Fun at the Park

Here is a slide show of David having fun at the park with Daddy. It was so cold that we had to go home after a while because David's little hands where frozen, but Mommy warmed them up with his first hot chocolate of the season.

Raclette

On Saturday we enjoyed our first raclette dinner of the season. We introduced our friends Tony and Christina to this traditional Swiss meal. It was our first time trying gruyere cheese and we quite enjoyed it. Natalie and David entertained each other for the most part so we were able to enjoy a nice adult sit down.

Sunday marked the beginning of my 22nd week of pregnancy. Sweet Pea weighs about 1lb and measures about 11 inches tall. I am really starting to notice a difference in how I am carrying this pregnancy... more to the sides and not as much out front. Between that, the added sickness in 1st trimester and the extra heart burn it is hard for me not to think that we are having a girl. BUT from talking to many mom's I know that a different pregnancy doesn't always indicate a different gender. Both Jonathan and myself would love another son as well as a daughter and we are committed to keeping it a surprise from everyone including ourselves. 5 more weeks until I start that final trimester. 4 weeks until Christmas!

Smells like Snow

Here are a few new pictures of David taken last week at the park. He loves going to the playground where he is actually aloud to climb, instead of at home where we are constantly asking him to "get down." We didn't actually get to stay as long as we would have liked because it started to sprinkle but I had a nice walk to and from the park. Took David there again yesterday only I had to make a few stops and by the time we got to the playground he was sleeping. We've got a busy weekend but if the sun comes out again next week we will go again. I'd like to walk 1-2 times a week to go along with my aquafit on Thursdays which is continuing to go well. I am thinking of signing up for another set of classes which will take me until March 18th.

Last week we also did 5 days of potty training "boot camp" but ended up deciding to take it easy for a while. We still put him in training pants sometimes and he even asks to sit on the potty but it seems he is not quite ready so we have eased up a bit... for our sake and for his. I do hope to train him before Sweet Pea arrives but that will depend on how ready he is and how much energy I have in my last few months of this pregnancy.

21 Weeks Pregnant

Today we are 21 weeks pregnant... more then 1/2 way done... especially since I tend to deliver before my due date. Sweet Pea is making herself known on the inside and out. She is moving much more, I can definitely feel her everyday. And my belly is growing too as you can see from these 21 week pictures Jonathan took this morning.

Today we also got a visit from Aunty Theresa who is visiting from Victoria so Mommy got to go out for a nice lunch and also had some company while trying to potty train David.

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary!

Today Grandpa and Gramma are celebrating 50 years of marriage. We celebrated with them on Sunday. Happy Golden Anniversary!

Pictures of Sweet Pea

As for an ultrasound update baby is looking "happy and healthy"... those were the exact words of the doctor who spoke to us yesterday afternoon. Sweet Pea's heart looks great and they could see all four chambers. There was one concern as they found a "marker" on Sweet Pea's brain called "choroid plexus cyst" which is just a collection of fluid in the part of the brain which makes the fluid that cushions the brain and spinal cord. The "cyst" is a small build-up of fluid as it moves through the connecting tubes. As the baby grows so the tubes get bigger, and the fluid moves on. CPCs are almost always gone by 24 weeks and do no harm to the baby's brain (found this information from a google search). The concern was that CPCs are sometimes an indicator of a chromosome abnormality (less then 1% of the time). My reason for not updating yesterday was that I needed to see my doctor to find out the results from the other tests which combined with the finding of a "marker" make up a calculated "RISK." I got in to see my doctor this afternoon and he is not concerned at all. When a baby has a chromosome abnormality there is usually several signs and Sweet Pea is perfectly formed except for this little build up of fluid. We will be having another ultrasound around 28 weeks to make sure growth is normal and everything else continues to look good... mostly it will be another reassurance for us that everything is fine.

We specifically asked not to be told Sweet Pea's gender though we did keep our eyes open during the scan. Sweet Pea was hiding her parts well so her gender remains a mystery. Her heart rate today was 144bpm... which continues to be consistent with David and Noah. It was nice to get to watch her moving around... and I look forward to seeing her again in the new year.

19 week Ultrasound

Yesterday was the beginning of our 19th week of pregnancy and this afternoon we get to go for an ultrasound. Right now Sweet Pea weighs about 1/2 lb and measures approximately 6 inches from head to bum. In two more weeks she'll weigh almost 1 lb and measure 2 inches longer so she's got a lot of growing to do. We are very excitted to get to see her again... it has been 7 weeks since we saw her for the first time but today we are looking forward to taking home our first pictures. Unless something comes up this will be our last sneak peak before baby arrives, although with David and Noah I did have ultrasounds at 35 weeks so it could be that another one comes up. Sunday marks the 1/2 way point in a 40 week pregnancy but hopefully Sweet Pea will come just a little bit early like her brothers did. Yes I am saying "she" and "her" and NO we don't know the sex of the baby and we are not planning to find out until "she" arrives. I will continue this post with an ultrasound update when we get home from the hospital but our appointment isn't until 4:30 this afternoon.

