Reflections

So it's been a rollercoaster of a weekend and it's only Friday (our weekend started Thursday). So much has happened that I really haven't had time to process it all yet, most of it was good - and some of it was not. I guess the best way to sort it all out is to start at the beginning.

Thursday morning. We had our 14 week appointment with the midwives. This means I'm in the second trimester (yea!) and it was a really great appointment. We heard the heartbeat (and Penelope, standing next to the "exam table" was dancing to the whump-whump-whump of the baby's heartbeat - too cute). I put exam table in quotations because the table at our midwives looks and feels nothing like the exam tables at traditional doctor's offices. It's much more comfortable and inviting, but I really can't think of another term for it.

Anyway, the heartbeat was 152 beats per minute which is very good. More good news, there's only ONE heartbeat :) No twins for us. Other good things: My uterus measured at the right amount of weeks (which is another indicator that the baby is growing normally and there's only one in there), I gained 1 lbs since last month (which puts me at 5 under from my weight before this pregnancy - although no where near my weight pre-Penny), and my midwives think everything sounds and looks good. My blood pressure was pretty low (90/60) and Marlene remarked that she didn't know how I was standing upright - although low blood pressure isn't abnormal for me during pregnancy (or when I'm not pregnant) but I have been getting dizzy a lot lately so I just have to watch myself.

After our appointment we met up with my parents and drove to Tahoe for my cousin's wedding. The wedding was at a casino, and it was really nice - both Jodi and Ken seemed really happy... Ken even got a little teary during the ceremony :)

The only downer was that during the dinner we found out that my Uncle Wes (my Grandpa's brother) had passed away. It wasn't unexpected but it was still very sad... and this is the part of the weekend (thus far) that I haven't really gotten the time to process. I don't know how much I'll get to tonight (since we're all exhausted) but I need to talk a little bit about my Uncle before I sign off.

I have very fond memories of my Uncle... growing up we didn't see him all the time since he lived in Chico and we were in Sacramento, but we saw him often enough for me to grow to love him very much. He was a bit larger than life - literally - the man was TALL. And bald (well, I'm sure he had hair at one point, but the Uncle Wes in my memories was always bald). He was incredibly intelligent, had a great sense of humor, and was (at least for us kids) a gentle giant. He was a high school principal and could be stern, but that wasn't really a side of him I ever saw. I saw him at holidays or at my great-grandparent's house (both of whom were also very tall and very loving) - and those times Uncle Wes seemed to always be laughing.

Of course, talking about Uncle Wes always reminds me of my great-grandparents who were wonderful wonderful people. I miss them a lot - they passed away when I was in high school and if I remember correctly they were both in their 90s... I have some very wonderful memories of them both and it makes me a little sad that my kids will never get the chance to meet them. But I'm very, very lucky that I got so much time with them, many people never even get to meet their great-grandparents.

Back to Uncle Wes... after my great-grandparents died we saw less of that side of the family. This was for a variety of reasons, one of which was distance. We would still see Uncle Wes on occasion; mainly for holidays.

When Bryan and I got engaged, we had a couple of conversations about who we wanted to officiate our wedding. I felt very strongly that I wanted family involved - someone special... and Bryan gave me the go-ahead to ask whomever I wanted. So I asked Uncle Wes.

He said yes. He even went online and got ordained from one of those non-denominational churches so it could be official (our ceremony was not religious, unless you count Dr. Seuss as a religious leader). He performed his son's wedding a few months before ours (he told me it was his practice ceremony, although I'm quite certain that he did an amazing job and no one would have been able to tell he'd never done it before).

Our ceremony was perfect. I couldn't imagine a better ceremony - it was funny, touching, and delivered in his wonderful speaking voice. It meant so much to me to have my Uncle (well, great-Uncle) be the one to pronounce Bryan and I husband and wife...

So to honor my Uncle Wes - and because I really love watching this - here's our wedding ceremony. The video is a little shaky (we didn't have a tripod) and the sound is so-so in spots, but it's really the only thing I have and I feel the need to hear his voice again. Thank you Uncle Wes, we love you very much.

Vote for Penny's Halloween costume...

See the poll on the side... (for those reading this on facebook, you have to actually come to the blog: http://pbjrodgers.blogspot.com/)

Forgot 2 things

1. Last night was the first time we ordered a separate meal for Penny off the kids menu. She got a cheese tortilla crisp and ate about 1/3 of it... a week or so ago we were out with friends (including baby Sophia) and we ordered the girls a salad to split (avocado & tomato) and she chowed that down. So she's had her first split meal and her first separate meal!

