First Full Day of Preschool (1.13.16)

Walking into school

Ella had her first full day of preschool. Well almost full day.

I dropped her off at 9:20 and went to pick her up at 3:30. We didn't end up leaving until 4:25 because she wanted to show me things and she didn't want to leave.

When I dropped her off, they were all outside. Ella was a little overwhelmed the first couple minutes and held on to me. But there was her entire class and one other entire class in the play area outside so it was a lot of faces and they all came over.

I got some text message pictures from her teacher. I loved that.   She did ask for me and once she woke up from nap she asked for me even more.  She did so well for her first day at preschool.  She loves all her friends. She did not want to leave them.

Ella actually ate her lunch. The first 2 times she was there for food she ate a total of maybe 5 bites. (I was there the first time, the second time she was there during lunch in the 1.5 hours that I left her there.)

I tried to get her picture by the sign but it did not go so well. We forgot her favorite jackets so we had this ugly one that she wore.

Then once she stopped being so excited, I still couldn't get a picture of her by the sign. She kept pointing out all the A's on the sign.

I took these at drop off.

The teacher texted this one and the next one to me.

 Ella is actually napping at nap time!

Then I got a picture when I picked Ella up.  I did get a few other pictures at drop off and pick-up but since they include other kids, I just left them out instead of putting them on here.

I can't believe Ella is at preschool look!

12.12.15 Videos

I already posted about the day's events but I took so many videos I wanted to include them then never made this post.



 2 short videos from before we went to see Frozen characters



Massive compilation of all the videos I took at the park. We started at Magic Bridge Playground then walked to a smaller park just in Mitchell Park.


Video compilation from grocery shopping

Maternity Photos Take 2 (8.24.16)

Even though I already had maternity photos taken, I was a little disappointed that I did not get to take many in the red dress and that I did not have a single full body shot in the red dress.  My very nice friend Angie, offered to take some of me. I was going to take some of her the same day but then she didn't feel like doing her hair so I got 45 minutes of photos of me instead of half that.

I did some photo editing and cropping and made an album of my favorites. There's also an album of almost all the originals with all my edits. I would save various versions just in case I made it worse and also most edits started in picasa then I'd open photoshop and do more.

I had made a google doc of 4 poses I wanted to make sure we captured. The first one was leaning against a tree. The second was just a full body shot that included shoes.  The third was sitting on the ground but then I didn't want to sit in the wet grass. The fourth was a shadow shot but then it was overcast until the last couple minutes so I didn't do the last one.

People don't usually take maternity photos 11 days before their due date. You look a lot bigger. My ankles were swollen. But I wanted more so I did it. I had some photos taken a month ago too and those were a little later than most do too.

I can't get over how huge I look sitting down!

I made a few collages to show the different between straight out of the camera and my edits. Some edits I got a little carried away with. Like I took the blemishes out of the wall that I was standing against! I don't usually edit photos but Ella was at school and once i started, I could not stop!

Sometimes I didn't even notice the edits so much until I did a comparison collage.

Look here I edited out the guy in the background!

I edited out the garbage can lid here!

I got a lot of photos for about 45 minutes of taking pictures!

Do you have a favorite one?

Gender Predictions

Many people always tried to predict this baby's gender based on various old wives tales so I decided to do a post.  We were told a few weeks ago we're having a boy based on the ultrasound but time to see what these old wives tales predict. (As you can tell I started writing this in April! But didn't finish it even though it was 80% done.)

The heartbeat theory. "Fetal heart rates range between 110 and 160," explains Patricia Crane, MSN, CNM, director of the nurse-midwifery service with the University of Michigan Health Systems. "If your baby's heart rate averages in the 110 to low 130s range, the thought is that it's more likely a boy, and if it's in the mid 140s to 160 range, it's more likely a girl. Mid-130s to 140s is unpredictable -- and where a lot of heart rates fall."

