And a funny story too...

So, the other night we were out in Benjamin for youth group. We spend the night with the Cartwrights so we don't have to drive home in the dark, and Jesse can get to bed on time. Anyway, the evening was normal, Jesse went to bed fine but he woke up around 4 and wouldn't go back to sleep. So, we put him in bed with us (they have a king size bed, which is wonderful!) He eventually fell asleep, snuggled up with Mike. Well, Mike said when he woke up in the morning and moved his face away from Jesse's head, he noticed that the area around his mouth was a bit wet - he had been drooling in his sleep. And sure enough, Jesse had this patch of drool on his head - some wet, some dried. Poor little guy...but we thought it was funny!

News from the Doctor

Well, I had my appointment yesterday - baby's heartbeat was fine, I'm measuring right on track, and everything was looking good. Since this was my last appointment, my doctor decided to check my cervix, just to see if anything was happening. It appears things have been happening! I was dilated 4 cm and the baby's head was engaged (lots of women go for hours of labor before reaching this point). She said I could expect to go into labor today, but most definitely in the next 2 weeks. That totally messes up our plans considering we were going to be leaving for Canada in 2 weeks! So, yesterday after school, Mike and I went to the hospital to see where the labor & delivery unit was and today I need to go watch a video (they require all prenatal patients see it for liability reasons). We are both still in shock I think. I mean, Jesse was a week late (and I expected this one to be also, or at the very least only 1 week early!) Luckily we do have friends who have stuff we can borrow (all our newborn stuff - carseat, clothes, etc is in Canada awaiting the baby's arrival there!), and we have people who can watch Jesse for us. So now, there are just a billion things floating around in my head - when; how (they really want to do a c-section, but I am going to talk to them about that); names (I thought we had the car drive to Canada to pick some out); how in the world will we manage my recovery, taking care of Jesse, packing and moving to a new apartment all with a new baby; was my doctor wrong...and nothing is going to happen at all; will the baby be alright if it's born this early; how long does it take to get the papers we need to get baby across the border; what happens if Mike misses a final exam because of the delivery...soooooo many questions!

So, that's where my head is today. I barely slept at all last night between all the thinking I did, potty breaks, and just being uncomfortable because of the baby. And now today, I have red spots all over my tummy, and a very, very sore belly button. I have no idea what's going on...

Anyway, I have another appointment schedule for next Friday (May 4th) if I make it that long. It's another doctor I will be seeing as mine is on holidays starting today. Maybe this new doctor will tell me everything is normal, and I shouldn't expect the baby anytime soon. Here's hopin' things will all work out, and we won't get too stressed!!

Two weeks, two days...

That's right - two weeks, two days until we are on the road northward. Hard to believe. Lots of work to do before then! We are still waiting to hear if we can get into the apartment complex we want to. Either way, we have to move out of this one before we leave (since someone else is moving in!). So, I've started packing. Unfortunately, Jesse likes to "help" which usually involves unpacking what I have packed. So, my packing times are limited to when he naps. Besides the packing we also have youth group (one tonite, one next week), two more Sunday's out in Benjamin, a family fun day this Saturday, laundry, a baby shower for a friend, organizing for our trip northward, one more MOPS meeting, a doctors appointment tomorrow, plus all Mike's final exams and papers coming up! So, if you don't hear much from us in the next 2 weeks, you will know why!! And if anyone out there has some free time (and some spare cash for a plane ticket), feel free to come on down and help us out!

Actually, I think we will be okay. It feels good to check some things off the list (like our taxes, they are finally done - yay!)

No cute Jesse stories for today, so I thought I would post two pictures here. One is of Jesse in the outfit Angie and Reed gave him for Christmas in '05 (I think), and the next in Eoin wearing the same outfit. (For those who don't know, Eoin is Angie and Reed's little guy, born in late January, and Jesse's only cousin so far.) Jesse was around 4 months old, Eoin is around 3 months. Aren't they a cute pair!! I can't wait for them to meet this summer...

I have two funny stories from this morning, and it's only 9 am! First, Jesse was sitting on the counter beside me while I prepared his cereal. He still eats the infant rice cereal, mixed with applesauce. Anyway, I measured out the cereal into a bowl and went to pour milk in it. Before I had the chance, Jesse had grabbed the spoon and shovelled a bunch into his mouth. I expected a funny face from him, but he looks at me with a grin and says "mmmmmm." I can't believe that dry, powdered rice cereal tastes all that great, but I guess if you are hungry enough anything works! The other day we were at the store and Jesse was holding the chocolate bar we had bought while we drove home. I should know by now that he will chew through anything to get to food (ziplock bags, saran wrap, bread bags - once we had a chunk of bread missing in the middle of the loaf...), so, he had chewed a hole in the wrapper of the chocolate bar. Once he got to the inside, after every little nibble, he would say this huge "mmmmmmm". It was so cute and comical that it was hard to keep a straight face.

