Weekend Update

Gabrielle has had a few new developments this week. The drool valve is broken again so we're looking for some new teeth in the next few weeks. Maybe this time they'll be on top so she won't look so much like a jack-o'lantern anymore. Any tips on how to shut the drool off would be appreciated.

Her latest trick is pulling up to a standing position from pretty much anywhere. I noticed it for the first time this morning. She was crawling toward me and I put my hands out toward her to pick her up. Instead of crawling all of the way to me, she grabbed a hold of my hands and then just stood up. I didn't even really see it happen or comprehend it at first. She's been doing all day today though and I've seen her do it before on her toy basket, but never to Matt or I. She has also discovered that it takes less than a minute to travel to the dog food bowl from the livingroom and if mom and dad aren't watching carefully, occasionally she gets to splash in the water.

We went and had her 9 month pictures taken today. She did pretty good except that she had rationed her smiles to 8 or 9 per hour. Luckily, the photographer caught her during most of them. Somehow in this world of technology it takes them 7-10 business days to print photos. How is that true when I could go to a different photographer and walk out the same day with as many pictures as I want. It's got to be easier than this. Whatever though.

I go to the doctor on Wednesday to check on Two. We'll hear the heartbeat and measure my belly. It's definitely growing, though I can still get into some of my size 14 pants. I'm proud to say that I still weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with Gabrielle. I learned my lesson the first time--yes, you can eat all you want while pregnant but you'll pay for it later.

My mom and dad are coming for a visit tomorrow afternoon and Mom is planning on taking a bunch of pictures so maybe I'll have some good ones to post then.

9 month stats

Gabrielle went for her 9 month well baby check today and she's doing fine. She weighs 17 lbs 3 oz--the 25%-ile--and is 29 in long--the 95%-ile. Her weight is technically falling as far as the charts are considered so if she gets any lower by her 12 month check up she'll have to go on a high calorie diet. Sounds like Coke and Twinkies for her. Everything is great though and she's healthy.

She also started crawling today in the traditional sense of the term. Up until now she's been doing this seal looking move where she pushes up on her arms and then flops herself down on her belly. Of course she started crawling tonight while I was at class. Matt video taped it though so I got to see it when I got home. It's pretty cute and scary all at once. I can't believe that she's already 9 months old and now she's mobile! If I can figure out how to post video I'll put the video of her crawling up, but I don't know how to do it. I probably need a host of some sort. Any tips?

That's about all for now. I'm heading to bed since I'm nearly falling asleep typing--and it's not even 9pm. Being pregnant makes me tired! Good night all!

Weekend Update

It seems that I do about one blog post a week lately. This week there will be at least one more with Gabrielle's updated stats. She goes for her 9 month well baby check on Wednesday so we'll know her new official height and weight. She's got a bit of a cough right now. I came on late last night and she was a little grumpy this afternoon, but not too bad. The cough sounds really bad though. It's one of those barking coughs. It's kind of wierd to hear that kind of sound come out of a little baby. She's been her congenial self lately. She is getting the hang of going from her belly to sitting on her butt. No crawling yet, but she gets around pretty well in her own little way. When she gets going fast or is excited she almost looks like she's doing the worm. It's pretty hilarious. Here are a couple of pics for those of you who don't see her very often.

This is her getting ready for the band's holiday party.

This picture isn't all that great, but check out those chompers!

Doing the patented Gabrielle pose. She's a total ham!

Announcing the arrival of...tooth #2

Gabrielle got her second tooth this week. It came in sometime on Monday. Which was of course my first day back to work so I missed the big event, but discovered it when I got home. Tooth #2 is right next to the first one and I'm still not used to looking at her smile and seeing teeth. I'm sure it will grow on me though. She's also started making more crawling motions this week and eating fruit puffs--think banana flavored Cherrios type snacks. She'll even stand on her own for a few seconds at a time but loses it when she tries to turn around to see if you're watching.

No new news on Two. I've felt a few movements already, but they're pretty minimal and only about once a day. We're getting close to having to break out the maternity clothes though. I can wear a few pairs of my fat girl pants again. I guess it's good I didn't have them altered after I lost the Gabrielle weight. Oh well...I'll get them fixed next time.

We went to the zoo tonight for the AF band holiday party. It was very cool to go to a holiday party after all of the madness of the holiday is over. They rented out the restaurant that is attached to the jungle and we got to go in the jungle after hours in the semi-darkness. It was a little creepy and some of the animals were hard to see. And especially for Alicia, since I know she loves birds, there were a bunch--okay maybe only two--but these birds followed us around in their part of the jungle. I assumed they were expecting food and have learned that people who come into the exhibit have food. They were freaky though and were not afraid to get real close to people. All I could think of was some wierd variation on an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I don't like to be that close to birds. Eww...