3-D/4-D Ultrasound

Well, these are going to be old pictures to some of you. John posted them on Facebook the other day. So this post is for those of you with no access (or who can't remember their passwords ;) ) to Facebook.

We went to a place in Bellevue to have this ultrasound done. They don't get into the diagnostic side, so I was disappointed that she wouldn't tell me how much he weighed and if my due date had changed at all. Oh, well... guess we'll find out soon enough.

Having Noelle with us made this a very different experience than when we had this done with her. We were amazed to find that the baby responds to her voice. She stood beside me and his head turned whenever she spoke to him. It was the sweetest thing!

Twice, during the procedure, he brought his foot up to his mouth and sucked on his toes. So cute!

I'm so glad we got this early chance to meet our little guy. It makes me that much more anxious to meet him in person. (Geez, tearing up like a fool right now...)

He had the umbilical cord right over his nose for the longest time. We had to capture good pictures as quickly as possible.

The technician thought he looked just like Noelle. That's the best compliment we could receive.

I thought this profile shot was very sweet.

This is John's favorite photo. Baby is on his knees with his butt up in the air. Uh... proud father moment I guess. I can't really relate. ;)

More Noelleisms

Well, it's getting closer to the birth of the baby and I'm sure I will be updating the blog with an overabundance of baby pictures. I wanted to get in a Noelle-centric post before then.

She is having a ball with this pregnancy. She sings to my belly and reads books to her little brother. She giggles hysterically when the baby kicks at her hand. The other day she was talking to him, asking if he could hear her. I said he could. Then she started tickling my belly. I asked what she was doing and she said "He can feel me tickle him, right? I'm tickling his little feet." If he's being quiet (which I am normally grateful for) she goes "Let's wake him up!" Gotta nip *that* one in the bud right now!

Last night I was heading to bed and Noelle was still awake. She called me into her room and asked when she was going to lose a tooth. I told her probably not for another two or three years. She frowned and folded her arms over her chest. "But I want to lose a tooth now!" Our little princess... so anxious to grow up. :(

And here are a few Noelleisms that I promised:

A head ick - a headache.

"Mommy, I just stumped my toe."

When entering a parking garage in the minivan - "Ah! Daddy, tell the car to dunk!"

Breakstast - modified from 'breastest' (can't wait to tease her about that one when she gets older) : meaning breakfast

Upcoming post:
We have a 4-D ultrasound on Thursday. Should get some very clear pictures of Gabriel to be able to scan in. Sure can't wait to meet our little guy!

First Day of Preschool

Our baby is growing up! Believe it or not, we got through the morning with no tears (from either Noelle or myself). She was super excited to go to school.

The teachers were amazed that the day went so smoothly. Usually someone has a meltdown and they said this was the first year that all the kids were calm.

Noelle's teacher noted that she stayed behind and was an extra help cleaning up all the toys in the playroom. Figures. She won't do that at home.

Her two favorite things to mention: snack time and outdoor time.

Oh, and later that afternoon she lined up all her teddy bears and she was the teacher - organizing circle time and teaching her bears the two new songs she had learned at school. She read to them for a long time, too. So cute!

I'm so happy that she's really enjoying herself. With the baby coming, it's good that Noelle has something major in her life that is just for her. Lots of new friends and new experiences. Yay!

"Mommy, I did it all by myself!" Noelle in her upside down sweater, all ready for school.

Don't let the pink rain boots fool you... it was an absolutely beautiful sunny day. Noelle thought they matched her outfit best, was all.

Class is held in a modular classroom while they work on new classrooms in the main building. It's brand new and very cute inside.

Noelle and Lilly, very excited to get inside and start their first day of preschool.

We were barely in the door before she'd scoped out a spot at the coloring table and got busy on her first art project. I got the bum's rush out the door right after this.

Evergreen State Fair

We had a beautiful day for the fair, yesterday. Though we are dogsitting Mr. Titus, we left the doggies home to entertain each other and enjoyed a few hours out.

Noelle loved the petting corral and the kiddie rides - though she ogled the big kid rides and conned Daddy into taking her on a couple of those.

Daddy loved that there was a cat exhibit and we were just in time for the costume contest. He voted for the Siamese, naturally.

I loved that I wasn't on a diet, this year, and could eat gyros and ice cream. Yum!

We had a great time and managed to get out of there without spending too much money. Here are some pics to commemorate the day.

Baby Gabriel's first time at the fair. I'm thinking it was a little too dark to see, still. And why did Daddy feel the need to chop my head off???

Ice cream break. The strawberry matches her sweatshirt.

Our little motorcycle mama. Forget the girlie stuff... Noelle knows what she wants.

You could hear her above everyone else - on every ride - screaming for the fun of it!

Dragging Daddy through the Haunted Pirate House. Noelle helped him be brave.

Ah, the requisite head cutout. Noelle can find them anywhere. What an alien has to do with an agricultural fair, I have no idea.

Who doesn't love a baby calf?

Enjoying a drive on a sunny afternoon.

Uh oh! We were afraid Noelle was going to insist we take this chicken home with us. She named it and held it for the longest time.

Daddy and Noelle chillin' at the fair.

Summer Memories

Well, it's supposed to be 90 degrees today. For an area that hasn't seen much higher than the high 70's all summer, this is a big deal. For someone entering her third trimester... this is NOT fun. I think when Noelle jumps around in the sprinkler, this afternoon, I will be sitting in my lawn chair right in the middle of the spray. :)

Anyway, thought I'd upload some pics of things that have been going on this summer. We painted Noelle's room purple... and amazingly it wasn't as garish as I thought it might be. Noelle had a play date with her friend, Lilly, yesterday. Then last night a group of us went to a local park that had a spray area for the kids. Way cool! When we got home, Daddy got out the telescope and showed Noelle the full moon up close. Wow!

Noelle insisted on dressing for dinner one night. When I handed her the plate she said "Thank you, royal chef." Grrr!

Is this what they mean by "dog days of summer"? Gizmo is so spoiled his has his own furniture now. So what if he had to steal it from Noelle to get it.

Our big helper. Note to self - never hand her a bristled brush again!

Can't wait for her 'big girl' bed to arrive!

Noelle insisted on dressing up for her play date with Lilly. Gotta love that tiara!


Mmm... Cathy brought chocolate cupcakes to the splash park. Should have seen her after the last bite. ;)

Eagerly awaiting the fountains that pop up out of the ground. What a neat way to spend a hot summer evening.