The heart rate was in the 150s around 11 weeks on my doppler and about that at the doctors later.

Prediction: Girl

Rumor has it that if you are carrying your baby high, it's a girl. Carrying low? Stock up on blue.
Similar tales say if you carry in front, you've got yourself a little boy, and if you expand horizontally, it's a girl.

I don't know if I was carrying high or low the entire time.  Everyone keeps saying more recently how I'm carrying in the front so that would be a boy. 
Prediction: Boy

Legends say that if you are having a little girl, she'll steal your beauty. So, if you've got acne and other not-so-pretty skin blemishes, you've got a little princess coming your way.
Dry hands and cold feet are signs of a boy. So, if you've got these ailments, break out the baby blue.

My feet and hands aren't cold or dry yet and I didn't have acne
Prediction: neither

Here's a fun one— take off your wedding ring, tie it to a piece of string, and hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, you are promised a boy; back and forth indicates a girl.

I didn't actually do this so I don't know the prediction

This one is as old as it is weird. The mom-to-be is required to pee in a cup, and mix in a tablespoon of Drano. If the liquid turns green, you're having a girl. Blue? You guessed it. It's a boy.
We don't recommend trying this one. Mixing these two can result in dangerous fumes or, scary enough, an explosion. A safer version of this experiment uses baking soda. If the mixture fizzles, it's a boy. If it doesn't, you've got yourself a girl!

I didn't do this one either so I don't have a prediction. 

Craving sweets? According to some, that means your going to have a little girl. Salty and sour cravings indicate a boy.

Normally I go for salty but this pregnancy it's a tiny bit more sweets than salt...
Prediction: Girl

Chinese birth charts use your age at conception and the month you conceived to determine the sex of your baby. Want to give it a shot? Try it!The Mayans used a similar method. They looked at your age at conception and the year your baby was conceived. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one is even and one is odd, oh baby — it's a boy!

Prediction: Girl

Has your spouse been indulging in your pregnancy cravings, too? If your hubby packs on a little sympathy weight, the tales say you're in for a sugary-sweet little girl.

Prediction: Girl

Actually, morning sickness means pink. If you're stricken with a queasy stomach during your first trimester, think ribbons and bows. If you sail through your pregnancy with nary an upset stomach, it's blue all the way.

Prediction: Girl

If you've got a preggo friend, try this little experiment on her. Place a key in front of her and ask her to pick it up.
If she grabs it by the narrow part, she'll have a sweet little girl. If she picks it up by the round part, she'll have an adorable little boy.

I didn't actually do this one but I know I'd pick the key up by the big part.

Prediction: Boy

Most of these are from a family education site. The heartbeat one I saw on multiple sites. 

So 2 of these predict boy and 5 predict girl. I was told I'm having a boy then at 2 future ultrasounds it was confirmed it was definitely a boy!  Did you do any old wives tales predictions and were they right?

2.2

Ella woke up at 6:20 and cried. This woke me up. She went back to sleep but of course I couldn't. Then at 7:08, I saw her sitting on her bed hitting her closet door. Then she went back to sleep.   She woke up at 7:20 for good.  Her OK to wake clock wasn't working and I realized it was 7 hours off!   We fixed it and changed the alarm to 7:30 and then when it turned green Ella was so happy.

We got ready and took Dave to work. Then headed to gymnastics. We were about 10 minutes early. Ella was pretty nervous waiting to start. She was practicing her warmups while she waited.  I have a separate post on the class.  Then we hurried home.   We got home about 10:10.  Then I had to start cleaning.

We had a Dance and Play party here starting at 10:15. Luckily nobody was right on-time. The first person showed up and I was still wiping off the kitchen table. Also Ella was snacking.

Total 5 or 6 kids showed up. Not everyone was here at one time. Ella did some dancing. She had fun. Lots of snacking happened, too.  Everyone was gone by 12:30.  I knew Ella was tired but she wasn't having any of it.

