Dec. 24: Andrew is napping for the first time in the past three days. He really needed it! This morning, he was in pretty rare form, and I think he threw about 8 tantrums over the course of a few hours.
After sobbing in Mark’s library for a while because I had handed him the wrong book (a wrong that just could not be righted in his mind), he suddenly stopped crying, came out, and said, “I was very sad. I’m sorry. I feel better now.” This morning, he woke early and came around to cuddle with me in bed for about 20 minutes. Then he climbed over me, and woke Bryan by saying, “Daddy, it’s Christmas Day!!” When corrected, he wasn’t that phased, and happily shouted, “It’s Christmas Eve!”
We’ve barely talked at all about Santa or what happens on Christmas. Last night, though, I read him The Night Before Christmas. He was absolutely enthralled. It didn’t take any more than one reading of that story for him to grasp the idea that Santa comes down the chimney and brings presents. My tiny tot’s eyes were definitely all aglow:)
Today we’re doing lots of food preparation, puzzle assembly, and napping. For our Christmas eve dinner tonight, we’re looking forward to pork tenderloin, rolls, other-things-I’m-sure, and pie. Andrew’s looking forward to leaving cookies out for Santa.
I have finally updoaded some pictures to the gallery too…
Dotzour Christmas Letter
Dec. 23: I got my Christmas cards out quite a bit later than normal this year (doing the Babler family cards earlier this month slowed me down! ) I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebration this year. My 2007 Christmas letter is below…
December 2007
Dear friends,
It’s been quite a year!
In June, Andrew celebrated his second birthday with nearly his entire immediate family in attendance. He’s beautiful and charming and stretches us each and every day. Identifying letters and animals keep him endlessly amused. His sweet little voice warms our hearts, and his determination keeps us on our toes.
In June we also learned that we’re expecting a new addition to our family. My belly has expanded to huge proportions, and the “little sister” as we call her is expected to make her appearance in early February. I’ve been having fun finding the cutest little girl clothes!
Life since July has taken some really difficult turns. We had all so hoped that my mom would continue to beat the odds, but that just wasn’t how life played out. I’m still trying to adjust to the idea that she is gone. I don’t imagine anyone is ever ready to say goodbye to their mommy.
After losing Mom in August, we had a couple additional partings coming our way. Bryan’s grandpa, Dandy, and my grandpa (my dad’s dad) both passed away in October. We miss them both – especially during these holiday times of family togetherness – but we also celebrate their lives well-lived. What a rich heritage of families and work and values they leave behind!
We’ve experienced the richness of life’s arch this year. Beginnings and endings. We’re thankful for the wonderful and strong circle of friends and family who have gathered close around us this year. I feel so grateful for the strength and love of the people who support us.
Life keeps moving, and our work lives have experienced some changes this year as well. In September, Bryan found a new job. For the last few years, he has worked for Widen Enterprise in the field of “digital asset management” (helping companies store and access photos of their products). In his new job, he is a software engineer with a small microbiology company called OpGen that is working to develop technologies to help diagnose diseases by looking at the genetic makeup of bacteria. While he misses his past co-workers, I’ve think the change has been a good one. Bryan has been energized by his work and has been learning and stepping up to some exciting challenges.
I’ve been at Gathering Waters Conservancy for four years now, and I just love my work. However, over the last months, I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching, and I’ve decided that when the new baby comes along that I’m going to stop working and stay home with her and Andrew. I’m nervous about stepping away from a field that I care about so much, but I’m also excited about the opportunity to spend a lot of time with our little ones.
I hope all is well in your lives, and I want to offer my sincere thanks for all the caring we have received this year. I feel really lucky. On behalf of Bryan, Andrew, and myself, Merry Christmas, and best wishes for a new year that holds many wonderful surprises!
Ahh vacation!
Dec. 23: We are happily settled in at Bryan’s parent’s house in
Texas. We flew down on Friday, and Andrew did a really great job. It was his first flight in his own seat, and he was so excited about seeing Granny Lu and Grandad in TEXAS. It’s neat to see him getting to a point where he remembers things and can hold onto a thought for a longer period of time. Here in College Station, the sun in shining, and the last couple days have seen temperatures in the 60s or even 70s. Lovely.
I’m getting to wear some of the nice summer maternity shirts that people lent me, and Andrew had had ample opportunities for backyard play. Yesterday, LuAnn and Melanie and I left Andrew with the guys and we took the afternoon for some girls time out. Did a little last-minute shopping and had a fun time being together.
