I will update on all the Christmas happenings when I get my house in order and Christmas put away.   I am very slow these days in getting these things accomplished and have made poor Serra my little stair runner.  She doesn’t complain.  Bless her little heart.

Baby update:  I had a doc appointment today.  I am at 35 weeks.  We did another ultrasound to see if the baby is continuing the humongous trend that we checked on a few weeks ago.  Indeed this little critter is well on it’s way to becoming a record setter.  The baby is measuring 42 weeks.  (Babies are considered full term at 40 weeks)  9 lbs 7 oz is the estimated weight right now.  There is a 20% margin of error in that estimate which means it could be at 8-7 or a whopping 10-7 right now.  But even 8-7 at 35 weeks is a bit much.  With a 1/2 – 1 lb growth each week  this critter could potentially be anywhere between 11 and 15 lbs. 

My choices. 1.   Let the baby come on it’s own and take my chances.(Not considering this option)  2.  Get an amnio done on the 9th and if the lungs are developed fully induce on the 10th.  (37 weeks gestation) 3.  Wait until the 17th which is 38 weeks and induce without having to do an amnio. 

We are considering the 2nd and 3rd option and will make the choice by next Thursday.  I really don’t want to do an amnio but waiting another week could mean another pound.  Either way we will have a baby in 2 or 3 weeks.  I have a lot to get done.  Let the nesting begin. 

Some Serraism’s -  You have to love the english language.  Serra has a whole stack of sight words she has been working on.  One of them is “as”.  She is in the process of learning to sound out words.  She does pretty well and gets really excited and blurts out the word loudly when she figures out what it is.  A=ah, S=ssss   ASS!  I’ll admit I got the giggles and she couldn’t figure out what I thought was so funny. 

In my current very pregnant condition getting on and taking off socks can be a bit of a challange.  The taking off part has been turned over to the girls who find great (weird) pleasure in the act.  A few nights ago Serra touched my rather spikey leg after helping me remove the socks and said.  “Mom your legs are very spikey.  Are they your secret weapons?”

Yesterday I was at Costco with both girls picking up gift baskets for Brian’s clients.  Instead of a regular cart we had one of the flat heavy item ones so I could stack a lot more on than usual.  The girls were riding for most of the time.  They were singing Jingle Bells at the top of their lungs, (including Rosie) wearing matching Hawiian dresses, and Rosie’s version was pretty darn cute as you only get the last word of each phrase.  But they were putting their hearts into it and we got plenty of smiles and Merry Christmas’s out of it.  Sometimes it takes a bad version of Jingle Bells to put you in the Holiday spirit and I think my two monkeys helped a few people get there.  Now to teach them “Mele Kalikimaka” so their outfits match the song a little better. 

House Update:

BEHOLD! We have water!

Financing is proving a bit more tedious than our usual experience due to the recent mortgage crisis.  Different lending options are slamming shut left and right as more and more people out there foreclose.  Everything looks good but we have had to jump through a few unexpected hoops.  We should know this week if it’s a go and sign papers after Christmas.  We won’t be happy though until money starts showing up in our account.  But on a happy note we have now added water to our utilities up and running. 

  Last Tuesday I had an appointment with a hand specialist.  As most of you know I have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel that actually never completely went away after Serra was born and has gotten consistently worse with each pregnancy.  The bracing of the hands no longer helped and I was in pain no matter what I did;  Holding a fork to eat, blow drying my hair, holding a book, sleeping (that was the worse), writing, etc.  You name it I couldn’t do it without major discomfort.  I did a little research on the cortisone and the effects it would have on a baby and what I could find was that it was considered completely safe, that very little of it, if any at all gets into the bloodstream.  So I went in for the injections.  They use rather large needles and inject a steroid in a saline solution into the wrists directly below the hand.  NOT pleasant, because the area that they have to inject is already so swollen.  In fact, those that know me know that I am a complete wus when it comes to needles.  Even though I didn’t watch, I still passed out after the first wrist.  As I tried to keep my head down (there is no getting my head between my knees at this point) and take deep breaths Rosie decided it was time to unload her insides and severely stunk up the room not helping matters at all.  They asked me if I wanted to come back another time to do the other wrist.  NO, I was there, are you kidding me.  So they laid me down for the second one which hurt worse than the first.  Almost immediately my hands went completely numb.  That was expected, but try changing a seriously messy diaper in a bathroom with no changing facility with completely numb hands.  Good times.  Because of the faint, it took longer that I expected and then even longer to take care of Rosie’s issue.  I was late picking up Serra from school.  She was fine but it’s a little embarrassing to have to go to the office to retrieve your child like you forgot about them or something. 

It took four days for the steroid to kick in and I must say it was COMPLETELY worth it.  My hands are still swollen with all the extra fluid my body enjoys retaining this late in the game but there is no numbness or pain and it doesn’t keep me up at night.  (Other things still do, but at least one thing is eliminated)  The shots are supposed to last a few months so I am good to go until we have the wee (or not so wee) one.  With that discomfort eliminated, and with my weekly chiropractic visits to keep my back in check, I feel so good I sometimes overdo it.  I have constant contractions in the evening, more than the allotted 4-5 an hour.  It’s hard to put your feet up and relax this time of year though. . . So much to get done.  We are preparing to leave this Saturday for Christmas. 

Saturday the girls had their Primary Christmas party and got to talk to Santa for a minute.  Sophia is fascinated by him and calls him BaPa (grandpa) but would not sit on his lap.  She accepted a sucker though.  In the evening we ditched the girls and went to our adult C-mas party.  Our ward does it a little different,  you pretty much stay at one table with your assigned host and we have dinner and a little entertainment.  It was nice.

