Today when I came home from work Noelle was in a great mood. She was singing Old MacDonald. She sang about cows and sheep and chickens, but my personal favorite was:

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
On that farm he had a donkey, E-I-E-I-O
With a donk donk here, and a donk donk there
Here a donk, there a donk, everywhere a donk donk.

Where does she come up with this stuff?

This afternoon we all enjoyed a couple of hours at the pool for likely the last time this summer. At one point, Noelle swam up to us and said, "Daddy, you're the doctor, and Mommy you're the disease."

That was several hours ago, and we're still trying to figure out where that came from.

Busy Bugs

This afternoon Noelle and I were playing Busy Bugs, a game with lots of different colored insects. There are 6 different kinds of bugs that each come in 6 different colors. It's a great way to teach counting and sorting.



In the middle of the game when we were sorting by color and putting them on the corresponding color on the card, I had the following conversation with Noelle:

N: “No! no! Purple! Purple! Do you not know how to play this game?”

C: “Sorry. I thought it was blue.”

N: “Why don’t we not play this game. Let’s play Candy Land. You’re good at that game.”

C: “Am I not good at this game?”

N: “No, you’re not as good at this game. You don’t know your colors.”

I suppose I will be explaining colorblindness to Noelle a few years sooner than expected so that she doesn't think her father is a moron.

And the name is....

Jared Christopher

When we first realized we'd have a winter baby, we joked saying we should give him a summer name. (Since Noelle was born in the summer and was given a Christmas name.) Chris' suggestion was Beach Ball. I like Jared much better. :-)

Thinking Ahead

Noelle: "Maybe when I'm older I can drive."

Chris: "Yeah, when you're a lot older."

Noelle: "Like this many?" (holds up 4 fingers)

Chris: "No, when you're 16."

Noelle: "Yeah, when I'm 16 I can drive...and maybe when I'm 16 I can have gum in my mouth too."

Playin' with Mima & Gramps

A week or so ago we had the wonderful opportunity to let Noelle have some quality time with Mima and Gramps while we hung out at home. Thanks so much for giving us a few days without parental responsibilities. We enjoyed it, but we're ready for another such break. We have Noelle waiting on the front porch with bags packed.

It's Not a Giraffe After All

She's actually a little more excited than she sounds in the video. :-)

We are really thrilled about the having a boy! (We don't have a name yet, but are narrowing it down quickly!) More importantly, the sonogram went really well today and the baby looks really healthy. He's measuring right on track and currently weighs 14 oz. Here are pictures from the sonogram:

Foot:Face:
The boy parts:

So flattering

This is a conversation I had with Noelle during lunch today.

N: Mommy, are you a little bit big?

S: Yes, a little bit.

N: But when Daddy comes home and I ask him if you're a little bit big he's gonna say, "No!" He doesn't think your a little bit big, but I clearly do.

How NOT to use a flashlight

So what do you think??

It's been a few weeks since I've written about our pregnancy. Things have continued to go really well. For me (Sarah) the last few weeks have been hard emotionally, knowing that we lost Jeffrey around this time. Plus, I've continued to feel sick, which hasn't helped my disposition much. :-) My doctor has been super understanding and continued to see me weekly so I could hear the baby's heartbeat and get some reassurance from that. I also had a quick sonogram at 15 weeks, and the baby was growing right on schedule. (Sorry...no pictures from that one.) Now I'm feeling the baby kick somewhat regularly, and it's so wonderful. I'm sure in a few weeks when it's kicking my bladder and/or ribs I may not think it's quite so wonderful! Here's a couple of recent belly pics, too.

16 weeks:

19 weeks (I look a little rough here because it was 11:30pm):

Our 20 week sonogram is coming up shortly (Thursday!!), and we have decided that we are going to find out what we're having. I researched some wives tales about how to tell if you're having a girl or a boy. Decide what you think and vote on our poll!

Carrying high/low: I have no idea...you'll have to judge for yourself. High is girl, low is boy.
Heartrate: Above 140 each doctor's visit (GIRL)
Cravings: Salty (BOY)
Chris' weight: Stayed the same (BOY)
Acne: Not much (BOY)
Pendant swinging over your belly: Circles (BOY)
Chinese Lunar Calendar/Birth Chart: (GIRL)
Pillow on my bed: Faces South (GIRL)
Morning sickness: Yes, lots (GIRL)
Pick up a mug: By the handle (BOY)
How do you sleep: On the right (GIRL)
Sarah had a dream last night that we had a: BOY
What Chris thinks: BOY
What Sarah thinks: GIRL
What Noelle thinks: GIRAFFE

Product Review: Bissell SpotBot

Hypothetically....

If it's the day you're getting your family pictures made
And your daughter runs into the bathroom while you're taking a shower
And she is hysterical because there are "buggies" in your dog's bed
And you hurry through the shower hoping that it's just fuzz or something
And you go examine the dog's bed and instead find a DEAD BIRD on the carpet
And if there are gross bird entrails all on the floor
And when you remove said bird with a Walmart sack there's a large bloody mess

The Bissell SpotBot does a great job of cleaning the carpet.

Poll Results

I hope you all enjoyed the old videos! We can keep Noelle entertained for quite a long time by showing them to her. Chris and I had a hard time picking our favorite.

Also, we realized after the Michael Jackson poll from a few weeks ago we never really explained the whole situation or updated you on the outcome.

Chris' dad and I were the ones that were debating the MJ question. But he fessed up to me and said he voted on 4 computers! So the results were actually a little closer than they appeared. He still won, but not by very much.

Since he cheated a little, we decided to post this photo of him online. :-)

Not really...we would have posted it anyway.

Video Debate

Here are 5 of our favorite videos of Noelle. Enjoy watching them again, and then vote for your favorite in the poll on the right.

:-)

Most of the time, kids are notorious for repeating the ONE thing you hoped they didn't hear or they tell a complete stranger something totally embarrassing. But sometimes they say something that totally makes you smile & reaffirms you as a parent. This morning while Noelle was taking a bath, she said this:

"Everyone smiles at my house. Except Hannah. She gots to learn how to smile. That's why I'm so friendly."

A Little Advice

Sarah: "I need to get some medicine because I have an upset tummy."

Noelle: "Mama, you need to get a new tummy!"

Sarah: "I do? Where can I get one?"

Noelle: "Walmart."

Noelle's Prediction

On August 20th we will have a sonogram to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. We've had lots of fun asking Noelle which one she thinks we're going to have. She usually says a girl, but here's what she said today: