Surprise!..well, maybe not

Well, I suppose you probably guessed that we are awaiting the arrival of baby #2 in November from the baby floating in the digital womb (look to the left), but just in case...surprise! Now for all the answers you are looking for...we don't know if it is a boy or a girl since the baby was crossing his/her legs during the ultrasound. We aren't sure if we will have an opportunity to find out our baby's gender before birth and we're not sure if we will find out even if we get a chance (a surprise could be fun, right?).

So far the baby is an active one, and Clancy really seems to like him or her. Clancy is constantly coming and laying his head on my tummy so he can hear the baby, pointing to my belly button and saying "baby", and waving to the baby with his hand about an inch from my stomach. It is pretty funny. I hope he will learn to be gentle before this baby is born--that is something that we are working on.

Lately I have been having pre-term contractions, not painful but pretty consistent. My doctor prescribed some medication and bed-rest and with a combo of the meds and bed-rest (once in a while) I am able to keep the contractions to a minimum (You may have noticed the wheelchair in the picture). I've also just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so I guess I won't be needing any chocolate anytime soon.

That is my update, I hope I covered all the important baby-related info, if not let me know and I will try my best to answer!

OK this is scary...

Here is Clancy picking flowers during a recent camping trip, it looks innocent and harmless enough, unless you know that the flowers he is picking are from a Foxglove or Digitalis Purpurea plant. I never would have known that this plant is poisonous except that my mom saw the pictures of our camping trip and calmly warned me not to let him play with that plant! I googled Foxglove and the Wikipedia entry caused me to utter a hurried prayer of gratitude that Clancy didn't die from this seemingly harmless activity.

Just to give you an idea, here is the portion of the Wikipedia entry that describes the toxicity of the plant:

"The entire plant is poisonous (including the roots and seeds), although the leaves of the upper stem are particularly potent, with just a nibble being enough to potentially cause death. Early symptoms of ingestion include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, abdominal pain, wild hallucinations, delirium, and severe headache. Depending on the severity of the toxicosis the victim may later suffer irregular and slow pulse, tremors, various cerebral disturbances, especially of a visual nature (unusual colour visions with objects appearing yellowish to green, and blue halos around lights), convulsions, and deadly disturbances of the heart."

So, I guess while I was a little shaken by Clancy picking up a slug on a recent trip to a blueberry farm, I had no idea about his earlier brush with a potentially lethal plant. I guess it is just a testimony to me that Clancy is being protected by a power greater than my constant worrying and hand sanitizing.

Blue Angels

This weekend the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels graced the skies over Lake Washington as part of Seattle's Seafair. Since we were in Seattle for Andrew's internship (two summers ago), this event has become one of my favorites. Seafair lasts for probably a month, if you consider all the events that are held; there are milk carton derbies, torchlight parades, pirates (the Arrrrrgh! kind) landing at Alki Beach, and of course the jet boat races and Blue Angels airshow.

As we watch the Blue Angels perform I am inspired, impressed, and super nervous. I can't imagine how the families of the Blue Angels let them do what they do (Andrew is lucky that I let him cross the street by himself)! For those of you that have not seen the Blue Angels perform, it is an incredible experience. The show is full of stunts where 4 planes fly very close together (some upside down) making tight turns, where two planes head towards each other on a collision course and then pull themselves sideways to avoid impact right at the last moment, and lots more crazy stunts. My favorite stunt is where six planes fly together high up and then suddenly dive straight down for a while before fanning out (the exhaust trails make an awesome shape).

One of the most impressive things to remember as you watch the Blue Angels is that they are merely representatives of our the talents and skills possesed by our country's service men and women. Across the world there are pilots doing similarly dangerous maneuvers, just not for the enjoyment of an admiring crowd. I am truly inspired by those who serve in our country's armed forces and serve to protect the people of our country and the world.


The Blue Angels In Flight - Amazing videos are here