ultrasound

Countdown:
T-minus 170 Days to Julie’s due date…

Babies A & B, as we are affectionately calling them, are doing great! Julie is now 15 weeks and 5 days along and getting bigger daily. I caught her on her new glider in front of the fireplace the other day looking very much like a pregnant woman… laying back, belly pooching out, rocking back-and-forth! She’s in that in-between stage where her clothes don’t fit, but she still doesn’t fill out maternity clothes, so she’s trying to make do. Right now she’s wearing some of my old pajamas because they have a nice big stretchy elastic waist. So far she has gained six pounds and is right on track! She still burps like a crazy woman (in fact, if you have ever seen the movie Elf, try to remember the burp Will Farrell let rip after downing a 2 liter bottle of Coke… that’s what I hear regularly! Ok ok, not really that disgusting, but she is miserable with the indigestion, and I’m pretty amused with the burping… and very thankful its not coming out the other end! Julie’s appetite is getting better, at least enough that she felt like baking cookies yesterday evening for our new neighbors down the street who were having a lot of “fun” moving into their new house with the temperature around 15 degrees and a snowstorm brewing. At one point we were projected to get up to 21 inches of snow in greater Kansas City, but by the time it was all said and done, we didn’t even get a flurry up here in Platte City just 20 miles or so from downtown. To the south and east there were large accumulations, up to 18 inches in some places! Interstate 70 was closed for a 65 mile stretch from Kansas City to the east, and there were more than 100 abandoned vehicles on the freeways in town! Not 15 miles south from our house they got 4-6 inches and we didn’t even see a flurry, nope, not a one. I think we are the only two people above the age of 13 praying for snow!Anyway, back to the important stuff, the babies… Yesterday, Julie had her first official OB doctor visit and ultrasound here in Missouri. Let me tell you, the babies put on a show for us! At least one did… Baby B was awake and active, jumping around and having a good ole time in there. Baby A was curled up in the fetal position (imagine that!) and probably annoyed with Baby B’s antics. Both babies measure up perfectly to 15 1/2 weeks, just where they should be, and both hearts are beating great, music to our ears! Since Baby A was snuggled up underneath B, and seemingly napping while B was hamming it up for the ultrasound, we don’t have any cute mug shots of A… yet. Another ultrasound in three weeks will give Baby A an opportunity in front of the camera. In fact, we should be able to tell if they are boys or girls then too! For now, here are the best of the photos from the ultrasound visit. In case you were wondering, the one picture of both A & B together is the tops of both their heads. Don’t forget you can click on the pictures for bigger versions.

Now for a couple of brief notes on other stuff… Our house is wonderful! We are enjoying it immensely. I personally am enjoying being a home owner with all that it entails. Of course it will be awhile before I get to mow the grass, but I did spend a few days staining/waterproofing the deck. Julie loves the kitchen and we had a good time cooking Thanksgiving dinner for just the two/four of us. (next year there really will be four of us!!) Even though we didn’t get any snow yesterday, we got quite a bit of freezing rain and ice a couple of days ago, enough to make the roads glare ice for a couple of days. Our Jeep was wonderful in 4wheel drive and I finally got the slick summer Hawaii tires on the car replaced today with a nice set of winter tires so Julie can drive to work safely and in something more comfortable than the bouncy ole Jeep. We still need to get some interior decorating done like window coverings and wall hangings, but the house is coming together really nicely. We couldn’t be happier with everything. Oh yeah, Julie starts seeing patients bright and early Monday morning and I’ll put some finishing touches on the house before seriously starting the job hunt. Vacation’s over!!!

And last but not least, here are a couple of pictures of our house inside… Click the picture for a small gallery. We promise more pictures soon, including belly shots!

Love to all,

Roland & Julie