2. She's starting to repeat words. Daddy is one, but others she's said have been: tights, wookie, and cat. None of these actually count as first words, she's just repeating sounds. It's still fun (and funny).

And here it is!

Earlier than I thought I'd have it up... this video has funny faces, laughing, clapping, touchdowns, and an upsidedown baby. Forgive my choppy editing.

Enjoy!

I took video today...

But haven't uploaded it yet. I'm only telling you this because I need to be held accountable and if I don't put it out there it'll sit dormant on the video camera until Penelope's second birthday.

It's really cute.

Anyway, we have some new firsts. Today was the VERY FIRST TIME Penelope has EVER fed herself. I am so beyond excited... part of me was convinced I was going to be feeding her until she was 13. But nope! Tonight at dinner she picked up a tortilla chip (we were at a Mexican Restaurant) that we had given her to play with (she likes to crumble them into little pieces and throw them on the floor - we are the bane of all waitstaff). Anyway, she picked it up AND PUT IT IN HER MOUTH! And then ate it! And picked up another one and ate some more!

I seriously got teary eyed at the restaurant. I wish I was kidding.

Other new-ish stuff (I cannot remember if I've blogged about this before and am way too lazy to go back and check).
*Playing with the shaker egg... so we've been going to music classes for ages. She dances and is absolutely fascinated with guitars, but has never really taken the shaker egg and given it a good shake. But today (incidentally, NOT during music class) she picked one up and went to town. Shaking it to her own special rhythm, and even clapping with it in her hand. Cute!
*Clapping - all the time. If I ask her to show me "Yea!" she claps like a mad woman.
*Kissing on command - that sounds awful, but it's not. If I ask her for a kiss she'll give me one. Of course, then she won't stop. She sometimes tried to eat my face. I can't tell if I birthed a Jezebel or a Zombie. Maybe both. She doesn't do it for everyone though, so far it's just a few people - so it's not like she's making out with random strangers... just mommy *lol*
*Kissing BOYS. Well, just Orson. The two of them are hilarious... Orson is just hilarious - he'll kiss whatever girl is sitting next to him. Kim & Matt are going to have their hands full, I wonder whose karma this is coming back to haunt them? Hopefully my karma never comes back to visit me, otherwise I'm locking both of my children up in convents until they're 30.

Pictures and video later, I promise.

Stroller mania

So we still have awhile before we need to get a double stroller, but I went browsing today and I think I fell in love... with a $400 stroller.

http://www.philandteds.com/sport_index.htm

You can snap an infant carseat into the top (if I read the site correctly) and attach a toddler seat to the bottom. There's also a bassinet for infants. It looks awesome. It costs more than a car payment.

There are others out there... the Sit 'N Stand looks like it would work pretty well, but I have an aversion to 4 wheeled strollers. I've heard good and bad things about the stroller - I guess it all depends on how P likes it.

Was going to post more, monster just woke up from her nap...

The Rat Pack

Anyone who knows me knows that I love jazz music and Frank Sinatra. Heck, I named my cat Francis Albert Sinatra and at one point had the name-changing paperwork all filled out to legally change my name to Sinatra. In fact, a good chunk of my friends still call me Sinatra.

I don't think there's any question that Sinatra was the the greatest vocalist of all time. He just was. End of discussion.

However, Sammy Davis Jr. often gets the shaft when talking about the Rat Pack. Well, Joey Bishop REALLY gets the shaft since most people have no idea who is is or that he was a member of the Rat Pack... but Sammy Davis Jr. often gets overshadowed by Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Sammy Davis Jr. was one talented man. While I don't think he was as good as Sinatra (vocally), he was still a wonderful singer and a fantastic dancer. He also dealt with a lot of crap for being a black entertainer pre & post Civil Rights, and for marrying a white woman. He suffered a lot for his career - and I really admire him.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I just put Penelope to bed and added a little Sammy Davis Jr. into our lullaby mix. Usually I sing her Sinatra standards, James Taylor songs, and the occasional Joni Mitchell song - but tonight I mixed it up (ok, so there was still a Sinatra song, but Mr. Bojangles was also in the mix).

Our routine at night is (usually) this: Daddy gives her a bath at 7:30 and gets her ready (lotion, p.j.'s, etc) and then he passes her off and I give her the night-time bottle, rock her a little, and sing her to sleep. It's one of my favorite times of the day, and I think she loves it too. After her bottle she twists around so she can snuggle with me (we're tummy-to-tummy) and stares up at me until she drifts off. Love. Love love love.

I really hope that we can continue this routine as my belly gets larger (and as Penny gets larger as well) - and that when New Baby gets here we can incorporate him/her into the rocking and singing routine as well.