We talked to Magen on facetime for awhile. It started with facebook messaging then sending some sounds via facebook. Ella was so cute saying "Hi Magen.  She kept telling me no every time I said "Aunt Magen" so I guess I messed up so much now she thinks Aunt is wrong.

Finally I took her for a ride to get her to sleep. We had to drive so far to get her to sleep.  But she finally fell asleep!  But then I went to move her into house and she woke up and cried.

I rocked her back to sleep but then I couldn't move very well to get up. My shoulder is just too boney.   I ended up having her sleep on me for a half hour or more.  During that time Poly jumped in the crib so I just held her and figured I'd wait it out. But then Poly decided to go on my lap. Then I was really stuck. I kept trying to push Poly off me but she would get even more and more on me.

I finally got her into her bed.  Then I snacked, watched TV, and blogged.

She napped pretty long.  I enjoyed the break.

We ate. We did a google hangout with my parents.  We picked Dave up after 8 PM.

Since Ella napped late, she was in bed really late. She went to sleep around 10:20 and I went to sleep right after.

39 Weeks (August 28)

I had my doctor appointment Wednesday. I signed the VBAC consent form. I learned you can't induce if you had a previous c-section. This means I have to schedule a c-section but can go into labor first.  The last day they will schedule it is for 41 weeks but then that's on a Sunday so she said it has to be earlier.  She told me her nurse would schedule it and tell me the time that day or the next day (both passed and I didn't hear from her though). I wasn't dilated at all yet.

If I don't go into labor first my c-section is scheduled for 9-9 at 7 AM.

More of the nursery is ready. Slowly little bits got done as the week went on. The pictures suck because after I took them I realized Ella got finger prints all over my lens. It's hard to believe that this is a lot more together than it was!

I don't like the anticipation of labor. Like WHEN will it start. AHH I don't like the multiple week window when it can happen.

This morning I was trying to find clothes that fit and also doing laundry so didn't want to put on my jean shorts. Dave commented asking if I was going to take a before picture. I wasn't but then when he said that I felt like I had to! I didn't do sports bra + shorts but did tank + shorts.  I also took measurements.

Size of baby: Mini Watermelon, 20 inches long from head to heel. My app on my phone says the baby weighs about 7.25 pounds.  The baby gains a half a lb a week. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I gained 1.1 lbs this week for 48.7 lbs overall. Earlier in the week I weighed more though.

Maternity Clothes:  Most maternity clothes don't fit. It's hard to have enough clothes to wear without doing laundry. Target ones are definitely longer than old navy ones. 

Movement: He moves a lot more in the evenings and you can tell he's getting bigger based on the body parts that start to move my skin all around.

Sleep:  I've napped a few times while Ella was at school and those 2 hour naps were pretty darn good. At night my sleep isn't so good. It's not as awful as it was with the sciatica pain though.

What I miss: I miss running. I miss hoagies from Jersey Mike's. I miss being able to turn over in bed without breathing heavy or without it being a big ordeal. I miss not having sciatica pain. I miss being able to walk normally.

Symptoms: My ankles actually got swollen a lot this week. Dave noticed weird bumps on my legs and I think it's just weird swelling. My low back hurts sometimes. Sciatica pain and then left leg pain and numbness. My blood pressure is higher. I want tons and tons of food lately but not sure that's considered a symptom. My nose randomly started bleeding at Trader Joe's on Friday. I still have a few acid burps. (But I did not have heart burn that I noticed.) I'm getting out of breath a lot. Going to the bathroom and getting back to bed and getting under the covers result in me being out of breath!

Best moment this week: Getting more maternity photos taken

Looking forward to:  Having a baby

Exercise:  I don't exercise for real but I feel like cleaning up was a bit of exercise because it kept triggering more pain so I know I was doing too much.

Same this time: Clothes not fitting even though they fit less this time.

Different from last time: I already had a baby last time at 39 weeks!