This one's about the kiddos

Alright well this post is going to be all about the kiddos, I think.

I haven't been very diligent about taking belly pictures this time, but I do have them for at least every other week. I've decided that I'm a little self-conscious about showing early. I know, it's silly, in subsequent pregnancies, you're supposed to show sooner, plus when you add in the short amount of time that I had to shrink back down and the fact that I'm injecting Lovanox into my tummy, there's bound to be some bloating/puffiness that's not necessarily baby. Be this as it may, I have not been uploading belly pictures to Facebook this time, so cannot upload them here at the time. However, I think I will do a collage later in the pregnancy when I'm sufficiently monstrous and show the progression of weeks that got me there. That being said, I've been at the doctor's office at least every 2-3 weeks and have TONS of ultrasound pictures, which I will post with their weekly baby-is-now-the-size-of-[insert common object] comparisons (though there's more of those).

7 weeks 1 day (5/11/11)

8 week baby comparison (one of them, since this week there are conflicting fruits)- baby is the size of a blueberry (or a raspberry). (S)he has webbed fingers and toes, which are wiggling like crazy, and his/her trunk is beginning to straighten out.

9 wks 1 day (5/25/11). The picture's a little blurry because baby was wiggling all over the place.

9 week baby comparison - green olive! Baby is now considered a "fetus" and is starting to look like a baby as his/her facial features become more distinguished.

10 week baby comparison - a prune (yuck!). This week baby is forming bones and cartilage, and his/her vital organs are beginning to function. Arm joints are now working and (s)he will be waving before too long!

So begin the onslaught of images from my first OB/GYN appointment and ultrasound at 11 weeks.

I don't have a comparison picture for this week, but baby is the size of a lime with a head:body ratio of 1:1 to make room for all that growing brain! Fingers and toes are no longer webbed (thank goodness no more swamp-monster-baby!) and baby is now growing hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds!

About halfway through, (s)he started clapping his/her hands together and waving them up and down.

Then (s)he started doing what looked like doggy paddling, "walking" against the wall of my uterus and touching his/her hand to the forehead.  All of a sudden, we watched him/her pull that hand from the belly straight into a fist, stick the thumb in the mouth, and roll over. Getting ready for a nap, baby?

Baby is the size of a plum. At this point, most of the vital organ systems are formed, and will spend time rest of the en-utero time developing and honing the skills to perfection.

We went to the Maternal Fetal Care specialists this week (6/15/11) for the first trimester screening and got to take a peek at our little grower! The ultrasound tech/doctor look at the fluid space at the back of the neck to try to determine if there's a likelihood for any risks of birth defects... and the doctor said that everything's looking well within normal ranges. We'll go back for a second round of bloodwork in a few weeks.

This closer profile picture lets us get a better look a baby (with the right hand going to the mouth again). His/her heartbeat was 154-156 beats per minute! We go back for the anatomy ultrasound in about 6 weeks, but I'm hoping we'll get a peek sooner than that :)

No baby pictures this week, since we're between visits, but we'll go back to the OB next week, so there'll definitely be some updates then (and hopefully a gender prediction?). This week baby is the size of a peach, forming teeth and vocal cords. (S)he is approaching "normal" proportions as his/her head is now only about 1/3 the size of his/her body. This week, the intestines (which grow very rapidly at first, and are therefore extended out into the umbilical cord) will be making the move to the baby's tummy.

Alright, on to the other members of the family the their great accomplishments (with a quick interlude for a picture from the date night Nate and I took on 5/26/11 to The Melting Pot).

So the end of the year was very productive for Natalie and Alyssa. Alyssa was accepted into Beta Club (a great showcase for her grades and good relationships with her teachers), and made Chorus Ensemble - woohoo, she gets to wear one of the pretty dresses next year! Both girls have decided to audition for Honors Chorus (County and State) next year, and they will be trying out for volleyball (A), track (A), soccer(N), and joining the ping pong club (N) and the student service club (which Alyssa was a part of this year)... guess I'm going to be super busy! Both girls got a 4 on their EOG tests and got awards for having the highest (even if it was a tie) grade in a particular class! Alyssa got awards for Social Studies and Science and Natalie got an award for Math!

When report cards came out, we were absolutely thrilled with the girls' performance. We had a couple hiccups along the way with Natalie's grades as she adjusted to the extra responsibility of Middle School, but were glad to see the outcomes:

 This is Alyssa's final report card. This is the first time that she has gotten straight A's for every quarter/semester/final (last year she was off by 1 B at a quarter mark)!

We were very proud to see that Natalie was able to bring up her grade (one class where she missed an assignment and was tenths of a point from having a B) to get all but 2 A's on her final report card!

The girls have enjoyed a relaxing beginning to their summer break with nothing to do but laze around at home watching TV, playing games and sleeping late! They are currently at their grandparents' house for a few days - swimming at the lake, cooking new creations, and maybe some extracurricular-y type activities depending. Their grandfather is particularly ill - I believe he has Parkinson's, though I'm not 100% sure - and has been in a steady decline for the last 2 years. With his time quickly approaching, we want the girls to be able to spend as much time as possible with him and their grandma Pat, so as not to miss any opportunities. While I'm sure they're having lots of fun, I'm enjoying the quiet house and counting down the days 'til they'll be back (you never realize how lonely it is without them!)