Funny Farm!

Shonn just sent me this video of Beckett playing with Papa at the farm. I love it when he gets giddy like this - it's usually right before he crashes, so I'm betting he is sleeping on the way home.




Sent from my iPhone

Leprechaun Cookies

Beckett has lots of energy and likes variety. Today, to spice things up, I asked if he wanted to bake something and got really excited because he is obsessed with the stand mixer. (Thank you, Maria!). So I let Beckett pick a recipe from allrecipes.com based on the picture he liked best, which ended up being gingerbread men. We decided sugar cookie leprechauns would do. ;) Mom gathered the ingredients (please note I'm obeying bed rest orders!) and Beckett did all of the mixing. The cookies ended up as leprechaun hats and random circles rolled in LOTS of sprinkles with unique frosting designs, but they were delish, and it was fun.

In the mixer picture, Beckett is making his best leprechaun face. The other pic is evidence of his very thorough taste-testing. :)

Animal Shapes

Mom took Beckett to the library last week and they picked out a cute animal book by Lois Elhert. The animals are made of shapes and are somewhat abstract. Mom had the idea to re-create the animals, so we did that today. Beckett made a lizard.

Learning

Beckett amazes me at what he remembers. He knows the letter B, and so we've been talking about other letters. The other day, he found a word search in his dinosaur coloring book and said, "there's a Q!" He then proceeded to color over all the Qs he could find. A Q?! At 22 months?

So I thought I'd get with the program and we are talking about a letter every few days. We've been doing M for a couple of days and he knows it.

He is also really good at matching. He got this worksheet at Bright Starts with Janis last week and we were talking about how it was probably way too hard. But we play matching with Go Fish and Old Maid cards and he loves it. Plus, he plays a memory game on my mom's phone and can make matches. So today, I asked him to color the pictures that were the same. (Pic) Um...I think I'm under-estimating him!

Doctor's Orders and Perspective

Shonn and I went to the doctor again yesterday.  (I feel like a preferred customer!) We waited for two hours and finally saw the doctor.  I was grouchy about the wait and uncomfortable in the chairs.  Then we went in for an internal ultrasound to check cervical length and my favorite ultrasound tech was doing it.  She is very patient, personable, and kind.  After years of working at an OB clinic and TTC, she and her husband finally had another baby last spring.  So I asked her how her family was doing, expecting she might show me pictures or tell me a funny baby story. Instead, she shared that her husband was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer.  They are young!  And vibrant! I didn't know what to say, except how sorry I was to hear such bad news and that we would pray for them.  Suddenly, the wait at the office wasn't so important. (Please add this family to your prayer list!)

These are the ultrasound techs at our office. (They do 3D ultrasounds - so amazing.)  Please pray for Joyce, on the far left.

We then headed back to wait for the doctor.  On our way, I saw him standing at his computer station eating an apple.  Our appointment was at 10:40, and at this point, it was 11:45.  I wondered if that was his lunch and then didn't think much more about it.  The nurse came in and my blood pressure was "good", but seemed low to me: 98/69.  (I'm usually around 110/70)  The medication I'm taking is for blood pressure, though, so I guess that makes sense.

An hour later, the doctor came in. I was back to being grumpy about the wait, this time in a not-so-comfy chair. Looking back, I'm embarrassed about how quickly I forgot about the lesson I had just learned.  (I'm blaming it on hunger...???) When he came in, Shonn and I had several questions.  He was helpful and said I could not go anywhere except the baby shower this weekend. I asked about church and he said he was okay with that, but that I needed to stay seated.  (Am I pushing it here?)  He also said I would be on the medication until at least 37 weeks and that I would be on bed rest until the baby comes.  He would not move our c-section date due to state regulations that prevent him from scheduling c-sections prior to 39 weeks and there not being any openings prior to April 15.  He did say that if anything changes with my contractions, more early labor, or other health problems (e.g.; pre-eclampsia), he would go ahead with a c.  The baby sounded great and was moving a lot, so he was happy about that. :)

Later that day, I recalled him standing at the counter, eating an apple, and I realized AGAIN what a brat I was being about having to wait.  Obviously, no one makes people wait on purpose.  And he probably didn't even get to have lunch.  Our next appointment is Monday the 11th (my birthday!) and we get to have more ultrasounds! YAY!  I am resolving to be in a better frame of mind about the wait.  (And take a book.)

This is Dr. Schultheis, our doctor.  He delivered Beckett, and will deliver Baby Girl.  His hair is longer now; I will get a real photo with him next week!

Thanks, Mindy!

My friend, mindy, has had 4 children and was on bed rest for two of her pregnancies. She came over on Saturday with a bag of couch-worthy and toddler-approved projects for me to work on. One of the projects was how to make these adorable bows. They only take about 10 minutes and I can do it while Beckett is playing or temporarily occupied and easily stop quickly to play, read, or do crafts with him. I can do them in bed, too, and it's really calming for some reason.

More Artwork

Beckett painted an "abstract" brontosaurus and stegosaurus. He loves painting and coloring.