Happy Halloween!!

Yes, I know Halloween is tomorrow, but who knows if I'll get around to posting then.

All is well here. I'm growing...straight out as a matter of fact, it's hilarious. I promise to post belly shots soon, there's definitely a baby in there now as I've passed from the "Is she or isn't she?" stage to "oh my God, is that lady pregnant again?" based on the wide-eyed looks I got at the mall the other day while pushing the stroller...LOL!

Anyway, we're cruising along here. Larkin is terrific, she has an ear infection actually, but you wouldn't know it by the way she is acting. Which reminds me of a PSA, have you seen those EarCheck monitors that are supposed to tell you if there's reason to see the dr. for an ear infection...PIECE OF CRAP. I was using that thing all weekend and early this week, and everytime it came up on the lowest "Fluid not likely" setting...and low and behold yesterday, fluid in the right ear. I plan on writing to them whenever I have a chance, in a couple of years most likely.

Many of you will be happy to know that I am EXTREMELY busy right now...every evening is spent working on my dissertation!! I am really working hard, and with a little luck should be officially graduating in August...but I've really got to keep moving. Someone remind me this will all be worth it in the end...

The good thing about it is that I work in the evenings after Larkin has gone to bed, so while I'm utterly exhausted, I don't feel like I'm missing any time with her, and that's very important to me.

OK, enough talking, just time for a quick glimpse at the cutest little chicken you'll ever see.

Tyrone Strikes Back!

Well we've had an interesting week. I had my perinatologist appointment on Wednesday. We decided it was best for Patrick not to go because it was a busy day for him with the last of the hurricane make-up games, he needs to save his days off in case Larkin gets sick or for when this baby gets here, and Dr. Kirshon's office is always running late so it can turn into a whole day thing!!
Plus, the 18week ultrasound is all about finding out the sex, and we already found out at our NT scan, right?
...
right?
....
so we thought!

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Kirshon asked if we knew the sex and I told him, yes, you told us girl last time, to which he said "Did I? Did I say 80% girl?" I said "No, you said 90% girl" and he said "Well 1 in 10, this is a boy!" LOL!

Can you believe it???? There "it" was plain as day, no mistaking it!! We're having a boy, we're having a son.

The nurse was just as happy as I was I think. It was just such a surprise! So she put a piece of paper in an envelope that says "Congratulations, it's a BOY!" along with a picture of the "money shot". When I got home, I gave the envelope to Patrick and his response was "What?!? How did that happen?" LOL!

I think we're both still in shock, and this week has been so busy that we haven't had a chance to sit down and really talk about it and enjoy it. Hearing it has been like finding out all over again. You plan out in your head life with 2 daughters, you think you know what you're doing, and then you find out you'll be raising a boy along with your daughter! Craziness!!

I am unbelievably excited though, and this just feels right to me. WHEN all goes well in a few months, we will consider our family complete...who would have ever thought in just 2 short years that all of this would have happened. We are so very lucky!

I'm jumping out of my skin because I get to tell my parents in a few hours...they're on their way here for the weekend!!!

She's 1/2!!!!

Well on October 1st we celebrated Larkin turning 0.5 years old. ; )

Two days later we headed to the dr. for her 6 month appt. I still find it hard to believe that I gave birth to a petite 6lb2oz baby who at 2 weeks old was at the 5th percentile for weight (50th for height and 10th for head circumference). I always tried to make myself feel better by remembering she was two weeks early, but my how times have changed!!!

At 6 months, we are now...
19lbs 6 oz that would be the 90th percentile
26.5 inches long that would be the 75th percentile
42cm head circumference that would be the 45th percentile

She's in 12-18 month clothes if you can believe that! She's sitting up on her own (although has a tendency to teeter over in pursuit of a soccer ball or rattle that gets too far away from her), she can get across the floor fairly effectively but tends to go backwards quite a bit, and she has A LOT to say. They just told us yesterday at daycare that she and another baby (cute little babygirl, 3 days older than Larkin and probably half her size...LOL!) were sitting in their Bumbos having a hilarious conversation. They said one would talk and then the other would wait and listen while the other talked and every now and then apparently someone would say something funny because they'd both start laughing...LOL! No wonder she gets bored with us on the weekends, we don't speak her language ; )

Return to Normalcy

Everything is pretty much back to normal now. It took about 2 weeks before we had power and were all back under the same roof, and a few more days after that until we got cable/internet, but all is well!
I really owe you some new pictures of Larkin. For now, here are a few of my favorite proofs from her session right before the hurricane, she was just over 5 months in these pics!!