Introducing Princess Seamonkey

I have been waiting to post a blog about our very exciting news until we went for our 20 week ultrasound, and everything checked out. I am so thrilled to say that we did, and it has! We saw the two hemispheres of the brain, the four chambers of the heart, both kidneys, the stomach, a beautiful spine, all fingers and toes... and all three of us (isaac joined us for the appointment) breathed a big sigh of relief. Then after Dr. Agnew looked at every part of the fetus' body, she informed us that we were having a GIRL! That's right, 'no scrotum or balls' she said. I was shocked, David has felt it was a girl all along. My initial instinct was, holy ****! What am I going to do with a girl. I just got used to raising a boy. But very quickly my mind was flooded with ideas pertaining to a life with a little girl, a daughter, and I realized how badly I hoped, although didn't believe, this would one day be a reality for us. And then the tears started to flood.
There was some indication that we may be having a girl over my first trimester. I was so much more sick than I was with Isaac. Vomiting was not an uncommon experience, and it lasted all day long. I would dream that I was having a girl. And David and everyone I knew was convinced from the beginning that it was going to be a she. I just didn't think it was possible for us to make a girl. But we did.
As for how I have been feeling... after week 16 things really shaped up. My energy increased (however I still feel exhausted raising a toddler and being pregnant at the same time). The nausea is gone. Finally. I am not sleeping all that well, although my peeing in the middle of the night has decreased from 5 times a night to 2. I have been doing a lot of prenatal yoga which feels great and has been very rewarding. It is very hard not to be able to get my heart rate above 140, and as all of my cardiovascular strength decreases it is feels great to have some physical abilities increase.
We have told Isaac about the new addition to come. One night when we were reading books I introduced one about babies, then another about being a big brother, and lastly one about a baby growing in a mommy's tummy. After we finished that book he told me he has a baby in his tummy. I laughed, and said... not but mommy does. He lifted up my shirt and said, I dont see one. Looked in my bellybutton and still couldn't see it. I tried the best I could to explain that it was inside, but it was obvious that the concept was very abstract, and for now it was ok to leave it that way. He spent the next three weeks torturing me. Making sure he knew he loved daddy more than mommy. Hitting me in the face. Refusing to sit on me because he would 'hurt the baby'. It was then that we knew, he does get this. It has gotten much better recently. He came to our doctors appoitment today, and after being reassured that he wasn't going to have to sit on the 'change table' or be examined, he seemed happy to go (as long as he could have snacks and sit on daddy's lap). He asked me in the car on the way to the appointment if the doctor was going to take the baby out, and I explained that we had a long time before that was going to happen. Slowly, it seems, we are all figuring this out together.

Princess Seamonkey
20 weeks
3/4 pound
7 inches
due December 14th, 2009

DCFC

We just finished up a fantastic holiday weekend filled with things we love to do and see. Friday we took Isaac to Coldwater Canyon park in the morning. He loved playing in the fountains, and of course had a monster melt down when it was time to leave. We headed for Newsroom for lunch, and then home for a very long nap. Saturday we headed to Silverstrand for the 4th. We spent most of the day on the beach. Isaac played in the sand (he has a new found fear of the ocean), and the Gehle's joined us in the late afternoon for apps, a bbq, and fireworks. The traffic getting out of ventura was nutty, but after patience and a couple hours we made it home. Sunday we went for a hike and a swim, and then saw Michael Mann's newest "Public Enemies". We both love loved it. We headed over the hill to Joan's on Third, picked up a gourmet picnic, and headed to the Hollywood Bowl for the trifecta of "The New Pornographers" "Tegan and Sara" and "Death Cab for Cutie". We decided to do something special and get a couple seats in a box, and wow was it worth it. It was a completely different experience. First of all, you are obviously much closer to the performers, but more importantly it created a very intimate experience that we hadn't had at the bowl. The seats were comfortable, waiters come around and take drink and food orders... it was amazing. The finale was Transatlanticism, with the LA Philharmonic, and a fantastically choreographed fireworks display. It was the perfect way to end the best show I had seen, and a fantastic weekend.

Defiance

Over the past month or so, I have noticed Isaac really beginning to pronounce his new found sense of autonomy. He has always very much been his own person, but in the past has found pleasure in making the 'right' choice. In the past few weeks it is very obvious he is testing what happens if he makes the wrong choice. You can see him wanting to see how far he can push us, he has begun reasoning with us, and very much expressing emotions of feeling 'frustrated' 'cranky' 'sad' 'upset'...
It seems like these moments escalate quickly into head to head battles where David and I stand firm and explain to him the consequences of his choices. It is often centered around cleaning up his toys, switching activities from one to another, not doing something he knows is unacceptable (throwing his food of the table one piece at a time to see how far he can take it). The consequences have been clearly laid out and are usually threatening (and following through) with the removal of something he very much likes. Book time at night, desert, going to the park...
We feel this is an incredibly important stage in his development, but it makes it no more fun to go through. Our hope is that he soon begins to understand the consequences of his actions, and we will no longer have to do the painful dance we have been engaging in. The realist in me knows this is only the beginning of the hard part of parenting that will last many many years.