27 weeks

Just a brief post, because its 105 degrees out, which makes me not want to do anything but lie around and eat watermelon in the air conditioning. I had a crazy month long summer course, which is finally over, which means now its time to get serious about working on my dissertation....oh, Lordy.

In other news, I had an annoyingly crappy experience the other day, while waiting at a stop light, the semi truck in front of me decided to back up, disregarding the fact that I was behind him and crashed right into me, pushing me back ten yards! I was leaning on the horn the whole time and then he stopped, only to go in reverse again! Oh, and then he ran the red light and looked as if he was going to flee the scene, but luckily, he didn't. Thankfully, June Apple was not with me at the time, and beyond some damage to the car, I was not hurt at all. I did go ahead and go to the doc to get checked out, and all was well with both the the baby and me. So, now all I have to deal with is the insurance and car repairs. Boo. Its okay, I've got lots of spare time.....


Dear Baby Bear,


We had quite the week with our bumper car adventure! I hope it was more fun for you than it was for me. The upside was getting to hear your heart beat and hear you kicking around on the monitor. You've been really active around 4 every morning, kicking and flipping, and if you keep that up, we are going to have to have a serious conversation once we meet face to face in a few short months!


Your Grams bought you some new duds this week, making your upcoming arrival all the more real. Its hard to believe you will fit into such tiny clothes. I just cannot wait to snuggle you and breathe you in.


Your Papa, June Apple and I love you very much,


Love,
Mama

A whirlwind weekend

 We just had the craziest, busiest weekend under the sun. It started Friday night with the rehearsal dinner of our friends, Aleah and Jack at the ever amazing 21C Museum and Hotel. It was the first time Amos and I had been out without June Apple since the last Harry Potter movie came out, which, by the way, was a looooooooong time ago. It was lovely to get dressed up and feel like an adult and have fun with some good friends. We were sitting at the table that clearly had been deemed the "bad kids" table, and we took full advantage of this label, by being silly and telling lots of dirty jokes ;) Here are some snaps from the night:

 

  The next day, June and I headed up to Cincinnati for a jammed packed day, which included a baby shower for my friend Kami,
                                        
 and a surprise party for my Grandma Betty. It was great seeing so many friends and family all come out to celebrate such a fabulous woman. My Uncle John and his girlfriend, Lisa, hosted the party and June Apple was very excited to visit with all of their many pets, which included 27(!) rabbits, 4 horses, and a pack of doggies, including a giant newfoundland named, Sophie. I've been wanting to go kayaking all summer and finally got my chance on a little pond in front of their house. I am very glad I did not fulfill my desire to kayak by planning some big, all day affair, because, after 20 minutes of sitting and paddling, my back was killing me. No more kayaking for pregnant Katy this summer.
I got a chance to catch up with my "sisters," Lynn, April and Courtney, and take our obligatory sister shot, this time with Lynn's sweet daughter, Lily joining the mix. June Apple was very excited when she inherited Lily and her brothers' vast Little People collection. She also thoroughly enjoyed Uncle Robs famous smoked pork shoulder. Yummy!

 

As you can see, after such a whirl wind Saturday, June was a bit sleepy.

But she rallied, because now we had to switch into wedding planning mode for my BFF Britten, who is getting married in September, and for whom I will be a 37 week pregnant bridesmaid! On Sunday we celebrated at fellow bridesmaid Leah's house, who threw an absolutely fabulous bridal shower for Britt. I somehow found time to get crafty and made Britt a pillow to celebrate the start of her new life with her future husband, David, as a Franco

I am so excited for Britt and excited to be a part of such an important day for her. On Monday, June Apple and I accompanied Britt for her hair and make-up trial, as well as to an appointment with her wedding DJ- DJ Toad (no lie, that's his name.) 

June Apple was a champ all day and I was going strong until I was at Britt's mom's house and I literally bent at a 20 degree angle and my back went *&^%$SCRUNCH!!!!*&^$ Yowza! It was excruciating. Luckily, I was still surrounded by good people who were happy to wrangle JA while I tried to chill and let my back relax. Luckily, it actually started to feel better with some ice, some heat, some relaxation, and some movement. I had been having some painless contractions and sciatic nerve pain all week, off and on, so I think this was my body's way of saying, Hey! Slow the f- down! So I did. But not before I went out to dinner to celebrate Britt's bachelorette-hood ;)

 

All in all, it was an awesome, although exhausting weekend, surrounded by wonderful friends and family. The weekend would have been damned near impossible if my mom wasn't there to help with June. She's definitely a rockin' Mama-Gram!

