Still cooking...

Vera's birthday marked week number 28.  Around that same time, I went for my second 1 hour glucose screen of this pregnancy.  Dr. Bachman implied that I am at a high-risk for gestational diabetes when I was under her care at the beginning of this pregnancy.  Because I failed the 1 hour screen with Vera, her birth weight was so large, and I have a family history of large babies, she wanted me to do a screen at the very beginning of my pregnancy and then another around the standard 28 weeks.  I had a lot of anxiety about the test because I absolutely did not want to fail and have to go for a 3 hour screen.  I'm happy to report that my blood sugar came back at 98, which is fairly low.  Dr. Train said she likes for pregnant women to have their levels below 135.  What a relief to make it past that hurdle!  Dr. Train says my next hurdle is delivery.  I say the next hurdle is the Group B Strep test.  The hurdle after that is making sure baby is in the right position for delivery.  Then, delivery will be the final hurdle.

At my doctor's appointments within the last 2 months, I'm measured right on schedule.  Blood pressure is very good, and at my appointment in March, I had only gained 11 pounds, which Dr. Train also commended.  She told me that I wouldn't gain as much weight as what I did with Vera.  I asked her if I could have that in writing.  The baby's heartbeat is right around 150-160 consistently, which is about what it was with Vera.  

28 weeks 0 days.  Vera's 3rd birthday

And on Easter Sunday I hit the 30 week milestone.  (Picture to come soon!)  Although overall I'm doing well, I must say that the true aches and pains of pregnancy have reared their ugly head.  The lower back pain has been a nagging ail.  My hips have not been right since I gave birth to Vera, so that pain is escalating as I grow.  It's starting to get more difficult to sleep comfortably.  My legs started cramping at night about 6 weeks ago, just like they did with Vera.  Adam says that I am totally different with this pregnancy than I was with Vera.  He says everything seems to be a struggle for me lately.  I will admit that I am more tired, sore, and slow-moving than I was before.  I attribute a lot of that to having a 3 year-old to care for during this pregnancy that I didn't have with the last.  Though I love her to pieces, it goes without saying that she requires a lot of energy and time on a daily basis. Life is busier now...and about to get busier!

I have had such a hard time staying away from sweets, especially in this third trimester.  I could eat ice cream daily.  Cookies, cake and candy could serve as meals for me.  I've really been trying to keep it in-check.  Some days I do well, and other days are epic fails when it comes to sweets!  I must say that all of the Easter candy and sweet treats at family parties haven't helped.

If this baby is born anytime soon, it shall be nameless.  Adam and I cannot come up with a name that we agree on.  He has many suggestions and so do I, but very few that we both approve.  Within the last week, we both feel good about a girl's name that we like.  I think naming a child is so very difficult.  I want something reasonable, easy to spell and pronounce, but also unique and un-popular.  One of these days a solid boy's name will come to us...let's hope. 

I feel like I'm carrying this baby a little lower than I remember with Vera.  My shirts already feel like they aren't long enough.  We compared pictures from my pregnancy tonight.  I asked Adam if I looked the same.  His immediate response was that my hair was shorter then.  Thanks Adam, but I was really asking about the baby belly.  Then he commented that I look about the same then and now.

Though we're anxious to meet the newest member of our family, keep cooking a while longer, little one!

Meet Sparky

Right after Vera's birthday, another new swing came in the mail for us to add to her swing set. 

Meet Sparky the horse.  From the first minutes Vera started swinging, she decided that this was her horse and without hesitation, she named him Sparky.  Sparky is Sheriff Callie's horse on one of her favorite cartoons.  She has a song that she sings (from the cartoon) while she rides, and usually while we swing we have to stop and feed Sparky some apples or carrots. 

When it was time to come inside for the first time after we hung Sparky, Vera wanted to take the swing down and put it inside because she didn't think Sparky could hang outside all night in the dark and cold.  Adam coaxed her into leaving it outside, so she gave him a hug and kiss before heading in the house for the night instead. 

Since then, Sparky is a huge hit.  When she rides, she almost always says she needs a hat (to resemble a true cowgirl.) 

Vera also has her new green swing, which is named Clementine.  Clementine is Deputy Peck's horse on the same cartoon.  Clementine is a good horse, but not nearly as faithful and fun as Sparky.

A "New" Swing Set

Shortly before Easter, Adam had the idea to revamp Vera's swing set to make it a little bigger and nicer.  It's in desperate need of repainting and/or restaining, so we figured this would be a good time to do some work to it.  I have to say that I had a hard time visualizing Adam's plan, but he did an awesome job, and it turned out so well!  He worked hard over Easter weekend to get the construction all done.  Vera loves her new swing set, and I'm certain that it will provide hours and years of fun for Vera!  Now we just need some warm and dry weather to get it all sanded and stained.