Okay, second story...I was cleaning up after breakfast when the phone rang. I didn't have time to answer it before the voicemail picked up. So, I went back to the kitchen. A minute later, Jesse walks in and hands me the phone. Our phone is on the very back of our computer desk. He had climbed up in the chair, reached all the way back there (past the pens, camera, paper clips and everything else he loves to play with) and grabbed the phone. I thought it was pretty funny. I guess the thought I should have answered it!

Anyway, I need to go and get us ready to head to the zoo for a date with my MOPS friends.

Well, it's been a while since I wrote and sadly not too much has happened!! We had a brief, cold spell recently and even some snow. And then it was hot again. And today it's only around 10 degrees Celcius.

Jesse went for his WIC appointment, and was weighed and measured by the nutritionist. He weighed almost 29 lbs, and was 33 inches tall. To give you an idea of how he has grown...in January he was 25 lbs 9 oz, and was 30.5 inches tall. He is currently in the 95th percentile for his height (meaning he is shorter than only 5 percent of children his age) and between the 75 & 80th percentile for his weight. I just can't believe how much he has grown in three months.

As for me and the baby, I won't tell you what "percentile" we are in (I don't think they even have such a thing for pregnant women...) But, at my last doctors appointment, everything was perfectly normal, the baby is head down and measuring right on track (which is a relief - Jesse measured 2 weeks large the whole third trimester), and he/she is still moving around lots. We are looking forward to meeting this little person, and no Mike and I have not picked out any names yet.

We submitted our application for a new apartment this past Friday. We are really hoping we can get in...it's a newer building with a pool, playground, and exercise room. Plus it has an extra bedroom and two bathrooms. It's a little farther away from the school than we currently are, but still within biking distance and still relatively close to our friends. So we should know within the next two weeks if we are in, and then we hope to get packed up and moved before we head to Canada for the summer. We should be arriving in Calgary in 29 days!

So that's about the extent of our news for now. I will finish off with a great recipe for anyone who feels like trying something new for dinner...our whole family loved it (I didn't really expect Jesse to...but he did too!) It's a Rachel Ray recipe and delicious:

Super-Size Turkey Meatballs with Spinach and Cheese

Ingredients

• 10-oz frozen, chopped spinach (thawed)
• 2.5-3lbs ground turkey
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1 ¾ cups milk
• ¾ cup bread crumbs (about 3 handfuls)
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• salt & pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 8 oz shredded provolone cheese or Italian cheese blend
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Wring the spinach dry in a clean kitchen towel. Place the ground turkey in a large bowl and make a well in the middle of the turkey. Add the spinach, half of the onion, the garlic, the egg, 1/4 cup of the milk, the bread crumbs and the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and season with salt and pepper. Mix until combined, then form the turkey mixture into 12 large balls, arrange on a nonstick baking sheet and drizzle with EVOO. Roast for 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of EVOO and the butter to the pan. Melt the butter, add the remaining onion and cook for 2 minutes, then whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk and the broth. Bring the liquid to a boil, then stir in the provolone. Season the sauce to taste with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.

3. Place 3 turkey meatballs on each of 4 dinner plates and drizzle with the sauce; garnish with the parsley and serve.

(We used Parmasean cheese in the meatballs. And we used an Italian cheese blend and no nutmeg for the sauce because I didn't have any. It made a lot of meatballs, but I cooked them all and froze the extras for another meal.)

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

Wow, have we had some wild weather lately! This past weekend was filled with thunderstorms, and even tornadoes in the area. And then the heat came...it's been close to 30 degrees most days - and it's only April! I am so glad we are heading north before "summer" officially arrives. But, it's not all so bad. By the evening it's cooled down to mid 20's and we get to enjoy walking around campus. 5 weeks now until we head north. Mike has lots of work to do before then with school and church. This Sunday there is a special Easter service out in Benjamin. All the churches are getting together for a sunrise service. Our family is driving out on Saturday to spend the night. It seemed like a much better alternative than leaving the house at 4:30 am Sunday morning!

Not much else is new down our way (hence the lack of posts recently). We'd love to hear how you are all doing though - send us an email sometime!

(This is just a nice picture of Mike and I...)