Fruit Update

36 Weeks... and we've reached the size of a Crenshaw Melon (a what?!).  Crenshaws are summer melons that are a cross between a Casaba and Persian melon... and are apparently the sweetest of the melon family (awwww...).  I'm just happy it doesn't smell like its Orangedew cousin!  I'll have to get back to you on what it actually tastes like since I haven't been in the melon-mood lately but maybe tonight we'll slice it open.

Baby Stats:

• Weight: nearly 6 lbs
• Length: still around 18 1/2 inches... probably staying around there from now on
• Random Fact: He's shedding all the little hairs and waxy cheesey stuff on his skin and swallowing it... and working on that first diaper for daddy! (and daddy has no idea what's waiting for him...)

Family Photo Shoot at the Park

This morning I had the privilege of being our good friends' Caleb and Krissy's first family photographer! Little Micah is just now four weeks old and even when in a milk-induced coma, extremely handsome and photogenic!  

I'll admit, I'm partial to the black and white photos.  Little Micah looks especially sweet in monochrome!

Thanks Caleb, Krissy, and Micah for a fun photo shoot!

Fruit Update

And yes, we are actually back to fruit... and not veggies!

Baby Stats:

• Weight: 5 and 1/4 lbs (about the same as a honeydew melon)
• Length: around 18 inches
• Random Fact: He should be gaining an ounce a day from now on... and its mostly fat.

Not too much more to say today... oh about the fruit... this is actually an Orangedew Melon... something I've never heard of before my trip to the grocery store.  I'm going to slice him up in a bit and see if I can handle the taste.  I bought the Orangedew because I liked the color better.  But after it sat in my kitchen for a few hours, our whole house smelled like melon- bleh!  Mr. Incredible claims its my pregnant superpowers and that he couldn't smell anything but he also doesn't notice when the toilet needs to be cleaned or the trash needs to be taken out and that was all pre-preggo.  So either Orangedew melons have a stronger smell than their honey cousins, this particular Orangedew is stinky, or my preggo superpowers are to blame... the world may never know.

Boobies in church, pearl necklaces, and being a mom

When I was a little girl, I remember sitting in church on a Sunday morning with my family.  I was a natural tomboy so Sunday mornings were always a battle between my mom and I- me refusing to wear a dress, my mom trying to remove the foam curlers from my stick-straight-white-blond- hair that I had slept in the night before and coax me into some cute little outfit.  I don't particularly remember disliking or liking church- just that I didn't like sleeping in curlers or wearing skirts.  During my early years, we attended a small-town church with long wooden pews.  I would sit next to my parents during the singing and offering, waiting to be dismissed for Children's Church- where a riveting flannel-graph story awaited us.

During announcements or on the rare occasion that the children would stay in big church, my mom would allow my brother and I to doodle in our bulletins.  Anything to keep us from picking on each other and creating a commotion!  While I don't recall the sermon messages or the songs, I remember those drawings- the extravagant artwork I would create in the margins of the bulletins.  Squished up against the announcement for the next church potluck or pouring out of the hospital report, my pencil characters would come to life.  I would pick a 'theme' for the morning and fill every unprinted inch of my bulletin with monsters, knights and princesses, sketches of my family and pets, and elaborate flower gardens.  My parents would do the obligatory smile and nod as I proudly showed them my artwork during the sermons- I'm sure the pastor just thought they were nodding along to his message!

I remember with detail the Sunday I decided to draw E.T. in the bulletin.  Yes- E.T.- Steven Spielberg's Extra-Terrestrial.  I must have been very young- the movie was released before I was born and I recall being frightened of it- but for some reason, E.T. was the church bulletin doodle theme for the day.  How carefully I drew E.T.- that skinny neck and pig nose.  I remember asking my mom if his eyes were close together or far apart.  For the entire 45 minutes of the sermon, I worked on my E.T. and it was perfect.

Now, you'll have to remember that E.T. is a naked alien... occasionally Elliot would wrap him in a sheet to ride him around town on his bicycle but for the majority of the movie, E.T. is bare chested.  Committed to artistic integrity from a very young age, I drew his nipples in my church bulletin.

I remember proudly showing off my creation to my mom- and the look on her face as she scrutinized my work, her eyes landing on E.T.'s bare chest.  At the time I didn't understand the look that flashed across her face- I'm now pretty sure it was a combination of horror-concern-and finally, resolution to right a wrong.  She quietly whispered, "What are those?"  To which I replied, "His boobies."  Without missing a beat, she took her pen- her pen! not a pencil that could be erased!- and added little circles connecting E.T.'s nipples all around his neck.  "There, now he's wearing a pearl necklace."  She said with satisfaction and turned her attention back to our pastor and his message.  I was horror-stricken.  My art!  My creation!  How could she just defile it with a pearl necklace??  Everyone know's E.T. didn't wear a necklace- he wasn't even a girl!  I'm sure I tried to whimper a protest but my mom would hear nothing of it in church.