Vera spent lots of time outside "helping" with the project.

I loved how she waited and watched patiently until it was finished.  She just couldn't wait for the steps to be done.

And when dad gave her the green light, she excitedly climbed to the top.

My favorite picture.

The finished project. 

The telescope (in Vera's words the otoscope) helps watch for pirates, crocodiles, and other intruders.

Vera thinks it's so cool to climb the stairs.  The "special effects" in the background are courtesy of the trash-burner.

Mom and Vera's shadow play.

And the steering wheel to drive the ship is also plenty of fun.

Happy Easter!

We've had a busy month celebrating Vera's birthday and running around to our many Easter parties.  It was fun to see everyone, and enjoy some nice weather outside. 

We started our Easter celebrations a week before.  My mom had a small gathering to celebrate Easter and Vera's birthday on a Friday evening.  This was the first of 4 egg hunts for Vera.  She knew exactly what to do. 

An Easter basket that belonged to one of Vera's aunts or uncles from circa 1985.

Vera showing Papaw all of her eggs.  Papaw showed her what was inside the eggs...

...and both kids immediately started chowing down on the sweets.  Vera was also excited to discover some coins for her piggy bank inside the eggs.

Grandma and Aunt Karen had some birthday surprises for Vera.

2 new board games from Grandma and Grandpa!

And a bubble gun and some cute clothes from godmother Karen.

Then grandma brought out these huge Easter basket surprises for the two little ones.  As you can see, they were filled with lots of awesome surprises.

Mandy and Jeff weren't too sure about Blake having his own bat and ball.  Everyone else thought it was pretty cute.  Blake, of course, loved it and knew just what to do with it.

They both had these pinwheels in their baskets.  Vera was so excited about this.  She calls it a windmill.

There were also bubbles, candy, a bucket, glow sticks, and lots of other cool things that I can't remember.

On Palm Sunday, we traveled to Loramie to get together with the Bertke Family.  It was nice to see everyone, and Vera enjoyed another small egg hunt with Blake.  I had to snatch these pics from my mom because I didn't take any. 

Mark took a special interest in Vera and played with her a lot.  She loved it--especially when it came to using all 6' 4" of him to help with finding eggs in high places.

On Holy Saturday, I took Vera to the egg hunt in town.  She found 16 eggs filled with 10 cents each.  She was happy to fill her piggy bank with 16 more coins.

Vera was so excited to run into her buddy "Kar-yee."  I can't believe that these girls remember each other.  Karly and Vera haven't played together at Patty's house in nearly a year!

Instead of running straight, Vera ran in a diagonal line and I had trouble taking pictures among her zig-zagging through other 3 & 4 year-olds.

But she was in a hurry to get as many eggs as she could!

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day.  Easter Bunny stopped by our house while we were sleeping.  Vera woke to find eggs scattered around our living room (another egg hunt?) and a table filled with surprises.

Easter Bunny brought our first pet, a Beta fish.  Vera decided to name her Ruby.  He also brought bubbles, (They don't last long around here!) and two sets of cool "hair prettys."

The 8am candy-eating led to a sugar-high at church a few hours later.

After church, we went to Mike and Rosie's for our final Easter party and egg hunt. 

Grammy and Papa gave the girls baskets filled with more treats.  Among the nice gifts was an outfit, candy, sidewalk chalk, a bat and ball, and a wind-up chicken that laid jelly beans. 

Inside the eggs were "doyers" for the piggy bank too.

The wind-up chicken was definitely a hit for Vera.

Grammy's egg hunt had rules.  Here she is telling them all about it.

Vera's task was to only find yellow and green eggs.  Bailey was only allowed to collect the pink and purple ones.

 

As we suspected, there were more treats inside the eggs.  Fruit snacks and money.

On Easter evening, after some house chores and a nap for Vera, we decided to color eggs.  Vera didn't really understand what we were going to do.  Adam did a good job explaining it to her, and she watched very carefully as we set everything up.  We really enjoyed her excitement as she watched the eggs change color.

When the eggs were dry, we decorated them with sticker faces.  Vera had fun picking funny faces for the eggs.

The final product turned out well.  The eggs didn't last long--Vera loves hard-boiled eggs.

We had a very blessed Easter.  Vera and her dad enjoyed lots of quality time together while he was off work.  It was so nice to enjoy family time and wonderful weather!