Our First Harvest

A year or so ago I bought a Meyer lemon tree. After almost killing it last winter, it has come back spectacularly and produced our first lemon!!

St. Louis Wrap Up

We spent last week in St. Louis, enjoying a belated Christmas celebration with the folks there. It was freezing cold, and we got to see a bit of snow, but it was wonderful to see everyone. My family spoiled Kendra rotten with gifts. She had so much fun opening them. She was kind enough to open most of mine as well. She knows that Kendra starts with "K," so naturally, any present with a tag starting with K was hers. I had a hard time figuring out who the presents came from as my darling daughter enthusiastically shredded paper. Being my little OCD girl, she also picked up all the paper and threw it away. It was really cute.

We celebrated my dad's 64th birthday with Dan's famous homemade pizza and some of my (with Alton Brown's help) famous apple pie. Dad really enjoyed having us there. Kendra was happy to make sure all his presents were correctly opened. :)

Seeing all our friends again was fabulous. It was amazing to see how everyone's babies have grown into full fledged toddlers. Their personalities are really coming through, and they are so much fun to play with/watch/listen to. Of course, now we are starting with round two. One friend even had her baby while we were there!

Tomorrow is our big ultrasound - the halfway point! So far, so good. This baby is riding really high, so I look more pregnant now than I did the day I gave birth to Kendra. I also get really winded because my lungs are compressed, and can't eat much at any given time because my stomach is small too.

18 Weeks

And all is well! This little bugger is riding very, very high. S/he's compressing my lungs and stomach something fierce, but is no where near my bladder. It's a nice change, actually :) My blood pressure is perfect, and has remained stable for every check I've had - which is really great news. There was some protein showing today, so I have to run back in on Friday for another check. It could be a bladder infection or a fluke reading. Since high protein is symptomatic of pre-eclampsia it will bear watching, but is of no real concern at this point.

In Kendra news, we have been working on potty training. She did it perfectly this weekend. Not a single accident and really seemed to "get" the whole idea. Until last night. We think she was a bit stuffy in the intestines, and kept saying it hurt. I suspect it scared her and today she wanted NOTHING to do with the potty. We had nothing but accidents :(

I ran to Goodwill and bought half a dozen dresses for her hoping the problem was pants and the up/down issue, but it didn't seem to help. I just now convinced her to try again, and it was met with success. Maybe this will be another breakthrough. (I'm bribing her with M&Ms). In the meantime I've had to scrub the floors, several times, and steam clean the couch.

This growing up thing is rough.

Christmas Wrap Up

Christmas here was a very quiet affair...well, as quiet as it gets with a manic, tired, cranky and overstimulated 2 year old. We opened gifts with Dan's parents via Skype. I love technology! It was nice to share a special time with them, despite being 2300 miles away.

After breakfast (a yummy strata made by Dan), Kendra was sent to her room to calm down. This was repeated after a plowman's plate lunch of gourmet cheeses, crackers, apples and orange slices. She finally took a nap, and woke up in a much better mood.

Dan and I played the Wii game he gave me - Harry Potter the First 4 Years. It was fun to sit and play a game. It's something we don't get a chance to do very often.

Kendra enjoyed her toys, and it's hard to say what her favorite is. (Here are some Christmas pictures...) She got a fun racetrack for cars, a cleaning cart full of "just like mom" stuff (broom, dustpan, little vacuum), a Cabbage Patch baby, a toddler play cell phone, some sticker books, a Crayola color wonder book and markers, some bathtub crayons and a small bag of M&MS. We didn't want to go too crazy with gifts, and I think we did ok. Dan bought me some nice shoes and a beautiful pair of earrings. I gave him some clothes and a hot pepper grower. We also gave each other the Google Revue and a camcorder.

It was a nice, quiet Christmas. I missed being at my grandma's, but I didn't miss the stress of traveling at the holidays.

The only mar on a great day was Mickey-dog seems to have had a type of doggie stroke. He can't walk, and didn't eat or drink for 36 hours. He finally ate a bit today, and Dan took him out to potty. We'll try for an emergency run to the vet in the morning to see what to do. He is making improvements, but it will come down to a quality of life issue.

Merry Christmas

First Baby Gift

We received our first gift for Gummy Bear last night! Dan's parents sent a box of Christmas gifts, and included an adorable yellow sleep sack for the new baby. They are such sweet and wonderful people.

Sunday I hosted a cookie exchange. It was a success, and we ended up with several dozen deliciously scrumtastic cookies! I parceled them out to freezer bags, and we will now have homemade cookies all through the holiday season that I don't have to make!

Monday we were all down with various ailments. Kendra had an ear infection most of last week, and I figured I'd just let it run it's course or take her to the doctor if it got markedly worse. By Monday she had a 101 fever and was miserable, so off we went. She's on antibiotics now, and feeling 100% better. (As an aside - how cool are the new flavors you can add? She takes her meds with absolutely no complaint. She loves the raspberry flavor!) Dan had what seems to have been some sort of 24 hour stomach bug. He was pretty miserable though, and even stayed home from work. I started feeling bad last night, and today have what is shaping up to be a miserable cold.

Did I mention we leave for Canada on Friday? We are heading to the Vancouver area to celebrate my birthday. Here's hoping we're all feeling better by then!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas