22 Months Old and Turkey Day

Pictures from the last month...

Luci enjoying one of our last warm fall days.

Drew, too!

Mr. Independent no longer requires assistance when eating; therefore stuffing the entire "nana" in his mouth.

"Hmm...let's find those good toy sales for Santa!"

Quiet time with Daddy.

Pictures from Thanksgiving Weekend

at Grammy & Papa's house...

Quiet time by himself.

Enjoying one of Grammy's homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Sharing chips with Papa.

Helping give Luci a treat.

at Grandma & Grandpa VW's house...

All bundled up!

At the Sinter Klaus (that'd be Dutch for Santa Claus) parade with Grandma.

With Great-Grandma VW.

Goofy!

24 Weeks...or am I???

Ok, so get a load of this.

I had my 24 week OB check this afternoon. What I haven't mentioned to any of you, but of course did mention to the nurse and doctor, is that I've been having some contractions lately. Nothing major, maybe one every 4-5 days, until this last weekend when I had 3 on Saturday. It's not painful, and doesn't cause me any problems, and after reading about it in my pregnancy books, I really wasn't that alarmed by it. The doctor today wasn't that concerned about it either, but did give me a little card that has the signs of pre-term labor, and should I experience those, I need to call the office. He checked my cervix anyway, and nothing's happening there.

Anyway, it is beginning at this appointment that the doctor measures my belly to see how big my uterus is. Much to my (and shall I say the doctor's) surprise, I'm measuring 30 weeks along! Good gravy, no wonder I feel so huge!! I am huge!!! We're talking SIX weeks bigger than I should be!!! HELLO! So, after some nervous laughter, and after the doctor asks "Is there only one in there??", I asked him "What does this mean?!" So he first checked the dates, to make sure my due date is right. It is. I then mentioned that my son was 9 pounds at birth, and he said I could be growing another extra healthy baby. OR, he said, it could be extra fluid. Whatever the case may be, I am scheduled for a sonogram next Monday morning to try to determine why the heck I'm so large. The doctor said that extra fluid could be a sign of gestational diabetes, and with already having had one larger baby, apparently that's two strikes against me there. So when I go in next Monday for the sono, I'll also do the glucose test.

I certainly don't feel like there is any cause for concern at all. The doctor didn't seem that way, or say anything to make me feel as if there is. Sure, diabetes is certainly not something I want for this pregnancy, but I would take it to save the baby from some other kind of problem this might be, if it's a problem at all.

Hey, I grow big babies. We'll just leave it at that.

November News

I keep putting off posting, primarily because we really don't have any new pictures to show. I'm sure the occasional few like to hear what's going on with us, but most would prefer to just see pictures of the little guy. Sorry we aren't better about it! But I'll try to highlight some of what's been happening...

Last week we got all new windows put in at our house. Tim, a contractor and member of our church, was here for four days installing the windows and a new patio door. He also finished up our fence in the backyard. Drew was mesmerized by the tearing out of old windows (go figure!) and all the noise the saws, drills, "presser" (that'd be a compressor) and "vac" (that'd be the shop-vac) made. (He didn't seem to mind the 35 degree air coming through the giant holes in the walls!) Drew received quite the education on construction work from Tim, and for the entire week we'd hear things like "Tim vac," "Where'd Tim go?" "Tim come," and "Tim garage." They were quite the buds for those four days, I tell ya. We have beautiful new windows now; they are gorgeous! A totally new view for the house, with no dead flies or cobwebs stuck in the corners of the windows! Drew has already initiated the new patio door, having already slobbered all over it and figured out how to unlock it. Man, I can't take my eyes off that kid for a second!

Grandma and Grandpa VW came for a visit this past weekend. We had a nice time together, and Drew had much fun. They brought with them a little gift for Drew; a toddler sized play basketball hoop. Drew got to "shoot it," "dunk it," and score "two points" all weekend long. It's especially enjoyable for me to have someone else here willing to give Drew their undivided attention! I was able to take a little break and get a few things done on the computer which I normally can't do with Drew tugging on my legs. Brad and I were even able to take advantage of the free babysitters and had dinner with some friends on Friday night. I think that's the second time we've done that since Drew's been born! But again, no pics. It must be a sign that we are used to life as parents as we took absolutely no pictures the entire weekend! Shame, shame!

Baby #2 is still cooking along...and becoming quite active. Just today I mentioned to Brad that baby's activity level has increased and has become more prominent. Stronger kicks and jabs than before. I'm just beginning my sixth month, but I'm feeling like I could be entering my ninth. Brad could tell you how much I complain! He said to me the other day, "When is this baby coming again???" My aches and pains are increasing and becoming more diverse, it's already difficult to breathe at times, and carrying Drew anywhere is almost out of the question. I try not to complain too much, though, as I try to take advantage of the time left with only one baby to take care of! Drew doesn't pay as much attention to my belly as he did before, probably because we don't talk about it as much. He will occasionally pull on my shirt to tell me baby is sleeping, or to give baby a kiss. Just last week we taught him that the baby is coming in March, and so now when asked "Drew, when does the baby come?" he'll scream "MARCH!"

I'm officially in the holiday spirit, and hope to decorate for Christmas this weekend. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving visits to Mankato and to Pella, and hope to see many of you over the holiday season!