We had an interesting experience last week that is ongoing.  A woman moved into our ward boundaries with seven of her own kids ranging from 14 months – 10.  They had nothing but a few changes of clothing.  She had escaped an abusive husband and had not been able to take hardly anything with her.  The missionaries tracked into them and the babysitter who happened to be an inactive member asked if there was anything the church could do for this family.  As a Relief Society we sent out a notice Stake wide for anything people could donate to help out (furniture, clothing, beds, kitchen, etc.)  The response has been overwhelming.  I spent some time with her on Friday night as Brian was helping set up a washer, and Christmas tree, and some furniture, and again on Saturday.  (I took her to the Primary party)  She has already been through the missionary discussions a few years ago and wanted to join the church but had not been allowed to by her husband.  So they are starting over with those.  Anyway, it has been a really good experience for even Serra who is so excited to take over her extra bike for the girl a few years older than her.  The best part is to see a family so overwhelmed with love and kindness from people they don’t even know. 

Here are some recent shots of the critters. 

Grandpa and Grandma went to Hawaii and picked up some matching dresses for the girls.

Rosie’s Christmas present that is too big to take with us to Utah.  We set it up Saturday and unlike the first pictures may represent, Rosie did get to ride it first.  She loves it almost as much as Serra. 

Can’t wait for Daddy to finish up. 

Rosie really gets into dinner sometimes. 

Testing out my new flash.  My other one stopped working.

Serra has had a loose tooth for about a month and we tried a few things while she was still brave.  They didn’t work and she took herself and her loose tooth to New York and almost made it back to Vegas with it intact.  While at JFK in NY Brian took a look at it hanging there and reached in her mouth and plucked it out.  She called me at 4am to let me know the GREAT news.  The other tooth was already coming through.  The tooth fairy came the next night and left $2.  Now that’s inflation.  I remember 25 cents. 

When they travelers returned we put up the Christmas tree and decorations.  I was pooped so the kids decorated the whole thing with the help of Daddy lifting them up to get stuff to the higher branches.  They did a great job and have been really good about leaving it alone. 

I had an interesting Doctor visit yesterday.  My appointment was preceded with an ultrasound to check on baby’s size.  I am currently between 32 and 33 weeks.  The baby is measuring at 36 1/2 weeks and well over 6 lbs.  That is bigger than both Brian and I at our birth weights.  My doctor expressed some concerns because if the baby goes to term it will be well over 10 lbs.  When you go past 9 lbs. the threat of shoulder dystocia becomes real and very scary for both me and the baby.  He made the suggestion that we check progress at 36 weeks and if the baby is still on the high road to being a giant we induce at 37 weeks.  The downside to that is that in order to induce that early an amnio has to be done to make sure the lungs are developed enough.  The amnio can cause me to go into labor by making the water break or if  the needle punctures the cord the baby will have to be taken C-section then and there whether it is ready or not.  Also, I am not very good when it comes to needles, and that is one honkin’ needle.  Dr. Martin assured me he does not often make this suggestion, in fact, he has only done so once before.  I don’t like the idea of so much medical intervention on what should be a natural process but we work so hard to get these babies here I don’t want anything, especially size, creating problems by letting nature take it’s course.  It’s quite a decision. 

Brian and I discussed it and we will make the determination after the next ultrasound.  They will have a better idea after comparing yesterdays and one at 36 weeks.  Either way, we will not be letting this baby go to term.  It will be at 37 weeks or a week and a half later when an induction can be done without an amnio.  YIKES!

Here is a link to a bit by Jim Gaffigan whom we saw last weekend.  Funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVKJpkq-wNo

It was a bit hairy there for a while but we got Brian and Serra back from New York yesterday afternoon.  Saturday night I got a call from Delta informing us that their flight on Sunday evening had been canceled in anticipation of some bad weather.  That was the craziest thing I ever heard…like asking for a day off from work 2 days down the road because you think you might get sick.  In actuality there was a big storm and it moved in Saturday night.  They cancel a certain number many flights in advance in order to cut back on the domino effect of so many canceled flights at the last minute.  Brian was able to book an earlier flight although he had to give up his first class seats in order to sit next to Serra.  He called me around 4 am my time and let me know it looked like they were going to make it on and to assume they did if he didn’t call again.  Serra also announced that her tooth had just fallen out.  This is her first tooth and it was hanging by a thread when they left.  The new tooth is already visible.  I wasn’t able to fall back asleep after that call because I was nervous they might not make it and I had to get up in a few hours anyway for church.  So I got up and got ready for church and kept tabs on their flight on the internet.  The flight was delayed over an hour to de-ice the plane, and so they got NO FOOD for over 8 hours.  They were very hungary.  I’m glad to have them back.  When Rosie spotted Daddy at the airport she hollared Daddy-Ome, and ran to him bypassing even Serra and almost plowing down some other lady.  She gave Serra a great big hug too and then started punishing her for leaving for so long.  By that I mean hollering at her if Serra tried to touch her or hug her again…Scowling at her…They were back into a routine by the time we got home and playing with their new American Girl dolls together.  We all slept the afternoon away and went to bed early.  Serra was especially miserable.  The traveling, lack of sleep, food, and drink took effect and she was sobbing and had a headache and stomachache.  She is still sleeping and going on a solid 12 hours even after a long afternoon nap yesterday.  She should be as good as new today. 

By the way, remember about 8-9 months ago we bought a lot with the intention on building a home.  I posted a picture of the lot.  I started a file in My Pictures.  Then we started the process of getting plans and permits and it took 6 months longer than we anticipated.  Well, we see VISIBLE progress this week.  We have the permits and the loan docs will be signed this week and…..

Power is being run to the lot as I write.  Brian sent this to me with his phone. I love technology.