I did it!

Exciting News

Adam has an interview for the Chemistry/Biophysics faculty position in SD! We had kind of given up hope on that.

So the schedule for the next few weeks:

Feb. 16th and 17th - Natalie: write like hell.

Feb. 18th - Natalie: turn her dissertation into her committee members.

Feb. 19th-20th - Adam: out of town for a talk in Ohio.

Feb.19th-22nd - Natalie: prepare for her defense presentation and CLEAN THE HOUSE!

Feb. 22nd - Midwives come over for home visit in preparation for home birth.

Feb. 25-29 - Natalie: practice defense and MORE CLEANING.

Feb. 27-29 - Adam: in SD for interview.

Feb. 29 - Adam gets back along with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Peter

Mar 3rd - Defense


It all feels a little (lot!!!) out of control, but I guess that is life. It doesn't help that people assume that I am going to give birth any minute (because I must look like I am going to pop.) I keep telling them that I am not even thinking about the baby - just the dissertation!

Well, I have a hell of a lot of writing to do in the next few days. Adam has hardly started on his talk for Ohio, Max got sick this afternoon and Adam had to pick him up early from school. Pray for all of us that we survive the next few days, and after that the next few weeks! It is a little hairy around here.

Hi and Goodbye!

*My dissertation is due to my committee in two weeks. (!!!)

*My defense is on March 3. (37w3d!!!)

*Total panic ensuing. (!!!)

*Despite not gaining that much weight (~15#), I am quite large. People burst into gales of laughter upon seeing me. (Not kidding.)

*Kid still has no name. (Max suggests "Wax." And more formally, "Wax Thiex Owen") (Among other crazy names.) (But also has told complete strangers on 3 different occasions that baby's name is Owen. With a completely straight face.) (???)

*Again with the panic. (!!!)

Working

Max and Daddy were just coming in from playing outside.

Max: Mommy are you done working?

Mommy: Nope.

Daddy: Mommy has to work for a long, long, long time.

Max: Mommy were you working when the dinosaurs were here?


**It is approximately 3 weeks until my dissertation needs to be given to my committee! Yikes! Back to work!

Handsome Devils

Data Meeting Accomplished

After months (years) of anxiety, I'm glad to say that after I presented my Ph.D. research to my committee yesterday they gave me the go ahead to finish writing my disseratation and plan my defense. Based on my committee members' schedules it looks like my defense will be sometime the week of Feb 18-22. That gives me a month to finish writing as I have to have everything in two weeks in advance! I had better get to work.

The whole thing was rather anti-climactic; they hardly asked me any questions or gave me any advice! So, I thought I needed to burn off a little steam and had the great idea to walk the 3 or so miles home from campus. (Did I mention it was 62 degrees F yesterday?!) The first mile and a half, or so, were just what I needed, but the rest wasn't so good and I am really sore today. I feel like my hip joints are grinding to pieces - and everything is so stiff. This must be what it feels like to have arthritis!

That is the big news - I had better get to work!

Chuckle

Yesterday, Adam and I were trying to get some work done at home. I tried to ask Adam discretely whether I should call the neighbor kid (our favorite 11 year old) to see if he would take Max outside to play for a little bit. We knew we were in big trouble when before Adam could respond, Max piped in, "I think we should call Ethan to come play with M-A-X!" I guess we've had a few months warning that the spelling trick was almost up. A few months ago I said to Adam, "It's almost time for N-A-P," and Max answered, "I don't want to take a nap!"

Max knows almost all of his letters now (unless, of course, we are asking him to demonstrate his vast letter knowledge to somebody else), knows a lot of the letter sounds and gets that letters spell words. I guess it is only time before we are in big, BIG trouble!

Making cinnamon rolls

Three year old

This is a test

Halloween 2007

Pumpkin Carving

pumpkin guts!

Fire Fighter Max!

Notice the squirrels edited the jack-o-lantern a little bit for a much more scary effect! Also, the backwards fire fighter hat. There was nothing we could do to get him to wear it correctly. He needed the long brim to "keep the sun out of my eyes."

Handing out candy.


Nate & Max



Max & Lucy (AKA Snow White)




Candy Ecstasy!

Can you believe it?!

It's a boy!

Everybody was wrong! Well, except Adam and a few other people. We are going to have a baby brother around here! All his measurements came out great - he is a 14 ouncer at 19 weeks 4 days and all parts are intact. Now comes the hard part - naming the little bugger! Put your thinking caps on!

Happy Halloween!

Parents of . ..

ANOTHER BOY!

Postponed

We just got a call from the Perinatal Assessment Center and due to an ultrasound tech being out sick our appointment is postponed until 9:00 tomorrow morning!

Froggy in the rain

We enjoyed a bit of puddle stomping this weekend. Only it wasn't really all that fun because in true toddler fashion Max stomped the puddles, then cried that his boots were dirty, then stomped the puddles, and so on. Until we decided to just strap him into his car seat and put us all out of our misery. We drove to the Dexter Cider Mill and fed him this:He was, indeed, quiet. However, he did not want to take his nap.

Speaking of donuts, this reminded us of the first time he ever had a donut. It was at his Grandma Nancy's house and his somehow got his grubby little hands on a donut. On first bite his eyes lit up and (this was before he could speak in sentences) he was all "bagel." As in, "This is the best bagel I've ever eaten in my life." or "They don't make bagels like this in Michigan." At any rate, he was in awe. It was pretty comical. He now understands that sugar is the common ingredient in sweet food. Sometimes when we ask him what he wants to eat he just says, "sugar." At least he is honest. And he really enjoys those precious sprinkles on his morning oatmeal!


***The big day is tomorrow (Tuesday) when we get to check in on baby#2 and hopefully find out if it has any major health concerns and if it is a boy or a girl! It is pretty exciting! We will try to send a text message post to the blog from hospital so check in sometime after 2:00 Eastern Time.

Leaves

Officially Rec.ognizable Pregn.ant Lady

Pretty impressive, eh?Things have been going well with this pregnancy. The baby is kicking up a storm and making its presence well known. Adam has felt lots of kicks now, but Max has not had the patience for any. He does not seem interested in this phenomenon. He is mostly interested in himself and his "bigness."


For comparison:

This is me at 18 weeks with Max. Notice the normal shirt and normal pants! Ah, to have abs like that again. Now they are just a fond, youthful memory.

For further comparison:

Another nice belly.

Laundry Stories

Max likes to help me with the laundry, and apparently it is a time of deep philosophical thought for him.

Story #1: Max was helping me load wet clothes into the dryer. After some thought he pointed to the two machines and said, "This is the dryer and that is the wetter."


Story #2: Again he was loading wet clothes into the dryer.

Max: Why are the clothes wet?

Mommy: The water in the washing machine helps get dirt off the clothes just like water in your bath helps get dirt off of you.

Max: My doggy towel is my dryer!

Pheasant Hunting Report

Grandma Nancy and Aunt Shelley

the hunters

Cash the wonder dog

It was the pheasant hunting opening weekend in South Dakota. It sounds like they had a successful hunt getting their limit before the end of the day. Aunt Shelley was visiting from Alaska and getting the full South Dakota experience! Max, Daddy and even Mommy are a little sad that they missed out, but they'll be there for sure next year!

Getting excited

...and a little nervous too! There must have been a mix-up with scheduling because we got a notice in the mail saying that our Level II Ultrasound is scheduled for October 30. That means only 11 days until we (hopefully) find out if Baby#2 is a boy or a girl!

Ingenuity

Max's spinach pie was too hot to eat so he decided to go get the little airplane with the battery operated propeller Karin gave him and blow on his food! His parents, of course, think he is exceedingly clever.

Teddy

Max's teddy bear is a constant companion these days. He is always adjusting his blanket and "taking care" of him in general. The way he does things for Teddy over and over leads me to believe that his little brain is really processing this whole baby thing. I think he is going to be a great big brother!

Max and Dou Dou

Max, mid jump, and his best buddy from Green Room at the Fall Festival. (Max's blurriness is partly explained by the fact that they were serving donuts and apple cider!)

Back in the groove

We're back at home after an extended weekend in Chicago for Peder and Anna's wedding. It was really a great wedding, but of course we didn't take any pictures! This is getting to be a bad habit. Fortunately, our friend, Karin, is a semi-professional photographer and took a ton of pictures. Check out her pages here: Friday and the Rehearsal, Wedding Ceremony, and the Reception.

We also got to see Brooke, Emily and Sanna, and thankfully they watched our energetic guy during the wedding. Sadly, we have no pictures of them. Must improve photographer skills! How about turning on the camera for a start?!

In other news my belly has made one of those quantum leaps in size in the last day or so. That, combined with the kicks I regularly feel, makes this pregnancy very real all of the sudden! Adam even got to feel a kick the other day. I'm hoping this baby is a little gentler than Max. Memories of his 8 pound self rolling around in there have overshadowed any of the earlier pregnancy memories, but I do have a distinct recollection of getting seasick from his movements at a very early stage!

at Peder & Anna's wedding

Silly Goose