So here I am 26 weeks and going strong

Dear Baby Bear,

This weekend was a wonderful reminder of all the fantastic family and friends that are in our lives and there to support our family. While my mind and spirit wanted to go go go all week and weekend, my body did a nice job (in perhaps not-so-nice ways) of reminding me to slow down and take it easy, for both of our sakes. The last thing I want is for you to feel stressed out and run ragged! Okay, okay, now that this busy weekend is over, I'll take it easy. I'll try anyway.


Your Grams and I went shopping for some new duds for you. I feel like your arrival is sneaking up on me, and I need to start getting more ready for you! Let the nesting continue! I have to say, shopping for a baby boy just isn't as awesome as shopping for a girl. Basically the two clothing options are Surfer Dude or Little Man. Plaids or stripes. Kind of boring, frankly. So we are going to have to search a bit more to find some cool threads for you, so you don't end up looking like a mini Brooks Brothers ad. The truth is, I'm sure you'll find your own style, no matter what you wear.


Your Papa, June Apple and I love you very much,


Love,
Mama

Book Bug

Our girl loves books. And I would love to be able to say that its because we spend hours a day reading to her and driving home phonics, but the truth is, in a room full of toys and musical instruments, she goes for the bookshelf, swipes them all off the shelf into a pile and cracks 'em open. She pours over the words, from The Runaway Bunny to Doors of Perception (seriously). They can have pictures or chapters. She doesn't care. No e-reader needed in this house. Its the paper she loves. She loves to slowly turn the pages and point to pictures of faces or objects she knows and name them proudly. She reads to the cat and the dog, and of course, us. She also loves to be read to, often physically opening our hands to place a book in our palms. Often we'll start a book and she'll be too eager to move on to the next, so she'll shut the one we are midway through and grab another. Who knows where her loves of words and pages will take her?

                                               

And here I find myself at 25 weeks, eager to soak in the summer, without suffering too much in the heat. Time seems to go too fast anyway, but especially during the summer months. I have so much to do, in terms of school, before Baby Bear arrives, its hard to imagine how it will all get done, although I know it will. One day at a time, one page at a time, one word at a time. Oh, and I've got to find time to soak in the summer fun, too!

Dear Baby Bear,

When I was pregnant with your sister, i tried to remember to read out loud to her and sing to her, so she would come in to the world with a love of words and songs. Although I didn't do either of these things nearly as much as I wish I did, she still seems to love both, perhaps instinctively, because her Papa and I love words and notes so very much. As you will soon see for yourself, our home is packed to the gills with books and instruments, and we hope you love them as much as we do. In them you will discover the world and find doorways to create new worlds within yourself. The great thing about you being my second baby is that you get to hear all the books and songs we share with your sister everyday. Perhaps you already have some favorites. Are you as sick of Skip To My Lou as I am? Or do you love it just as much as June Apple. I wonder what your favorites will be....

Your Papa, June Apple and I love you very much.

Love,

Mama

                                                   

Off to the races...

I had an another awesome weekend that got off to a great start with the 2nd Annual Dirty Thirty Film Festival. We set up the projector in the backyard and friends came over to watch The Last Waltz and Beetlejuice. We set up a candy bar complete with all the movie theater favorites, along with popcorn. I was so happy that so many of my great friends here in The Ville could come, including Angela, who drove in from Bloomington. I do love the movies, especially in the backyard! 

                       

 Jo and Emily tweet about how awesome the party is.

 Rachel and Chrissy fill up on sweets before the movie starts

 Juju and Chuck share laugh about how ridiculous bi-partisan bickering has become.

 

Good birthday times with my main man.

The next morning Amos, Angela, June Apple and I enjoyed the Douglass Loop Famers Market. I love that place! Its no Findlay Market (my favorite spot in Cincinnati), but it has all the elements of good, clean fun- great food, great music, and excellent folks. And, June Apples are in season!

                           

 

That night, my freshman college roommate, Cheyanne drove through town with her husband, Michael, on their cross-country move from NYC to LA. Of course we had to show them a Kentucky Good Time by taking them to night racing at Churchill Downs (accompanied by Thomas, Rachel and Chrissy). I looked longingly as everyone enjoyed their mint juleps and didn't bet, as I'm not a betting gal.

The next day we took Chey and Michael to The Most Awesome Flea Market in the World! (Real name, see below), to introduce them to the salt of the earth. I mean, where else can you buy tube socks, a puggle and a portable stripper pole? We followed the flea market with a pit stop (pun intended) at Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot, for some Kentucky BBQ, ping pong and corn hole, followed by Derby pie at Pie and Ice Cream Kitchen, with strawberry sherbet made with berries from Hubers Farm. An excellent Kentucky-style weekend. It was great to see Cheyanne and Michael and I look forward to visiting them in sunny California.