It feels really good to be “on vacation” after the last month of fun (but very busy) activity. I’m relishing the feeling of switching gears from the go-go-go of holiday parties and Christmas preparation to a lower-key, just hanging out kind of lifestyle. We had a family poker night last night, which is always a lot of fun. Plus with “Christmas Edition Poker,” all players ended the night with a gift card. Fun surprises at
Christmas time:)
It’s hard to believe we still have two days until Christmas. The way the holiday fell this year means that we get to see Ben and Melanie for much longer than normal. They drove down from Dallas on Friday night, and they don’t need to leave until Wednesday, so our time together is quite extended. It’s a great treat:)
Andrew is enjoying putting puzzles together with his Granny Lu this morning. He’s so excited to be here:) Hope all your Christmas preparations are fun!
~Althea
This baby is getting big!
Dec. 20: My friend Julia just had a baby girl on Tuesday this week. Little Eleanore Faith. She had her (first) baby three and a half weeks early! Makes me a little nervous, because if I did the same thing, I’d have this little miss in the second week of January. I think she should keep cooking until early February:)
I continue to feel mostly symptom-free this pregnancy. My hips are starting to ache once in a while as they stretch, and this little peanut is getting bigger and less and less movable. Makes it harder to bend and twist, and her movements are getting increasingly, er, notable! We’re looking forward to showing my big belly to Bryan’s family this weekend.
Oh, and I have a cute story to share. I got home from a weekend trip to DC late on Sunday. On Monday morning, Andrew climbed in bed with me, and after cuddling for a moment, he noticed my belly. I think he was a bit startled by it, and he reached under the covers, put his hand on my belly, and said, “Baby sister too! I feel her!”
BabyCenter Week 33 update
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He’s rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren’t fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.)
These bones don’t entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.
and looking back,
BabyCenter Week 32 Update:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she’ll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.
Morning musings
Dec. 20: I’m up early this morning. I think it’s a combo of being excited about Joe coming home today and having that pre-trip adrenalin that always gets me excited and my mind working in overdrive. I think that having the living room light work Andrew up, because although it’s only 5:50, he just joined me in the living room.
His train that is set up in our living room just traveled, “over the bridge and over the dam. berries for jam!” Now he’s on to puzzles.
Bryan and I opened some of our Christmas presents to each other last night.
I got him all sorts of practical (read somewhat boring) warm things like socks and a hat and gloves. I am currently using the new computer gadget that he got for me…a much-needed external hard drive. Our laptop’s memory is nearly maxed out, so I have been in near-dire need of more computer storage space! I’m currently backing up all 75 GB of pictures and video. It’ll also be a relief to have all of it stored in a second space in case of disaster:)
Our December has been a fun and busy month! Last weekend, I traveled to Washington DC to spend the weekend with my good friends from high school, Heather, Anne, and Kacy.
We had a lovely time being together and catching up and eating lots of good food. Bryan was my hero , and (for the third time this fall) watched Andrew solo for the weekend so I could go have fun and reconnect with friends.
We drove down to Janesville last night to visit Mum and to take her out to see the Christmas lights. For some reason, it was a foggy night, but the snow was beautiful, and the lit-up houses twinkled. Mum seemed to be doing pretty well, which is always nice to see.
My dad is celebrating a big birthday this year, but with all that is going on with his mom’s broken hip, it’s been a really busy time for him. We’re planning on getting together for dinner this evening at our house. Aunt Julie and Uncle Kevin might be joining us too!
I have felt like between travels and all the fun parties we’ve been gallivanting to this month that I’m barely able to get to all the holiday preparations that call to me. So last night after getting back from Janesville, Bryan and I buckled down. He wrapped presents while I finished up Christmas cards. At this point, I think I’m content with either being done with some holiday prep or just not doing it before we leave for Texas. Feels good to be able to set my lists aside! Oh, except Michael’s present. I still need to get Michael his present.
hmmm
That’s the update for now!
~Althea
Broken hip
Dec. 13: When I talked to my dad last night, he said that Grandma was scheduled to be in the hospital for about three days and then would be in rehab at a nursing home for about three weeks. If she’s able to get her mobility back, that would put her back home around January 5…but I imagine that it’s going to be a long road for my poor grandma. Her osteoporosis is really advanced, and her bones are so frail that they think that her hip may have broken while she was walking and caused her to fall rather than the fall causing the break. Old age is not for the faint of heart!
