Uncle Andy

For those of you in Montana (or nearby), I will be traveling back to TF for Andrew's graduation on June 3. I get in on the 1st and fly back on the 6th. I'm hoping to catch up with friends and family and it will give you a chance to see what I look like really pregnant. Fun (for you)!

I can't believe my little brother is graduating from high school (and that I have been gone for 9 years!). I still remember when my mom was pregnant with him (19 years ago!)... I would run home from school to see if she had him yet. I was so excited. But, he ended up having to stay at the hospital for a few days (jaundice) and I was heartbroken. Little did I know, I would soon get my fill of this little bundle of joy. He sure was cute, but a bit of a monster. Who's idea was it to give him steel-toed cowboy boots, anyway?

Well, many years have passed and Andrew has changed so much. I've tried to come back to visit as much as possible, but am sorry that I wasn't able to see him more often. He's turned into a great person and I am lucky to have such a wonderful brother. He'll make the best uncle a little girl could ever wish for :-)

Ups and Downs

Yesterday was quite an eventful day for the Haynes family. Here's the rundown:

I left early from work because I could hardly stay awake. After sleeping for a few hours, I started making myself a sandwich... then suddenly I was having extreme lower back/abdominal pain. I laid on the couch and quickly called Labor + Delivery. They said to come in right away... at that point I was in a great deal of pain and was panicking. Luckily, the pain got better on my drive to the hospital. They took my vitals, strapped me up to a contraction monitor and gave me a full exam. Long story short... the baby's fine (she's kicking like mad), I just have a bit of an infection. I start medication today and will be going back to the Dr. next week. I'm still a little shaken up by the whole incident, but am thankful that all is well.

On another bad note, I also found out yesterday that someone stole my debit card number and was using it to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of crap in Florida. Not sure how that happened, as I still have my card in my wallet. It's been cancelled and I have filed a report... just have to wait to hear if the bank is going to give us our money back. Bollocks!

But... on a brighter note, I received some really cool earrings in the mail yesterday (see pic) - straight from Australia, from a company called Polli. Just a little something I treated myself to recently...

And... Brady and I started yoga class last night. He's taking Yoga 1 and I'm taking Pregnancy Yoga next door. It was great being in the room with 20 pregnant ladies, all of which are going through the same interesting experience as me. The instructor is wonderful and I am so happy to have such a resource so close to my house (only 3 blocks away).

So, is it a boy or a girl?

Well, nobody saw any boy parts... so we have determined that it must be a girl!!!! The ultrasound took nearly two hours, most of which Brady had to spend in the waiting room. I'm not sure why, but it seems to be hospital policy. It was great to see her moving around, sucking her thumb and kicking (rather hard sometimes), but I'm not sure why it took so long... I was definitely tired of having warm goo rubbed all over my belly after a few hours!

A Visit to DC?

Here are a few photos of our house... on a day when it was actually clean. The top one is the downstairs living room/kitchen/den combo; the rest are the guestroom/bathroom - where you'd stay if you come visit us in DC!

Tomorrow is the Big Day

We'll be going in first thing in the morning for an ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby. I'll be posting an update shortly after. Brady and I are both incredibly excited. I'm looking forward to seeing who has been kicking me incessantly for the last few weeks. The activity has definitely been more noticeable and Brady can even feel the baby moving around... so much has changed in the last two weeks. I'm getting big and am now visibly pregnant (even to strangers)... much better than just feeling kinda fat. None of my clothes really fit, so in week 21, I'm going to have to break down and start wearing maternity clothes (once I actually get some). I tried to put it off as long as possible, but it was only a matter of time. Paneled jeans, here I come!

Check back on Monday...

What's Wrong with this Picture?