 

Chasing June Bug around is all at once distracting and, increasingly, tiring as my body starts to really slow down and feel the literal weight of Our Boy. Carrying her up stairs and picking her up out of her car seat is getting harder and I recently had to replace the baby gate in our living room with a shorter one, because my foot kept tripping up on the taller one when I would sling my leg over it. When I pick up her toys I try to do it quickly because bending over cuts off my air supply. Egads, I still have3 1/2 months to go! Anyhoo, here I am at 24 weeks, in an awkward stance:

Dear Baby Bear,


Your Mama is taking advantage of the energy she has to run around having fun, with good friends and family. I am trying to imagine what you will be like and how you will fit into our family. I know you will find your own place and make your presence known, as you already are!


I asked your sister where her baby brother was this morning and she lifted up my shirt and pat my belly and then gave you a big ol' kiss. Yesterday I asked her the same thing and she pat her own belly. I know she may not quite understand how important you are going to be in her life now, but I can't wait to see what pals you'll be soon!


Our midwife said you are lying sideways this week, and by the feel of it, you flip and turn every which way, every day! I hope you feel like you have enough room, and if not, can make some! Then again, I guess part of what will convince you to come on out of there is running out of room. So I take it back, don't get tooooooo comfy. I would like to see you face to face in a few months!

We love you so so so much,
Love,
Mama

What she's doing.

Its been awhile since I wrote about all the fun stuff Miss June Apple is getting into these days, so I thought I'd provide an update.

Our gal is such a hoot and a handful. Its her way or the highway, which often means her way or devastating, tragic tears. I often can't pee (which, by the way I have to do every 5 minutes) without her collapsing in tears at the audacity of leaving her side and is all smiles and giggles upon my return. This, suffice to say is all at once endearing and annoying. But, a sign of a secure attachment (more on this in an upcoming post...)! Anyhoo, Amos is convinced I need to train her better, and I know better than to try to train/tame a toddler. As we speak, she is off playing in another room, reading to the dog, but on HER TERMS. She loves to play and read by herself, and does so often, but she must make the ventures away on her own.


Amos and I are convinced she thinks she is an animal (I know, I know, she IS an animal), as she makes monkey, dog, cat or bear noises anytime she sees a picture of herself. I also believe that she thinks that all people (as well as her favorite stuffed animals) are called "babies" because that's what she says anytime she sees a group of people, pictures of people, or hugs all her animals before bed.


She's still rockin' 8 teeth, although she is working hard on a bottom molar.

She loves to put on necklaces, and I tell her, "The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize." 


She likes any and all music and when she hears any tune at all, including church bells, she throws up both her hands, starts snapping (really), and bobs and weaves her head. Apparently, those church bells are her jam.


Current words (or at least a form of them, that she attaches to the correct object) include:
Hat, Down, Rosco, Julie, Mama, Papa, Puppy, Kitty, Bear, Milk, Crackers, Bananas, Bath, Night-night, Mice, Peas, Tofu, Cheese, Berries, Apple, Juju, Hot, Eyes, Nose, Mouse, Hello, This, Hambone, and of course Babies.


Speaking of babies, we are not fooling ourselves into thinking we can actually explain the complexity of the upcoming arrival of her brother. She does loooooove babies and loves to point them out in public and books, but to try to explain that there is a baby in Mama's tummy is a bit too...abstract. Hell, Amos didn't really believe it was true the first time I was pregnant until he saw me push June Apple out of my body. And then I think he was like, "Well, I guess she was right." So June might not totally get it, but I can say, "Where's Baby Brother?" And she immediately lifts up my shirt, pats my belly, and gives it a good ol' raspberry kiss (which probably terrifies Baby Brother). Then again, I sometimes ask this question and she pats her own belly. Ah well. She'll get it soon enough.


She's not walking on her own yet, although she walks every well while holding one or both of our hands, cruising along furniture, or pushing her wheely bug around. However, you take away that security and down she goes, back to crawling. Her pediatrician said that she has the muscle tone and ability to walk, she is just "timid." Timid is not a word I would use to describe her, but perhaps in this area, she is. I'm not too terribly concerned about it, as she seems to have always done things in her own sweet time, and is never worse for the wear. Of course, I do find myself trying to "force" her to walk, by doing cruel things like dressing her in long dresses or putting her down on concrete sidewalks, that make crawling awkward, so she is forced off her knees. The nurse at my doctors office said that her parents "tricked" her in to walking by having her hold on to wooden spoons, that they help, while she walked and then letting go of the spoons, while she was none the wiser, walking alon, hands on spoons, raised in the air, all on her own. Of course, I know better than to force Miss June to do anything she's not ready to, as she will, as with all babies, do things when she's damned well ready!

She loves to read and be read to. Her current favorite books include, "Skip to My Lou," "Olivia," and "Mousie Love." All of these books have animals, which I think is why she loves them. Our little animal whisperer (and hopefully never animal hoarder).


Truth be told, she is the sweetest, funniest, silliest, fiercest gal around (and I know a lot of gals).