Trick or Treat

David learned how to say "trick or treat" just in time for Halloween. After wrestling with him to get his costume on in the car in the parking lot Grammy and I took David trick or treating at the mall. It took a few times for him to get used to the strangers giving him candy but he did eventually warm up a little. After 15 minutes he was ready to move on, probably more because the mall was so crowded. After the mall we made a quick stop to see Great Grandpa and Great Grandma and then we went home. We had planned to meet Katie (and Jen&Aaron) at a different mall later in the afternoon but David missed his nap today despite much effort by myself, Jonathan and Grandpa Rob. By 2:30 he was so grumpy that I knew he wasn't going to hold off that long. We were home by 5:00. As you can see from our pictures he made the cutest little dragon. He actually likes wearing his costume as long as it's on his terms but today he was especially difficult. He wouldn't put on the first pair of pants I chose either. I guess that's why they call them "terrible two's" and for the most part it is a wonderful time but today was typical "terrible"... all in all we have been enjoying him a lot lately... he's using new words every day which I especially like. Jonathan is spending Halloween night at work so hopefully he is having a fun Halloween, hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable evening.

Pumpkin Fun

A few different pictures for you from this week. Some of David and Jonathan enjoying a sunny fall day in the backyard. Some of myself and David carving our pumpkin. We had lots of fun taking out the guts and seeds... I forgot how much fun that is. Also a few 18 1/2 week pregnancy shots. We will try to get a good 19 week pregnancy picture to post with Sweet Pea's ultrasound picture on Monday.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to the Pumpkin Patch with Jen and Katie. There was lots to do including hey rides, live children's music, choosing a pumpkin to take home, and farm animals to view. We chose a big pumpkin which I later regretted having to carry it around for the rest of the morning. BUT when we got home David helped me wash it. Tuesday we will probably gut it and then carve it while David is sleeping. It was nice for David to spend time with a friend his own age. Katie held his hand right away and then spent the rest of the morning keeping track of him when he would wonder off... cute. It was a great day for it and there wasn't too much mud considering we were on a farm but David did definitely manage to break in his new boots.

So we had a great morning at the Pumpkin Patch and we ended the day off well too. I had made baby cupcakes for a shower I attended last night and to say that David enjoyed them would be an understatement. He had just prayed for his pizza about 5 minutes before dessert but he was so thankful he prayed again... twice.

Maui Updates Complete

Sunday morning (Oct. 19) at 7:30a.m our flight got in from Maui. We began our vacation on October 9th arriving very late in the evening and enjoyed 9 full days of family vacation. We stayed at Napili Shores and enjoyed Beach & Pool access. It was a great location because we didn't have to go far to visit 2 other near by Bay's. I've written a few drafts already to tell you about our vacation... WHICH ARE NOW COMPLETE! Please continue to read about our vacation.

Body Surfing (ouch)!

October 14th was the second day of 2 days that was really wavy. Since we couldn't snorkel I decided to try body surfing. Dad (Rob) and Jared were doing it and it looked like fun. (At the time I sort of forgot that I was 16 weeks Pregnant).

It actually is fun as long as you get up before the next wave hits. It's a bit of a process because one wave brings you in and then drags you back out if you aren't fast enough. I was doing well until the waves got a bit bigger and closer together (sort of like contractions *smile*) then I didn't have enough time to recover in between and to top it all off my wrist cord got tangled around one of my legs.

Needless to say I ended up flopping around like a pregnant beached whale while wave after wave crashed on top of me and then dragged me back out... until I managed to untangle myself and stand up again. I was alright just got a bit of a sand burn and swallowd a bit of ocean. Didn't catch it on video though I am sure it was a sight to behold... you will have to ask everyone who was too busy laughing to help me (thanks honey). But here is a short video that Grandma Unger did get of my attempts. If Sweet Pea loves the ocean she has me to thank.

the Beach

Spending time at the Beach was great. David loved playing in the waves and in the sand. We went to the beach every single day of our trip except for the very last day because it was a bit rainy and most of our stuff was packed for our flight home. The first few days David would line up at the door first thing in the morning with his wet suit and sand toys... so cute even though we were luck if it was 6a.m.

the Pool

The Pool was another great pass time. If we weren't at the beach we were either napping or at the pool. Our sliding glass door faced the pool so it was nice and close. We did have to keep a close eye on David who learned how to unlock and open sliding glass doors during our vacation. Thankfully he learned this after the time I went to the Beach while he and Jonathan were napping. David got out of bed and saw that I wasn't in the living room so he went back to get Jon and said "no mommy." I'm just glad he didn't come looking for me. But now we know to watch him more closely. It was neat to watch David's progress at the pool from the day we arrived to the day we left he became much more comfortable. He would even put his face in the water for Uncle Jared. I might have to do swimming lessons with him again in January as he hasn't gone since he was ten months old.