This is the fire department outside of our building Sunday morning. Brady and I were just settling down to our breakfast and last week's episode of the Sopranos, when the fire alarm went off throughout our building. At first, we thought we were responsible... but it became clear that we were not the cause. After quickly getting dressed, we evacuated and waiting for over 20 minutes for the fire department to arrive. Luckily, it wasn't a real fire... or everything would have been burned down. Someone just wanted to wish us all a Happy Easter by pulling the front door alarm as a prank. None of us were happy.

Spring in DC

It's a gloomy Monday, but I don't mind. It's easier to get work done that way. Last week was absolutely beautiful and we were lucky to have family in town.




Here are a few photos of our sightseeing over the weekend. Friday afternoon, we went to Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown - absolutely beautiful! Then Saturday, we toured the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception - the largest Catholic church in the western hemisphere. Lots of mosaics and it was filled with flowers for Easter mass, as well as musicians rehearsing. Very cool.

We spent Easter at Gabe and Mandy's, which just happens to be the old Haynes abode. They bought our place from us last August - it's completely transformed and a bit strange to see, since we lived there for over 4 years. Lots of great food and even better because I didn't have to cook any meat! Their little girl, Cori, kept us all entertained (she's 1 1/2)... I'm getting anxious to have one of my own. Soon enough.

The latest news is that I am definitely showing... no maternity clothes yet, but it's only a matter of days. It's also become apparent that our baby can hear. Lots of jumping around due to loud noises. We went to our friend Ro's going away party on Saturday night and anyone who knows Ro is aware of how loud he can get... we heard him in the house before we even got out of the car. The baby did, too and moved around every time he talked. We're going to miss Ro, Cher, Lola and Liv... but we'll be joining them in the Seattle area sometime next year. Exciting!

Fun with Hooves

Here's a little Easter Fact from our friends at Harper's:
Estimated number of Marshmallow Peeps that will be consumed around Easter this Month: 800,000,000
Estimated number of pigs who died to make them: 125,000

Yep, those (not-so) tasty marshmallow treats are made with the hooves and tendons of friendly farm animals... sorry for the icky statistic - I'm just not so big on gelatin. I hope to have a more cheerful Easter message for you coming shortly.

Happy Friday!

If you're gonna spew, spew into this...

I HATE THROWING UP! WHEN IS IT GOING TO STOP????? I'm closing in on 19 weeks (almost half way there!) and still throwing up. I have been on prescription anti-nausea medication (Phenergan) for over three weeks... It seems to be helping - I only puke 2 or 3 times a week. Can you believe that? Why should that be normal? Two or three times a week? Can you imagine having to throw up every week for no apparent reason? Me neither... and yet I do, and have been for months (though at least it's no longer every day)! It's absolutely disgusting and I will never get used to it.

However, I do have to admit that it is my fault. As soon as I'm feeling fine for a few days, I have to go and say something like, "I haven't thrown up in three days. Maybe I am getting better." And then, the next morning... I'm back over the sink (or toilet) convulsing violently, forcing every drop of nastiness out of my system. And to top it all off, I then have to try to get ready for the day ahead when all I really want to do is go back to sleep. Then I ask myself, "Why did I have to say something? Why did I have to get comfortable and think everything was going to be normal?" This should serve as a reminder not to make the same mistake again, but I always do... and I end up right where I started.

Mad Cow Disease

I always told myself that I could handle this pregnancy thing - no sweat. Well, now that the puking is (almost) over, I've ventured into a new realm of uncontrollable urges. Not only have I had to surrender my body, but now my mind is going as well. I have never been so irrational in all of my life! Take the worst case of PMS ever, multiply it by a thousand and extend it over weeks at a time. That's what the second trimester is like. I cry at commercials, forget my thoughts in mid-sentence, and am absolutely sure that every stranger that looks at me thinks I'm fat. It's ridiculous... comical really. I have to keep telling myself that it's only temporary. Poor Brady. I really feel sorry for him right now. I'm trying to keep this under control now that I've figured out that my hormones have gotten the better of me. If not for my sake, then for Brady's.