Crafting!

My mom and I went to the fabric store yesterday to get stuff to make more productive use of my relaxing-at-home-time. Found a pattern for a great-looking dress (with pockets!) and one for a baby carrier.

I had a minor progesterone-fueled meltdown when I sewed an entire section with the wrong side out, but, with Grandma C's help, it all ended well.
Stefin left Wednesday after adventuring around the NW a bit. He got to see some of my old haunts and we explored some new sights together. Highlights included spending two nights and a day working at Bullock's Permaculture Homestead on Orcas Island, and a night camping at Larrabee with my sister, and s'mores that incorporated Resse's Peanut Butter Cups instead of plain old chocolate. We also celebrated my mom's birthday, and perused old home movies and photographs (many of which represent me as a small Asian child). It was fun to get to share some slices of my childhood with the man I get to raise a child with. It's been two days of our three weeks apart and I already miss him like mad. I know: gross. But it's true.

I'm 32 and a half inches around now- and the fruit of my womb is allegedly the size of an ORANGE this week! In two-to-five weeks I should be able to feel it dancing and squirming. I can't wait.

How We Told The Roomies

The Dauphine house has long had a tradition of having "family dinners" on Monday nights. A few weeks ago we used the occasion to suggest a game. Oh, how about you guys figure out these pictionary-type cards that we happened to have all drawn up? And then you figure out what order they go in to make a logical sentence.

It was great.

My favorite was how many folks got stuck on the bay. "Stefin and Carrie are having an inlet?"

Almost...

-c

13 Weeks and All's Well

We had our second doc appointment today. It was short and sweet- no ultra sound this time (by the way, those machines look quite like something that should be on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise); instead she just used a little microphone and speaker that looked like an old radio/walkie-talkie so we could hear Baby's heartbeat. Badoom-badoom-badoom, with some stomach-static for good measure.

Everything looks and sounds good. I was four pounds lighter this time than last, so I didn't feel at all bad about having ice cream again after dinner. Creole Creamery is New Orleans' Mallard- my favorite flavor lately is Cilantro Lime. Wow.

I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get another "photo" of the little gambita (it has progressed in recent weeks from fig-sized to lime-sized to that of a "medium shrimp"), because there have been tons of changes since our last visit. According to the books and internet sites I've been reading, Lil' B has reflexes, its eyes are getting closer to their right spots, and its body is catching up in proportion to its head. Big developments this week: fingerprints and eyelashes!

Here are the pics from our first doctor visit- when Lil' B really was just a little bean. Of the lima variety.


Stefin is leaving for Virginia for a week, and we'll both be in WA in 2.

It is exciting to be us.

-Carrie

Didn't get enough the first time?

...watch it again and again. The one and only "Lime and Coconut."

Stefin and Carrie Are Having A Baby!

It's true. It's been sitting now in my belly for 12 and a half weeks. So we're happy to be able to start spreading the news.

Answers to FAQs:
Baby is due in December. The 12th is the best-guess for now.
We were initially quite surprised, but we are overwhelmingly excited.
I'm feeling fine now. More tired than pre-pregnancy (I'll never turn down a nap), but nothing like the exhaustion of month two. We found out about the little apple of our eyes at just after six weeks... And I spent the next couple napping during my planning period at work, and then again as soon as I got home. Also, the random bouts of nausea have pretty much passed, and only a few scents (tobacco, crawfish...) really send my tummy into a tizzy.
Stefin is doing great. He's been reading up on "The Thinking Woman's Guide to Better Birth," that Tara sent us in the mail. He is unquestionably going to be a fantastic father.

Both our families have been wonderfully supportive and excited. What follows is my parents' initial reaction:

Me: You guys should come down to visit in December.
Mom: Oh yeah? Would that be a good time? What's happening in December?
Me: Well, I might be giving birth to a child.
Mom: CAAAA-RRRRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh!!! (Gasps) My house is all set up now to host a couple with a child!!
Dad: Wow! That's great! Embryology was one of my favorite subjects in college.

I am an inch rounder than I was when we found out- but it's barely anything if you don't know what you are looking for. I see these other women around with big bulging round bellies and think, "Whoa- I'm going to get that much bigger in just 6 months?" But I'm eager to start showing. I'm thinking about this little one the majority of every day, and I would like to have something more to rest my hands upon.

Real-life adventure, here we come!

-Carrie