Winter Fun, Still Pregnant!

Winter finally, belatedly arrived, and with a vengeance! We took all of these shots after our first real snow. Since then, it really hasn't stopped snowing. It's been so fun.

Willow still likes playing in her cedar tree, even in the winter.

We took her on her first snowshoeing outing. What a beautiful day it was; we even had some sun. She rode in a sled pulled by dad for part of the way, and walked in her own little snowshoes for part of the way. The snow had a crust on top, and at times Willow was light enough to walk across without busting through. We went up by the Quincy mine, which is why there are various artifacts in the background of some of these photos.

I thought this photo was especially cool, with the train. As you can see, Scout had a great time as well.

We stopped at a mound so Willow could climb. Scout loves to chase snowballs and catch them in mid-air. You can see the snowball up at the top of this photo.

Catching one.

We also took Willow out (cross country) skiing. She got skis for Christmas. She actually did a pretty good job, and really enjoyed it too! She didn't want to stop, even though it was getting dark.

Before we put her skis on, we did a lap ourselves with Willow on dad's back. She wasn't too happy about that and kept yelling "get me out of here!". The days in the ergo carrier might be numbered, even though Willow does still only weigh 27 pounds. We decided it might just be because she's so far down, and to see anything she has to lean back, and it gets uncomfortable. So Josh picked up a new carrier (I think we now own six baby carriers!) at the consignment store - it's the type with an aluminum frame where the kids is up higher, and more supported. We will see if it works. Willow was excited about it at home, anyway. The ergo has been wonderful, and will be again for the new baby.

These photos crack me up. This is what happens when you let your kid play with your phone. We were trying to keep her entertained while we were at the store shopping for carpet. You can see carpet rolls in the background of one of the shots.

 

 

We painted the new baby's bedroom, and are also putting in new carpet in that room, plus Willow's bedroom and ours too. We are also getting a new window in the baby's room. This is all great but it is just not happening fast enough for me. I guess I have the nesting instinct going on, but it's fierce! I just want the room to be done so that I can organize it and get everything ready. I also am going crazy because I don't have any time to do these things. Josh is going to Bohemia today so I won't be able to do anything today. I don't begrudge him for that though. I am just jealous. It's going to be a powder day. Anyway, I think when Mother Nature created this nesting instinct, she wasn't counting on moms who work full time. Maybe mine is especially strong since it never had a chance to kick in before Willow was born!

So, yes, I am still pregnant. 32 weeks tomorrow! Blows my mind. After the appointment in Wausau that I wrote about in the last post, I was more worried than I let on in the post. After that appointment, when I saw my regular OB, I had asked her what she thought the perinatologist might do if the baby still wasn't growing like he'd like by my next appointment. She said "he might want to deliver...". The other problem was that I wasn't really gaining weight either. So I was pretty scared. Stupid as it sounds, I was also stressing hard about work, because I'm not prepared yet and I was thinking if I had to deliver in 2 weeks or something, everything would fall apart. I decided what I'd do is just pig out hard for the whole 3 weeks, and I did. I can hardly remember what it is like to be hungry. I just eat constantly. It's not as fun as it sounds. That and the butt-in-the air clothespin thing sort of consumed me for a few weeks.

All the efforts may have paid off though, because I went to Wausau again this past Wednesday and it was good news all around! Josh came with this time too. I gained 5 pounds. The baby stayed on the same growth curve and is now up to 3.5 pounds. And, it flipped and is now head down! So Dr. J. the perinatologist was happy. And I was so relieved I started crying when we left his office. I had my regular OB appointment the next day and she gave me a high five about the baby flipping. Sorry, Sharon and Amy...I guess you will not get to see a photo of me doing the clothespin thing. I was going to post one, but since I'm not doing it anymore, too bad. :)

So all is well in prego-land. I never thought I would be this big. I'll have to post a belly shot soon. Right now I'm in my pajamas and Josh is still asleep so he can't take my photo. But I am big! it's so great. I am trying to savor it.