveway. It is also this span of the drive that I have seen the Moose before and Michael and I have hit some of the scariest inclement weather driving. I looked forward to driving over yesterday because I knew the foliage change would have started through the mountains. I was actually surprised that the foliage wasn't further ahead than it was. Unfortunately, it was gloomy most of the drive over. And it poured most of my drive home. There were plenty of oranges and yellows, but they would have been better with the sun on them. It brightened slightly as I hit the gap, so I pulled over for a photo. The flat area is Champlain Valley. You can see an area where the narrow part of Lake Champlain is, and then the mountains on the other side (with the cloud coverage) is the Adirondacks of New York.

99 Days To Go... But Who's Counting?

I am 25 weeks and 6 days into gestation today, so only 99 days left to go until I hit my due date. Kimi Sprague snapped this photo of me and "Gabriel the bump" while I was in Vermont today. According to my audio pregnancy book, I start the third trimester on Monday. It just doesn't seem possible. I picked up the crib bedding set today from my parents' house and it is definitely time to get Gabriel's room in order.

Girl with Blog

Today is the one year anniversary of starting my blog! In the past year there have been 3285 visitors from all over the world. I enjoy seeing who visits and what blog entries grab the attention of different readers. In the previous year, Michael and I traveled to Hawaii, planned our wedding, lost a furry baby, gained a furry baby, got married, went to Mexico, and now we are expecting a son. All documented through the blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading the adventures as much as I have enjoyed writing about them. What started out as a project to help keep my family and friends in Vermont updated on the events of my life has actually turned out to be a fun hobby. I look forward to chronicling the next year as two newlyweds turn into a family.

Monthly Appointment

I am in my 6th month of pregnancy now, the far side of the second trimester. I've completed 23 full weeks of pregnancy. The photo below is a representation of the typical size of a baby in the 23rd week of gestation, though our boy is much cuter than this example baby. I am feeling movement throughout the day now, and starting to notice some patterns to the sleep and movement cycles. I can feel the baby move, but the movements aren't strong enough yet for Michael to feel them. And I have read that the baby is now much more aware of what is going on outside of the womb. He can feel my movements and his hearing will pick up loud noises in the environment. It might be time to start playing him music. So another month done of pregnancy means another monthly appointment with my doctor's office. I visited today with my regular doctor's partner, in case she ends up attending the actual birth in my regular doctor's absence.

I learned today that the baby is fine according to the last ultrasound we had on August 29th. The baby is in the 44th percentile so he is running small, or at least 56% of all babies born would most likely weigh more than him. I am starting to think that maybe I better have more little newborn sizes of clothes on hand and not just assume I'll have a big baby that will fit right into 3 month clothing quickly.

The baby's heart rate was 150 and strong. I could actually feel him hitting or kicking the Doppler when the doctor pushed it into my stomach/his space to listen to his heart rate. I could hear a different thunking noise on the Doppler in conjunction with the movement I felt.

And my blood pressure remains fine at 120/70. I've started a prenatal pool exercise program on Monday and Wednesday nights after work so I can guarantee at least twice a week I get some exercise in. I've had some pelvic pain due to the hormones relaxing the pelvic ligaments, so it is nice to have an hour in a heated pool to get the weight off my lower back, pelvis and knees. And it is fun to talk to other expectant mothers my age and compare notes.

Michael and I are also all signed up for the prerequisite baby classes, so starting next month we will learn infant CPR, basic baby care, attend the child birth class, do a tour of The Family Place where we will have the baby, and even take a quick course on breast feeding.

We've also done a handful of child care center tours and have the baby on multiple waiting lists for child care for next April, when I assume my maternity leave will be over if everything goes as planned.

I am going to stop referring to our son as "the baby" in my blog entries because Michael and I have decided to call him Gabriel. We are using his name already and have had a chance to tell both sets of Grandparents. So baring any strange events that change our mind, like he turning out to be a she, we are going with Gabriel.

Quincy's Baptism

After a night full of hard rain from hurricane Hanna, Michael and I found clearing skies as we left our house before 6 am this morning. We went to the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Pittsford, Vermont for the 9 am mass because Quincy was being baptised during the service. I think technically Quincy was the youngest guest at our wedding since he was still in the womb during the festivities. Quincy was such a trooper through anointment and the water dousing; he never made a peep. And he looked so cute in his little white outfit. We last saw him in June, but already he has changed and seems to be the spitting image of his older brother Noah. After the service, we headed off to the Pittsford Recreational Park for a reception with the whole Bruttomesso & Eugair clan and a home style luncheon. I also got to see Amy and her boys as well. And it was a beautiful day. Those in the sun playing volleyball were comfortable in shorts. Those of us under the picnic table covering needed a light jacket. Just the right temperature in my opinion.

Michael and I visited with my parents on the way home. It's definitely harvest season since we came home with a winter squash, two bags of black berries, another big bag of white potatoes freshly dug from the garden, black berry jam, and a tomato. Oh, and Dad had made a batch of baked beans too so we have a container of those for an upcoming meal as well.

Let me know if anyone has a good recipe for black berries.

Michael and I also took a break from driving home by stopping at the Powerhouse Mall in West Lebanon and visiting the Rugged Bear children's boutique. We got a few more things for our little man.

Our Boy is One!

Lucas turned one year old on September 2nd, so it's time to put the puppy food away and switch to big boy dog food. It's hard to believe how fast the time went by.

He celebrated birthday weekend and got three rides in the car, including one trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house. For dinner on his actual birthday, he shared a special can of dog food with his sister. We gave him his birthday gifts last night. Michael found a little dog bone shaped elevated food bowl set for the kids to share and then I had ordered Lucas a whole box of new Schnoodleware fleeces to destroy. Elleigh was much better at getting the new fleece toys out of the box than Lucas was. Of course, we went around the house picking up and chucking his disintegrated fleece toys the whole weekend so that was a bit traumatic.

A little doggy biography on our boy.

Weight: He weighs 22.8 pounds the most recent time Michael put him on the scale.

Height: Taller than his sister by at least an inch on the back and two inches at the head.

Favorite Toys: Schnoodleware Fleece Toys ripped to shreds and strings, anything with taggies, anything that Elleigh has at the moment.

Favorite Food: Anything on Mommy & Daddy's plate, Merrick's Brauts & Tots canned food on special occassions.

Favorite Spot: Snuggling face to face with Daddy on the couch

Favorite Activities: Laying on Sissy's head, snuggling with Daddy on the couch, going to Grandma & Grandpa's house, going for a R-I-D-E, rolling in pooh, going to the dog park, sleeping in sun spots with Sissy.

Least Favorite Activities: Tubbies, rain during potty time, vacuuming

Favorite Trick: high five

When happy he wiggles his whole behind and his little tail stub.

When he thinks he is in trouble, he tries to smile or goes to the other parent to see if they are as mad as the first one.

Accomplishments: Graduated from Puppy Obedience class, learned how to get up on the couch

Goals for the upcoming year: Becoming a good big brother to a human baby, learning to share more, smiling just right so that Mommy can catch it on the camera to post for the world to see