Speaking of old age, Grandma told me about the poem “When I am old, I shall wear purple” about 15 years ago. She got a really big kick out of it, and it makes me laugh because Grandma is so conscientious and quiet and reserved that the idea of her letting loose and “eating three pounds of sausage at a go” is just ridiculous!
3:30 pm update: Grandma’s operation was successful, and she will be in recovery for about an hour.
Dec. 12: I just got a note from my dad this morning telling us that my grandma (his mom) fell in her kitchen last night while answering the back door.
She was taken by EMS to the Monroe Hospital. ER X-rays indicated that Grandma broke her hip. The break occurred at the “neck” of the femur and requires hip replacement surgery (replacing the ball of the hip), which is happening today.
My poor, sweet grandma!
She’s the size of four oranges (3.3 lbs)
Dec. 7: I can’t believe I’m at 31 weeks! This pregnancy continues to chug along merrily. I just keep getting
bigger, but I like my round belly, and the baby is super
active…especially when I lay down to sleep at night! I think I’m
carrying this one quite a bit lower than I did with Andrew. Could be because of the gender difference. Could also be somewhat related to my general abdominal tone (I was going to the gym several days a week up until about this time with Andrew. The last time I regularly went to the gym was…when I was about seven months pregnant with Andrew:)
I’ve been feeling a little less starved in the last couple weeks. I do, however, eat very regular meals. Last weekend I was having some painless belly contracting and some lower back pain, which was slightly worrying. My midwives suggested taking it easy until I felt back to normal, so I just spent most of the weekend in my pjs, and Bryan did all the shoveling, Christmas decoration-box-carrying, and general household
manual labor. I read the book Who’s that Knocking on Christmas Eve to Andrew about 35 times. Good thing I really like that story:)
After a couple days of sitting at work, whatever physical shifts that were causing the symptoms had worked their way out, and I’m now back to my happy, nearly symptom-free pregnancy. (Aside from the hunger and the big belly.) I’m at 31 weeks today. Crazy! We’re in the final trimester:)
Week 29 Update:
Your baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)
Week 31 Update:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He’s probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby’s kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.
Currently eating…bakers chocolate
Dec. 7: There are shavings of chocolate all over my face and protruding belly.
Andrew went down for his nap, and I found myself feeling a) pretty worn out and b) in definite need of some chocolate. So I checked my stashes.
- Chocolate chips – nope.
- Chocolate ice cream – out.
- Bag of peanut M&M’s left over from Halloween – nada.
Feeling a bit panicky, I started digging in my baking drawer. Nuts, almond paste, sweetened condensed milk. Then, ah-ha! Baker’s bittersweet chocolate. That should be edible. It’s old enough that it had a slightly whitish waxy look, but biting into it, it gave me the coca fix that I was craving.
Some set of internal chemicals have been happily set to rights, and I can now enjoy the next hour (?) of Andrew’s nap in a blissful, chocolat-ified state.
Winter Wonderland
Dec. 5: It is just beautiful outside this morning. Snow is piled on on every corner. The sky is bright blue, the air is crisp, and the slow is pure white. Makes me want to walk around with my camera and take some photos as the sun was coming up.
The world feels festive and December-y.
After putting something like 20 hours into upgrading the gallery component of my website, it’s still not working consistently. So I think I’m going to take a break and send Christmas cards and bake Christmas treats. I did attempt to make fudge last night. Let’s just say the brown mass that I can barely cut through isn’t quite fudge.
But it still tastes alright:)
Happy winter!
Upgrading the gallery
1 am update: I’ve installed Gallery2 and migrated all the photos. I even got it mostly working with Mambo. But there remain some pretty serious problems. However, as it is 1 am, I need to stop. Andrew has gotten out of bed in a falling/sleepwalking way tonight. Very odd.
Nov. 30: Andrew is currently not taking a nap. He’s in his bed, banging on the wall occasionally. hmmm
While he is not-napping, I thought that I would try to work on the website upgrade I have planned. One unexpected issue is that downloading my huge-beyond-belief gallery is taking over an hour. So I tried messing with my website templates while I waited. The Christmas one I am using is somewhat horrible, but I think I like the seasonal-ness enough to use it.
If you end up having problems viewing photos in the next couple days, it’s probably because of the work I’m doing. Hope you’re having a good day!
~Althea