29, and holding?

I'm holding onto Payton's last week of being 11 months like I tried to hold onto being 29 years old! She has grown from a baby into such a beautiful little girl, SO full of personality. The month of March has mostly been beautiful, and had unseasonably warm temperatures. Payton has visited many parks with Granby, spent a lot of time outside, been on many stroller rides, met some chickens, played with friends, watched the Tarheels win, watched the Tarheels lose, and she's been riding her tricycle, which mommy pushes from behind. She will help clean up, and put her toys in her toy box, when asked. Payton is now walking around, getting up in the middle of the floor and walking wherever she wants. She is still doing the "drunken baby walk" and hasn't mastered the art of walking just yet, but her balance continues to improve, as she gets stronger and stronger. I can officially say she walked before she turned one! She loves to be the center of attention...wonder where she gets this?

Brian participated in the first annual Duke Power stair "climb" on Saturday. He had to climb 49 flights of stairs. Whew! He did it in 12 minutes and 10 seconds, and finished in the top half of all 500 climbers...way better than he expected to do. We anxiously awaited him in the lobby, and Payton was showing off....walking around everywhere and trying to get everyone to look at her. She's not shy at all, and would go anywhere, if I'd let her. She's going to be a handful, but aren't they all at this age?

We have Payton's infant "bouncy seat" out for our friend's 2 month old, when they come visit. Payton has claimed this as her own, and she LOVES to fall into it, and bounce around on it. I'm sure glad it's sturdy. I'm not sure what will happen, exactly, when the new baby arrives, as Payton may have a problem sharing, but we hope not! When we ask her where her new baby brother or sister is, she'll pull up the bottom of my shirt, and rub my belly. She'll kiss my belly when I tell her to kiss her baby brother or sister. She hasn't shown any jealously, yet, when I've held other babies, so I hope that continues.

Friday we leave for Isle of Palms/Charleston for the annual Cooper River 10K Run. Last year was the first year, in 7, that I've missed...I wasn't exactly in "running" shape, as I had Payton pretty much the week after the race. We are excited to introduce our family tradition to Payton at such a young age. She will be participating, in her stroller, as mommy and daddy struggle to push her up, then down the bridge, and into the historic streets of Charleston. Raegan, Payton's BFF, and her other friend, Gil, will also be making their debut appearance. The weather forecast looks really nice, and we are getting excited! Stay tuned for pictures from the weekend, and for the girls' birthday party pictures in the weeks to come. One year already....where does the time go?

18 Week Ultrasound of Squish

Well, we had our 18 week anatomy ultrasound this morning....I was a little nervous because, as I had mentioned previously, I really haven't felt much movement. Well, everything looked perfect. It was an in-depth scan of all the organs, brain, heart chambers, umbilical cord, etc. The baby had "his" hands in front of "his" face for much of the scan, and "his" legs crossed. We looked away from the screen while the genitalia was being examined. I keep saying "he" because it's been such a different pregnancy from the last...The baby is very active, so I'm surprised I haven't felt much. Also, the tech was wrong at my 12 week scan as we found out today my placenta is located on the back wall of my uterus (posterior) instead of the front (anterior), meaning there is no cushion there to muffle the kicks and punches. I'm sure in time I'll be complaining about feeling this booger, but until then I'll enjoy this seemingly perfect, symptomless pregnancy!

Stats: The heartbeat was 154, my blood pressure was 98/60, and I've only gained 2 lbs since my first visit. The baby is measuring 10 ounces, and 6 days ahead of schedule. Like Payton, "he" has a large head, measuring in around 83% in size. I go back in 4 weeks for a regular, routine visit. I'll have at least one more ultrasound, just to check everything, including fluid levels, which, by the way, are completely normal this go-round :) I can continue to run for as long as my body, and bladder, will allow!

Looking FORWARD to Spring...

Well, the clocks have been bumped forward, the days are longer, warmer, and filled with fun! This is my most favorite time of the year. The past couple of weeks have been exciting and busy ones for us all. Payton turned 11 months old, and she has started to master the art of walking...first with 2-3 steps here and there, to 5-7 steps, to 10 steps at a time! She is going to be running before we know it! We've had so much going on over the past couple of weeks...between the excitement of the ACC/NCAA Tournaments, having friends over for dinner parties, keeping Raegan one weekend, making progress on the nursery project, and visiting Shiela and Thomas' farm, here we are knocking on the door of April already!! The weather has been just about perfect for March. With temperatures in the high 70's on some days, and not much rain, we've been able to get outside a lot, swing, go to the park, and get in some good stroller runs. Payton loves to show off and be the center of attention. When she sneezes, she laughs. When she crawls fast, her head struts back and forth. When she does something she thinks was cool, she turns to make sure you were watching and grins. She loves to sing and dance, she's getting more and more interested in books, loves to sit in little chairs her size, is obsessed with all her shoes, will NOT leave a bow in her hair, or hat on her head, loves butterflies and flowers, "talks" all the time, and can make doggie, chicken, and kitty cat sounds. We switched her mostly to cow's milk this past week, and she's still deciding if she likes it or not...I sure hope she takes after her dad on this one. I'm not a milk fan!

Speaking of bumps...*PREGANCY UPDATE*On Friday morning we will go in for the "anatomy" ultrasound. I'll be 18.5 weeks along, and as you can see in one of the pictures, I have a nice little bump forming. NO, I still won't give in and find out the sex. It will remain a mystery to us all until delivery day. My gut feeling with Payton was girl. My gut feeling with this one is boy. Guess only time (and the ultrasound tech, if you pay her enough ;) will tell! With this ultrasound, they check the chambers of the heart, kidneys, stomach, basically all the major organs. This was the appointment with Payton where they saw fluid on her kidneys, and found that I had low amniotic fluid. I was told to drink lots of water, lie on my left side, and quit all exercise. That sucked! I had also gained 16 pounds at this point with her, had carpal tunnel, and sciatic nerve pain in my lower back and down my leg. With this pregnancy....I have only gained around 3 pounds so far, no carpal tunnel and minimal lower back pain, and I'm still running 3-4 times per week, 4 miles each run. I feel so much better and more healthy, and hope it continues, as this summer's heat will surely take a toll on me! I'll post some pics of Baby "Squish" after the appointment, and give an update on what we find out!