This and That

• Yesterday was picture day at school. Theo looked ridiculously handsome and grown up! I can't wait to see the photos; I hope they come out at as great as they did last year. I also hope he looks good in the class pic. Last year he was the only kid with his head turned completely sideways with a weird expression. I was so mad; in the age of digital, I know they could have gotten a photo with all the kids looking at least decent. Anyway, Joe and I had so much fun in the morning getting his outfit steamed and his hair brushed and sprucing him up. He wasn't thrilled about wearing a sportsjacket, however. He wanted his blue sweatshirt.

• I got a letter from school saying Theo's teacher Grace was promoted to Educational Supervisor and Lavern was now the teacher, effective immediately. I'm happy for Grace, and she deserves it, but I think it's an odd time of year to change teachers. The school year is almost over! But luckily I love Lavern; she's been working in Theo's class for the two years he's been there as an assistant, so it's not like the kids have to adjust to a stranger. I spent some time with her at the zoo recently; Theo likes her, too. It shouldn't be a big deal.

• I'll be 34 weeks on Friday. I think 34 weeks is considered the point where the baby is no longer really a preemie if born early--so that's great! It's a huge relief to know that if I went into early labor it would probably be fine. Not that I think that will happen; it's just good to know.

• Tomorrow we have an appointment at the Jervis Clinic in Staten Island again. This time they're evaluating Theo to determine his level of autism. We consider him to be very low on the spectrum, so I'm a little worried about hearing otherwise. I'll keep you posted.

Yucky Chocolate Milk

Funny bit of cuteness for the day-

I love chocolate milk, especially during both pregnancies--but so does the whole fam, so when it's in the house I barely get to have any. Thus, I have taken to drinking Silk's soy chocolate milk, because I actually like it and Joe won't dare try it, and I get to have it all to myself. It's good for the baby for me to have it, anyway. When Theo saw it in the fridge I always told him it wasn't chocolate milk.

The other night, Theo surprised me when he said "I want yucky chocolate milk."

Oh no! Joe had blown my cover! He had gone grocery shopping with Theo earlier, and without thinking, when he put the Silk in the cart he told Theo it was mommy's yucky chocolate milk. So much for having it all to myself!

Happy Birthday Grandma Ice Cream, Maow and Bruce!

Bruce and Maow were spoiled for their second birthday and got more Spongebob toys...

And they got to have a can of tuna! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

What started out as a Madonna impersonation went terribly wrong. Theo climbed over the table to get his hat back from Uncle Elliot. He was very mad at him.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Coneheads. In case it's not obvious.

Theo made sure Knuffle Bunny got in on the action, and put a hat on him.

If I Should Fall Behind, Wait For Me

Those are Springsteen lyrics in the topic title. :) They refer to how long it's been since I last wrote. I was going strong on this blog for a while, wasn't I?? Then work got really busy and of course, my exhaustion level is through the roof. Not complaining, though. I am growing a person, after all.

I had another doc's appointment today. All is well, I'm measuring at 32 weeks (which I am--perfect!) and Melody's heartbeat sounded great. My weight gain is up to 17 lbs.

Melody's movements are getting really gigantic now. I can feel her flipping and punching and kicking and twisting, and body parts are constantly protruding from my belly! I try to identify them--that's the hard part. Was that a heel? A finger? A head? A foot? I never know, but it's fun to guess! She's supposed to engage within the next few weeks, which means she's supposed to turn so her head is downward, and stay that way.

Things are coming together! We built our crib, and it took two hours! We're terribly unhandy, and the instructions were awful--they may as well have been written in Japanese. Our crib bedding has arrived, and our bassinet is set up. It's wonderful to stare at the empty crib and picture our baby in there. The cats look adorable in the bassinet, but we'll have to start kicking them out. Theo already does; he's very protective of Melody. He tells the cats "get out of Melody's bed!"

I'm getting more and more convinced that Theo gets that there is a baby in my belly, and that the baby's name is Melody. So much so that I don't think he'll be surprised when he sees the baby for the first time. I think seeing her will make him connect all the dots and piece together all we've been talking about these past months--the baby in the belly, the crib, the this, the that. What I don't think he gets is that this baby will actually materialize. I think in his mind, there is already a baby named Melody and that's that. I can't wait for them to meet and to see his face!

Hospital Tour

We toured the birthing center in our hospital yesterday. This is St. Vincent's hospital; I had Theo at Mt. Sinai, where I was born. It was fun getting to meet three other pregnant couples. I was hoping to make a pregnant friend but they were all in their upper 30's, so as usual I was the outcast. I swear, no one in New York City has babies before 35. If I lived in the midwest I'd fit right in, but here I stick out like a sore thumb. Plus, I look even younger than I am, so people think I'm a teen mom. I mean, I know I'm at perfect childbearing age, especially physically, but it's annoying that the general NYC public doesn't know it.

Oh, on an unrelated note, this morning an older lady, maybe in her 60's, offered me her seat on the subway after no one else would. I refused it and told her not to worry about it, but I think I offended her. What's this world coming to when old ladies have to give up seats to pregnant ladies? Next, it'll be someone on crutches.

How did I end up rambling? This post was meant to be about the tour! I don't have much to report, it was standard hospital stuff, but it was still fun. When I saw the labor and delivery room, sense memory kicked in and I was immediately brought back to the "having Theo" scene. I could visualize my sweaty, ugly, squirming mess of a self on that bed--just by seeing it! I love sense memory, it fascinates me.

Grandma Ice Cream and Grandma Popcorn on Wheels

This is one of Uncle Jim's Christmas gifts to Theo. It was a gag gift, but Theo loves it. It's two grannies in wheelchairs, who race on a track! Grandma Popcorn (Joe's mom) is the one in red, and my mom, Grandma Ice Cream, is the one in purple.

There's Knuffle Bunny peeking out!

World Autism Day

Today is World Autism Today. Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey wrote an interesting article on Jenny's son Evan (I'm not sure if Carrey is the father or not, too lazy to look it up). They, like many people, attribute their son's autism to vaccines.

I'll never know if Theo got a vaccine that affected him negatively in any way. He could have, or he could not have; I have no clue. But I do know that at the time I didn't know to do research or question any vaccine. If the doctor wanted to give a vaccine, I went ahead and scheduled it. Great, I thought, the more the better.

Melody will have the benefit of my experience with Theo; now I know to learn about every vaccine thoroughly before she gets it. How awful for Theo to be a guinea pig, so to speak. Though to be honest, I really don't think vaccines had anything to do with his delays. But that's more of a gut instinct than anything.

By the way, interesting how some former porn stars are accepted into mainstream while most are condemned by society! Who knew Jenny McCarthy would one day be writing for CNN? You go, Jenny! I can't help it, I liked her on that MTV show Singled Out, way back in the day. :)