Maui Ocean Center

Here are just a few of the pictures we took while visiting the Maui Ocean Center on Friday, October 17th. This was are only major excursion on our vacation and it was definitely worth the time and money. If you go to Maui with your family take your kids! Even if you go without your kids I recommend it. It is a great way to see Hawaiian fish up close. Beautiful! David absolutely loves fish so he ran around the whole day saying "SHISH" excitedly... so cute! He got a little bit over excited at the "touch and feel tide pool" and picked up the star fish he was petting and was a little too restless to sit for the shark feeding but other then that he did really well.

We love to Snorkel!

Now I mentioned in our "Maui Ocean Center" entry that was the only major excursion we did during our Maui vacation... so what did we do with the rest of our time? Three things... Beach, Pool and Snorkel! One of the firs things we did when we woke up the first morning was pick up our snorkel gear from "Snorkel Bob's"... Jonathan rented a prescription mask this time so that he could see everything perfectly and since I already have a mask and snorkel I just picked up flippers (which really help... we didn't use them last time). We snorkeled in 3 different Bay's, 5 days out of our trip. We had the equipment rented for 7 days but 2 of the days were way too wavy to snorkel. The main Bay we snorkeled at was Napili Bay... the beach right near where we stayed. We also snorkeled twice at Kapalua Bay and once at Turtle Bay. All 3 bay's had turtle's and we swam with them at each bay. David even got to see a turtle up close because there was one that stayed in a little tide pool area where he could stand with Grandpa Rob and watch. At Kapalua bay we saw a sting ray 3 different times but I think it was the same one and Jonathan saw two octopus. Turtle bay had the prettiest reefs but was the most dangerous to get in and out of. The water in Turtle Bay is deep so the coral stays beautiful. I liked different things about all three Bays so I can't say which is my favorite but our first day at Napili beach a huge turtle swam right beside me and that was really neat.

Most of the pictures were taken at Kapalua Bay but I think the one of Jonathan was taken at Napili.

Our Third Wedding Anniversary

Well some of you already know that Jonathan and I spent our third wedding anniversary in Maui with Jonathan's parents, brother and Grandmpa and Grandma Unger... oh yeah David too. We actually ended up celebrating just the two of us on the 16th (which happens to be our 4 year dating anniversary) rather then the 15th because I had a 24 hour sinus infection on the 15th and was feeling too miserable to go out (sinus infection probably resulted from my attempts to body surf on the 14th) anyway that cleared up quickly and we celebrated the following day by going to Whaler's Village and having dinner at Leilani's. We had planned to eat upstairs where it is a bit fancier but when we looked at the menus we both had a hankering for fish and chips (which was really good) so we ate downstairs and watched the sun set.



Today we are celebrating our third wedding anniversary. I wish that every year we could celebrate with another ceremony and lots of food and dancing. This year we get to celebrate in a very fun way but I will write more about that in a few days. Happy Anniversary Jonathan. "I" still "do" and I always will.

Sweet Pea's Heart Beat

We had a doctors appointment today, and everything continues to look good. Nothing abnormal showed up from the special blood tests we had. We have a second set of blood test on the 9th... testing the same things just at a different stage and then next up is our ultrasound on November 3rd. When I see my doctor next I will be in my 20th week... more then half way through our pregnancy!
Last night we had roast beef for dinner and I was able to eat a good size meal without feeling sick. Night time is the worse for my nausea so this was a bit of a milestone. I am hoping it is the first of many nights that I am feeling much better. Usually nausea does ease up at this stage of pregnancy so it is a good sign that I am getting over it.
I was happy to find out that I have only gained 1 lb since my last appointment in September. I have to monitor my weight a bit closer this time because I hadn't lost all my pregnancy weight from Noah when I got pregnant with SweetPea. That is one thing that the nausea has been good for. Not to worry... I put myself and baby first when it comes to nutrition. I just try to eat well and get some exercise. I am walking at least twice a week now and will be starting prenatal water aerobics at the end of the month.

Congratulations Marie and Jody!

Last night I dreamt that my cousin Marie had a baby boy. This morning I found out that she did! Congratulations Marie and Jody on the birth of your son!

Welcome Joseph into this world and into our family!

Joseph Mervin Halverson

September 22, 2008

5:15 PM

8 lbs 3.5 oz

20 inches tall