33 Weeks, Ultrasound #5

Another week down, and another ultrasound completed...
(Sorry about the totally posed picture, but we got a new camera and started playing around with it. What do you think?)

Baby is healthy and happy (as is Mom), though I'm not thinking he's enjoying that tasty knee so much. Do you see it? Poor thing is all nestled together in a really tight little ball. His bum is right behind my belly button, and his head is down. I think most of the movement I feel is him sticking out his bum and stretching those legs away from his face.

His head measured a little small, but the doc says it only seems small compared to his super long legs. Since Ry has a small head (and doesn't seem to be all that lacking in the brains department), I'm just going to hope it stays small so I can get him out easier.

The other thing they told me to expect is for him to want lots of cuddling and swaddling because he's going to be so accustomed to being balled together. She said to expect lots of crying as he joins this big, roomy world.

Look at those big, chubby cheeks!
Another ultrasound at 35 weeks, the last at 38 weeks, and then he'll be here! Yippee!

Saved by the Belly

It was a dark and stormy night....The rain was coming down in sheets....there were no parking spaces to be found....when, out of nowhere....Lo and Behold........

Fortunately, Lindsey is now showing enough that we didn't get any dirty looks on the way in.

How to Decorate a Nursery

1 – Pick an extremely difficult focal point not purchased directly from a store. Make sure you choose strange hues and tones of normal colors so as to make the task of matching even more difficult.
We chose to focus our decorating around a quilt I made a few years back.

2 – Select a difficult painting technique and strategy.

We chose to paint two facing walls tan, and the other two facing walls with vertical stripes.

3 – Apply base coat paint to all walls. If all walls will not be the same (thus increasing its difficulty on the scale), you must wait a week between adjacent walls in order to apply tape and achieve a crisp corner.

4 – Determine a striping pattern which suits your style. Most websites advocate one-foot stripes that alternate between two shades of the same color.

Make sure you enlist an engineer to manufacture a demo on the computer which uses three colors with varying thicknesses, once again increasing the difficulty.
5 – Proceed to measure, mark, tape, and level each stripe to exact perfection. Once again, the use of an engineer is strongly recommended for absolute precision.

6 – Using painter’s caulk, carry on by sealing each piece of tape to the wall. Failure to successfully seal each side of each piece will result in catastrophic wiggly paint appearance.

Please remember that once a finger begins to bleed, only the weak give up! This particular step requires perseverance and stamina. It also requires a patient spouse to read page upon page and chapter upon chapter aloud (We chose Paolini’s Brisinger) to the caulker to distract his mind from the growing rawness as he removes each of his fingerprints.

7 – Begin in one corner to apply paint. All tape must be removed within 10 minutes of paint application.

WARNING: DO NOT PAINT ALL THE STRIPES OF ONE COLOR ACROSS THE WALL AND THEN RETURN TO APPLY PAINT OF THE NEXT COLOR. Such a technique will result in the paint peeling away when the tape is removed. Failure to observe the above warning will result in an additional evening of taping, caulking, and painting to correct “shark bites” in each stripe whose tape was removed too late.

8 – Proceed slowly around the room, edging carefully with the correct color around baseboards, ceiling, windows, closets, and outlets. When taping is removed, wipe away any excess paint that may have seeped under the tape, despite excessive caulking.

9 – Assemble all baby furniture, adding handmade bed linens to each feature.

10 - Voila! Thank your husband by telling him you love him, you love the room, and can’t wait for the little one to add the finishing touch!

8 Random Facts about Lindsey

I won't be tagging anyone, but seeing as Sheena tagged me, here are

Eight Random Facts about Lindsey

1 - Two Food Groups: I believe there are two food groups: real and dessert. The two groups cannot be mixed in one dish. A few examples of atrocities that I refuse to eat: Hawaiian pizza, Mango Chicken Salad, Honey-Glazed Ham, Waldorf Salad, etc.

2- My watch: I have bought the same watch four times. I love its shape, its price, and the ease at which I can find it at Target every year. Unfortunately, I have had to purchase it four times... since its price directly reflects its quality. :-) The first three purchases were because the band would break (plastic, fake leather), but then Ryan finally talked me into buying a leather band and attached it to the face for me. Then, about a month ago, the face cracked, and I had to buy a new one anyway. I figure when this plastic band breaks, I can still attach the leather band from the one whose face broke. It's a good watch... really. 3 - High anxiety: I hate being the center of attention or looked at. I prefer not to draw attention to myself (like dressing up for Halloween and having a baby shower), and I hate public speaking (like giving talks in sacrament meeting and being observed by my principal). In fact, I usually throw up, cry, and can't eat the day before school starts and the morning of. It started in preschool, according to my mom, and even continued as a school teacher. That's right: at 26, I sat on the bed next to Ryan crying and begging to not have to go to the first day of school. Thankfully, I had no first day of school this year.
4 - Blue feet & Lips: I have really poor circulation. My feet turn blue about every time I take off my socks. I try to avoid wearing sandles, and I prefer to avoid air conditioning. (Our thermostat was set at 78 all summer.) I even sometimes get blue lips. I am pretty much always cold, even since being pregnant. Too bad Ryan was hoping to save on heating bills this winter.

5 - Young Adult Fiction: If there was a budget cut and we had to vote to save only one section at the public library, I'd keep the chapter books for kids in grades 4 through 7. I have read nearly every one, and they just make me... happy. I love juvenile fiction.6 - Red-haired, Freckled Italian: With an awesome maiden name like Morello, you'd think I'd have dark hair and an olive complexion. Quite to the contrary, I have to spend half an hour lathering up with sunblock (SPF 50) just to watch a tv show about the beach! Turn's out I got my mom's genes.7 - No cavities / No broken bones: I've never had a cavity, and I've never broken any bones. I've actually only been to the hospital twice: When I cut my finger in first grade and had to get stitches and last night for our first childbirthing class. Oh, and I think I might have gone to the hospital 4 1/2 years ago - to visit my sister-in-law Emily when she had her first baby. Yeah, staying in the hopsital when I have our baby will be awfully strange. 8 - Weight: Until I got pregnant (31 weeks ago), I had weighed the exact same weight since I got my first driver's license at 16. I may have flunctuated a pound or two, but I've always been exactly the same size and shape. And I have never done anything to maintain it: no strange eating adaptations, no rigorous exercise routine - nothing. Sadly, this is very much not true anymore (I'm currently at +25!).

Vote!

Though you are probably thinking about a different vote in the coming month, that vote will only last 4 years whereas this vote will last a lifetime. Take it seriously.

Ryan and I are pretty certain what we will name our baby, but we are having a hard time deciding on the spelling. A few things for you to consider before voting...

Colin - traditional spelling, equal numbers of Ls in first and middle name, most common spelling

Collin - variational spelling, equal number of Ls in first and last name

You may also vote for a different name. Make sure you post your "other" name as a comment. A few guidelines...

1 - I don't like names that can be either a boy or a girl.
2 - I don't like "common" names that our child will have to attach a "W." to for his schooling life.
3 - We like names that start with C or K.
4 - The middle name is definitely Daniel (probably).

We do not guarantee anything, but we thought it might be fun to find out what our friends and family think.

Happy voting!