Our Teacher of the Year

My Uncle Bob was recently named as one of the ten finalists for the Teacher of the Year in Harford County. The award dinner was last night and unfortunately he did not win. It's a robbery I tell you, a robbery! Anyway, I am reminded of when Uncle Bob had to teach his band students in a school's locker room because of overcrowding. The acoustics were great, but the backed-up sewage left a lot to be desired.

My, how far you've come! We're all very proud of you. You're OUR Teacher of the Year!

Commercials

OK. I don't know if these bother anyone else, but they're driving me crazy. There are two commercials on t.v. that bother me so much I have to change the channel.

The first one is for Lamisil. It's the nail fungus drug that has the cartoon guys creating havoc under someone's toenail. For some reason, I can't handle seeing the toenail being flipped up by the little monsters. Grosses me out!

The second commercials are fairly new. Volkswagon has two commercials featuring the safety features (I think airbags and crumple zones) of the Jetta. It features people driving along, having a normal conversation, and then suddenly crashing into another car. The realism of the impact and the movement of the passengers is too much for me.

I know the goal is to get people to remember their product. But do companies realize how traumatic their commercials are? Sorry, I just had to vent.

Anniversary!

Today is my grandparents' 58th Wedding Anniversary! Woo-hoo! Wishing you a great Anniversary and many more to come!

Prepared Childbirth Class

We attended the One Day Prepared Childbirth Class at the hospital yesterday from 8:30 to 2:00. It was scheduled to last until 3:30 but it ended early. The One day class was the alternative to attending several shorter classes over the span of a few weeks. The instructor was one of the same ladies who taught the Baby Basics Brunch. She's very down to earth.

We went over signs and symptoms of labor and when to call the Dr. She also explained the normal activities that will occur in the hospital before, during, and after the baby is born. We watched a very graphic video about the different stages of labor and birth. Rob particularly enjoyed that...NOT! Then we learned four methods of lamaze breathing. After lunch we went on a tour of the hospital. The labor and delivery rooms are very nice and spacious. All in all, it was a beneficial class.

Both days that we attended class at the hospital it was pouring rain. What's up with that?! I hope it's not a sign for delivery day. We came home and relaxed for the rest of the day. Our evening was topped off by watching the 1980's classic "She's Having a Baby". It's a great movie...except for the scary part with the emergency c-section. But knowing how it was going to turn out made it bearable.

Aggreko Baby Shower

Rob's co-workers threw him a baby shower on Friday. He was completely suprised and flattered. They gave Katherine several adorable outfits as well as some other baby gear and goodies. A big Thank You goes out to all of the thoughtful people at Aggreko! A picture of the proud "Poppa-to be" is below.

33 Week Check-Up

We had a check-up last night. Nothing earth-shattering to report. I have put on a few more pounds. Easter dinner probably helped with that! Katherine has changed positions to laying across me from left to right. This seems to make it easier for her to kick me in the ribs. She has been doing that a lot lately.

Reality did set in a little though. Our Dr. asked us if we knew when to call him. Basically, if we knew the signs of labor. We answered correctly. I guess it's "game on" now! They say that most 1st babies arrive after their due date, but there's no way to predict when Katherine will decide to grace us with her presence. One thing we have realized though, if Katherine is born one day after her due date, her birthday will be 6/6/06. It's a good thing we're not superstitious!

Smoke Free

It's official! The State of New Jersey is now smoke free! Over the weekend a new law went into effect. It bans smoking in restaurants and bars. The exceptions are the casinos and businesses with the sole purpose of smoking (cigar bars). Woo hoo! Now we just have to get Philadelphia/Pennsylvania to see the light!

32 Week Ultrasound

Tonight we had our ultrasound to check Katherine's growth. She's perfect! The ultrasound tech measured all of her limbs and vital organs and checked the amount of amniotic fluid. It's fine. She also verified her original verdict that Katherine is a girl with a check "down there". There's no doubt about it! Katherine is currently in the "head down" position and will most likely stay that way. And as far as her being small...according to the measurements, Katherine weighs approximately 4 lbs 9 ozs! That's right on track! A profile of Katherine's noggin' is below. Ain't she cute?

Baby Basics Brunch

We attended our first baby class on Saturday. It was called the Baby Basics Brunch. As you might guess, they provided us with bagels, pastries, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, assorted juices and hot drinks. What better way to a pregnant woman's heart! The four hour class was taught by two women who have a background in nursing. While both were realistic, they had two different styles on baby care. It was nice to have both perspectives represented equally. They offered a lot of helpful hints about things like bathing, changing diapers, and general baby care. The class also included a question and answer session with a Pediatrician and a demonstration on the correct way to install a carseat. I think we both came away feeling more confident and knowing a little more than we did before. If nothing else, we were exposed to the wide variety of couples who will also be parents soon...including the guy who seemed obsessed with Shaken Baby Syndrome!

While it was fresh in our minds, Rob installed the carseat on Sunday. He did a great job. That sucker's not going anywhere! An updated belly shot is below.

31 Weeks, 3 days

Because of scheduling, our check-up last night wasn't quite 2 weeks from the last one. Anyway, they measured my uterus. It's still a little small. It did grow some though. It's now 29 cm! Katherine's heartbeat is strong as ever and she's very active in there. I'm scheduled to have an ultrasound and growth check on Monday just to make sure that everything is o.k. with Katherine. Most likely my uterus is on the small side because Katherine is on the small side. She's probably just following in the footsteps of her Mommy. Don't expect any 10 pounders coming from me! I have gained another 3 pounds though!

We have our first baby class at the hospital tomorrow.