Monday, February 25, 2008

Grussing Guessing Game

To make the baby's arrival a little more fun, we like to play a little thing called the Grussing Guessing Game. Essentially, you log into a website (see links below) and enter your best guesses about how big this kid will be and when he/she might get here. We hope you'll all play along with us!

To participate, go to: http://www.expectnet.com/games/GrussingGuessingGame or go to http://www.blogger.com/www.ExpectNet.com and enter GrussingGuessingGame as the game name in the space indicated on the home page.

For those of you who might be interested in some helpful hints with your guessing, here are some real facts along with some bits of information you might find useful:

- Both our kids are boys so think about the odds (wink!)
- I experienced no morning sickness this time around, the same with both boys
- Ethan was born 10 days early
- Graeme was born 5 days early
- My belly is shaped more like a beach ball than a watermelon
- Both boys weighed in at around 7 pounds; one was slightly longer than the other
- Third babies may or may not come out larger than previous kids
- I love eating salty, sour, and spicy foods, but have been wanting dessert lately
- The "cork" trick says I'm having a girl (but it said that for Graeme, too, at first)
- Heart rate has been consistently over 150BPM
- When asked if we were having a girl, the Magic 8 Ball said, "Yes, definitely"
- Oh, and I have bad gas - hahahahaha!

Ah, the suspense of not knowing! Life IS wonderful! Happy Monday everyone!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Graeme's Pledge

So, when was the last time you recited the Pledge of Allegiance? You know you need a refresher course on the verbiage - admit it. Here's Graeme's version and we find it to be one of the best we've ever heard. And, no, we're not biased and I'm offended that you would even suggest that! ;)

Some current baby facts

1. Baby weighs about 2.5 pounds
2. Baby is about 14.8 inches in length
3. Baby can blink eyes that now have lashes
4. With his/her eyesight improving, the baby may may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb(at)
5. Baby kinda sorta looks like this:


This image's labels kinda crack me up. The most informative ones, in particular, are (i) the one pointing to the "eye" (because I would NEVER have distinguished that from a toe or an ear) and (ii) the one pointing to the baby's shoulder and labeling it as "fat." Um, okay... I guess there is more to babies than I ever knew!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Baby Photos

Here are the last photos of the new baby, taken last December 26th. We brought both boys to the ultrasound and it was a mixed bag, with Ethan asking a thousand questions and Graeme actually falling asleep in Rodney's arms. We were all so excited to be watching the little one, though. Ethan said that it was really hard to keep looking away and not peek when we might have seen what sex the baby is. :o)

The photos above show a leg, a face, a hand, and the full profile. You can click on the photo to see it in a larger view, of course.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

84 Days and Counting Down...

Saw the doctor yesterday to check on the next Grussing spawn. Heartrate is a fast 153 and the baby was sitting upside down when I was in there. Yes, butt up in the air so you know he/she will fit right in when he's/she's finally out with the rest of us crazies. It's amazing how Dr. Beretta can feel around and tell exactly where all the body parts are. I wish I could do it so I could tell if this baby was kicking me or punching me or just giving me a shoulder heave.

For those who are interested, at this point, the average baby this age is nearly 2 pounds and about 14.4 inches long, head to toe. The baby now sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. Waking time seems to coincide with mommy's sleep times, but I digress... The baby's lungs are still immature, but would be capable of functioning - with assistance - if he/she were born now. Amazing, huh? Lately, too, I've been feeling "rhythmic movements" and just discovered that they are likely due to the baby hiccuping. Lay off the amniotic fluid, kiddo!

This Saturday marks the start of Week 29 so we are really into the third trimester now - the final stretch. Instead of going to see the OB every 4 weeks, I have graduated to going every two weeks, which is cool. I love these little milestones!

In our house, there is a split right down the middle when it comes to internal voting on the boy vs. girl question. Rodney and Ethan believe we're having a girl. Graeme and I still feel like there's a boy in there. It is so great having this as a surprise - now we can debate about it all the way til birth day. Then, when the baby is born, there will be so much excitement like there was when Graeme came out showing off his gigantic testicular parts.

We'll run a Grussing Guessing Game like we did last time just for fun so watch out for that. As for names, we are still considering DingBang if he's a boy and PomPom Anemone if she's a girl. Hahahaha!

The next ultrasound probably won't be until right before the due date (D-day = May 10) so I'll update with ultrasound photos from last Christmas as soon as I can get those scanned in. We are lazy about scanning in our neck of the woods so don't hold your breath. Hahahahaha!

By the way, Happy Heart Day everyone!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The First Note

Thanks to the Rists, I discovered a place to actually be able to blog for free - hurrah!!! We'll hopefully use this spot to update family, especially those who are not close by about all the stuff we are up to in our neck of the woods. Stay tuned...