Gabriel's Cardigan

I finished Gabriel's cardigan tonight while watching the Talledaga race we recorded earlier today. I started this cardigan in August and have slowly been working on it. The pattern is Debbie Bliss' Jacket With Moss Stitch Bands and I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a pretty dark teal. I figure a girl could wear this too if she had a feminine shirt underneath it. I got the little Mother of Pearl star buttons at The Elegant Ewe. There was a lot of sewing together of pieces. I need to do a final blocking, but otherwise I am quite happy with the finished project. Can't wait to start the next project for little G. I think it will be a hat to match this cardigan. Or maybe socks.

Pregnancy Perks for Puppies

There are few pregnancy perks for the puppies. In fact, they would probably tell you that pregnancy sucks. There's no jumping on Mommy's belly. And Mommy can't bend over to pick them up as much. And Mommy doesn't get on the floor anymore because she would never get back up off it. And then yesterday Mommy and Daddy scurried around the house doing pre-baby projects, so the dogs couldn't sleep their normal schedule, and then got grumpy from lack of sleep. And then Mommy hauled bags out of her bedroom saying she was making room for the baby's stuff. And Daddy locked himself in the other room with a machine that makes an annoying noise and vibration. (Sanding) And at one point a whole piece of furniture was rolled out of the house. It was pretty stressful for Elleigh and Lucas. They both acted very nervous, like they might be going out the door soon too.

But they do seem to just love Mommy's pregnancy pillow. This is the Boppy C shaped pregnancy pillow with the white and sage green slipcover. It is suppose to be snaked around a pregnant woman to support the belly, give padding between the knees, and in general support sleeping on the side. But it seems to attract Elleigh, even if I am using it. She weasels her way onto some portion of the pillow when she can and will use her feet to make room for herself by scratching/shoving me out of the way. And then as soon as I vacate the bed, the dogs claim the whole pillow to themselves.

Bigfoot Sighting in New Hampshire!

I'm officially acknowledging that my feet have grown during pregnancy. I really didn't think this was going to happen to me. I left high school as a size 8.5. I already had a growth spurt a few years back and my feet slowly went through 9's when I was training for a half marathon, and the next thing I knew I was in 9.5's. All of my good dress shoes are 9.5 these days.

I went to Joe King's and bought a pair of brown Mary Jane style dress shoes, because the maternity pants I have acquired seem to be more brown and tan than I usually have in my wardrobe. So my all black dress shoes weren't working so well. So I wanted a nice pair of Keen brown dress shoes for work. I had to get 10's, but the sales girl did tell me that this new style shoe ran a little narrow. That made sense to me and I left the store thinking it was the brand and not me.

And suddenly last week, most of my shoes were cramping my toes. My sneakers especially cram up my toes, and noticing my Keen sandals aren't quite as floppy, and my black Mary Jane's are almost down right uncomfortable. It's definitely a length issue and not a width issue. UGH! And my feet have been less swollen in the last 7-10 days than they were a few times over the summer, so I can't blame it on that either.

And not that big feet aren't beautiful too, but I don't have the height to off set bigger feet. And not to mention, now that I am older, I can't just go to Payless on a Buy One Get One Free weekend sale and stock myself up for the season cheaply. These days I have to have the good shoes that my podiatrist recommends (that means expensive) so my heels don't ache. I'm going to try to get myself a few pairs of the bare minimum, a black and brown dress shoe, a casual shoe, something that fits for snow, and a sneaker and wait it out to see what happens.

If you wear a 9.5, start watching at the Concord Goodwill for a new supply of women's dress shoes.

CPR class

Michael drove home on his lunch break on Friday to take care of the pooches so we both could stay in Concord after work and attend our first baby class. We met at a casual restaurant (the Concord Hospital cafeteria) and had a quick bite to eat before going to the Center for Health Promotion for a CPR class. We signed up for infant CPR, but the class was not advertised right and we ended up with a bonus refresher on child and adult CPR too. Our American Heart Association cards will come in a few weeks.

It's been over 15 years since I taught or performed CPR, and some things have changed. Some things have stayed strikingly similar. There's no pulse checking anymore and now they teach people to look for Automated External Defibrillators (AED's) when someone has become unresponsive. I remember participating in a fundraiser just to get a defibrillator for an ambulance way back when and now an automated version is available in many public places.

So, that was our big Friday Date Night!

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.