For some reason this memory came to me this morning.  I remember the feeling of injustice and hurt that my mom would ruin my artwork.  But now, looking back and (yikes!) putting myself in her situation, I can't help but laugh at the ingenuity of my mom's solution to my X-rated bulletin artwork.  I'm sure my mom wasn't really that offended at E.T.'s boobies making an appearance in my art... but she must have been concerned that someone would take offense.  But a pearl necklace?  Who thinks like that?  She could have torn my bulletin up, or dragged me to the bathroom for a spanking, or prohibited me from doodling in church ever again.  But instead she turned nipples into a pearl necklace.

my mom and I, c. 1986

I'm not sure what the moral of this story is.  I guess I hope I will be able to think on my feet as a mom and find unusual solutions that don't stifle my child's creativity.  I'm thankful for my mom and for all the crazy things she allowed us to get away with growing up... but I'm thankful that she did set some boundary lines for us too... my brother and I had a full childhood- we explored and played, and created.  We got hurt a few times but never anything serious thanks to the wisdom my parents imparted to us.  And we learned all the time!  I know this was a deliberate effort of my mom and I can only hope I can follow in her shoes in this way.   Provide lots of learning opportunities, let your kids explore and play on their own, teach them to be wise and set boundaries.  I learned an important boundary that day- no nipples in church!

Fruit Update- holy zucchini!

Isn't that the craziest zucchini you've ever seen?

I was looking over our baby-fruit-size-chart for this week and was dismayed to see the cantaloupe making a reappearance... this time for weight instead of length.  Determined to find a unique fruit/veggie representation of our baby (poor kid when he reads this in 10 year) I started thinking about my options...

Q: What's 18 inches long, weighs almost five pounds and is available in the produce aisle of your grocery store?

A: Not much!

What was I to do?  Venture into the meat section (5 lb roast anyone?)?  Resort to packaged food (sack of flour?)?  I happened to be taking a stroll through my mom's vegetable garden, pondering all things fruit and baby related when Lo and Behold- this mother of a zucchini I spied, hidden underneath the broad leaves and yellow flowers of the plant.  At first I was doubtful- could it actually be 18 inches long?  And five pounds?  Am I imagining ginormous veggies as a result of pregnancy?  After a quick trip to my purse to nab my handy tape measure (yes, I carry a tape measure in my purse- I use it everywhere!  And its fun to whip it out at the grocery story and measure ears of corn and mini watermelon... I ALWAYS get a produce guy asking if they can help me) I was soon snipping my prize veggie from the vine and heading off to find my camera.  What luck!  And now we can eat nothing but zucchini for a whole week!

Baby Stats (in case you wanted to skip the above saga and just get to the details):

• Nearly 18 inches- head to heel (thankfully he stays curled up and much more compact!)
• Just under 5 lbs (unfortunately there's nothing he can do to feel less heavy)
• Gaining FAT everyday (lucky dog... unfortunately, so is his mama, but she just gets a lecture from the nurses while he'll get oohed and ahhed at in all his chubby glory)

So there you go... baby's still here and getting bigger everyday.  I've definitely moved into the aches and pains of pregnancy- apparently they didn't get the memo during the first and second trimester so the sore back muscles, stretching ribs, and Charley Horses in the middle of the night have come with a vengeance.  I know I can't complain since really this has been an easy time overall with lots of sweet moments with friends and family (once I got over the initial few months of absolute terror).  Mr. Incredible and I were watching our baby move around last night... watching... as in he was moving around with enough force to jab my stomach around.  I could poke him with my hand and he would either kick back (definitely have to curb that behavior out of utero) or scoot over. (I think Mr. I was a little protective of his unborn son since he made me stop 'bugging the baby.'  Does he have ANY idea how much the baby has bugged me the past few months?  Apparently another moot point...)  So again, we're still hanging in there, and pretty much enjoying the ride... would just like to skip the charley horses!

-CtF

Fruit Update

We're just wrapping up week 33... here's the Baby Stats:

• Weight: more than 4 lbs
• Length: over 17 inches
• Random Fact: He's getting lots of hiccups lately... especially if I take a big gulp of cold water quickly (or if we're sitting in church trying to pay attention... for some reason that is hiccup inducing too!)

Now I'm off to enjoy that pineapple!

Engagement Session: Jason and Mandy

Saturday I shot an engagement session for Jason and Mandy- my brother-in-law and future sister-in-law.  We started at the San Elijo Lagoon trails and ended with a sunny picnic in a nearby park.  Here's a few highlights of the day- and check out these fabulous outfits!

Fruit Update

Actually almost to the end of 32 weeks now... but here's the baby stats:

• Weight: 3 and 3/4 lbs
• Length: 16 and 3/4 inches
• Random Fact: He has toenails now! (Ok, that's not really that exciting, I'll admit)

This mini watermelon is on the short side to represent the baby but the correct weight.  The baby-fruit-chart I've been using actually has a Jicama for 32 weeks but here's my issues with Jicamas:

-a lot of people don't know what they are (they look like a giant potato but taste like a spicy apple-carrot)
-an almost 4lb Jicama is nearly impossible to come by
-the Jicamas I did find at the store were slimy (they are NOT supposed to be slimy)
-Oh, and you pronounce Jicama like this: Hick-ah-ma... not JI-ca-ma, like my mom does.

I actually do like jicama... but usually can't eat a whole one by myself since Mr. Incredible doesn't go near them (something about a giant potato tasting like a spicy apple throws him for a loop).

This week marks the start of my twice a month dr. appointments... which I really am not excited about (now I have to drive to the dr, pee in a cup, step on a scale, cringe, wait around for the dr to show up and basically do not much, and then drive all the way home twice as often- yippee!) but am excited that we're getting closer to our big arrival.

Now that I'm re-reading this post I've decided that the baby having toenails is probably the most exciting thing here- so yay for toenails!

Here's a photo of a Jicama if you're dying to see one:

photo source