An overdue update

I haven’t done much blogging lately and there are several reasons for that.  First and foremost, it’s very difficult to find the time and energy to sit down and write when I’ve got an extremely active and curious little one running around.  Sam is super interested in my laptop, so the moment it hits my lap she’s by my side hitting buttons and turning it off.  Haha!  This can be frustrating when I’m just trying to look up a recipe or respond to an email/facebook post.  I tend to restrict my computer time to her nap time, but nap time is also the prime time for me to get chores done around the house.  By the time we get her into bed, I’m ready for some R&R with the hubby and less inclined to sit back and write about whatever might be on my mind. 

Also, the last few months have been difficult.  We had a lot of stressors in recent history.  The biggest being the sale of South George.  After six months of missing/late documents, less than adequate communication, and other... complications, we were finally able to close on the house.  We barely made the sale in time!  That process was extremely trying for me (and for Richard).  I wasn’t in the best place to discuss it, since my emotions were… high… and I’m not one to rock the boat.  Now that it’s complete and we can move forward with our lives, I’m working to put the whole situation behind me. 

Not only was South George an overwhelming source of stress for us, but Maryland’s passing of the table games referendum brought some financial issues to our table.  Richard and I began discussing the need for me to return to work.  What excellent time, right?  Oh, I hope you can hear the sarcasm there!  At the midpoint of my pregnancy, I started looking for a job.  After being turned down for every single job I applied for, I did secure an interview that I was very excited about.  The interview went wonderfully and I was very hopeful that I’d soon have a job and our worries about the future would be nullified.  However, it wasn’t to be.  They selected another candidate for the position. 

After a lot of discussion, we agreed that my chances of finding work at this stage of my pregnancy was unlikely.  Who would want to hire someone who would need maternity leave before the ink dried on her W-4?  Additionally, to qualify for FMLA you have tobe in your current position for twelve months…  So my job protection would be limited/non-existent.  I’ll continue to apply for jobs, but will likely keep my searches to Federal positions (since I was a Career employee, I have some slightly better than average odds).  In the meantime, we’re going to tighten our belts and see if we can get our financial ship back on the course we want it to be on.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to weather the storm of Maryland Live’s future poker room without busting too many holes in our sails.  It helps that it looks like nopoker room will be added until after New Baby arrives. 

Speaking of New Baby…  Things there are going fabulously!  So far, all of my appointments have been totally standard fair, with one tiny exception.  At my anatomy scan in December, they noticed that the placenta is “low”.  Both doctors I’ve seen since then seem only mildly concerned.  They said that in all likelihood, it will move up and into the proper position (since I had no such problems with Samantha).  We have a follow up ultrasound in February to check on the position, but everyone seems confident that it won’t be a problem.  The consequence if it doesn’t move is a cesarean; but again, no one thinks it will come to that.   

I also have my two hour glucose test coming up in February.  Richard and I both suspect that this will be the end of my perfectly normal pregnancy, but I’m just slightly optimistic that it might not be.  My sugars (when I’ve infrequently checked them) have all been within normal ranges.  Matter of fact, everything about this pregnancy has been spot on.  My blood pressures have all been normal.  My urine tests, normal.  Blood work, normal.  Weight gain, normal.  Of course, starting out about fifty pounds lighter with this pregnancy is the likely reason behind this blissfully normal pregnancy.  While I hope that I can pass this glucose test, I’m preparing myself for the likelihood that I won’t.  Once you’ve had gestational diabetes thechances that you get it with subsequent pregnancies goes up substantially.  Naturally, we’ll do everything we can to bring a healthy baby into this world. 

On to my darling little Sam-a-lam.  Holy cow, has she been changing!  She had her 9 month wellness visit a few weeks ago and since then it’s like we have a whole new child.  Richard and I re-baby-proofed the living room after taking down the Christmas decorations.  Of course, she’d taken her first few tentative steps on New Year’s Eve (if you missed it, the video’s here…).  Once we opened up the living room to her again, she’s taken off!  In just two short weeks, she’s walking back and forth between the furniture, carrying things around with her, bending down to pick things up, and working on turning.

Smiles for Mommy 

She’s also bringing Mommy books to read, which I LOVE!!  She’ll even hit the doorbell button on her Ding Dong, It’s Dora book.  She can also turn the pages.  Her attention span only lasts as long as the shorter books (The Very Hungry Caterpillar, her Dora books, and a few others).  Curious George at the Park is a touch and feel book and one of her favorites!  I’d really like to get a few more of the touch and feel books. 

Sam is also on table foods totally for breakfast and lunch.  Some of her favorites include eggs, sausage, oatmeal, grits, oranges, peaches, peanut butter and jelly, cheese, and yogurt.  The girl slurps down water like it’s going out of style, which makes me super proud.  When offered a choice between water and Pedialyte when she was sick, she picked water over and over. 

Her sleep schedule is good and most nights she sleeps straight through without any trouble.  She goes down around 8:30 most nights and wakes up between 7 and 8 in the morning.  We’re working on cutting back formula/nursing but I’m still reluctant to give up the last little bit of nursing that I do (morning time, when she first wakes up). 

Morning cuddles are full of grins!

Sam’s vocabulary is increasing all the time.  Her consonant sounds include a lot of “ga’s” now, along with the standard “da,” “mum,” “nom,” “yum,” and “ba-ba” sounds.  She does seem to make the connection of “da-da” to Richard and “ba-ba” to Loki (since we call him Bubba a lot).  “Mum” still means everything from Mommy to tired or hungry.  I’m trying to draw a connection between hungry and “nom-nom” since that’s a sound she makes while eating.  We’ll see if we can get there; it’s a new sound for her. 

Playing

One of her favorite toys is her Lego collection (thanks to Aunt Heather and Grammy and Pop-Pop).  She’s getting to be a master at putting one Lego on top of another, in addition to pulling them apart.  Sam LOVES destroying anything that Mommy or Daddy builds, though!  She’s also really into her walking car that she got from her Aunt Diana and Uncle Abe for Christmas.  Another favorite is her picnic basket, which includes a set of cups.  She discovered that one cup fits inside the other and is endlessly fascinated by her ability to repeat this over and over again. 

Sam's first pillow fort!  Had a BLAST!

We don’t turn the TV on a lot during the day, but she has paid some interest to Dora the Explorer (particularly during the music sequences) and a little of the Bubble Guppies (also, during the music sequences).  She’s really into dancing and will bounce along with any music that she hears.  I really love watching her boogey! 

I’ll stop there for now, but expect more from me in the near future.  I miss this outlet and enjoy sharing our lives with you!  :o)