Happy Halloween!

I'm the first to say that I've never been a huge fan of Halloween - I guess it is fun but I never really got into dressing up in costumes. This year seems to be a little different - I'm not sure why. Maybe it is because we are expecting our first little trick-or-treater. Or maybe because this is our first Halloween living in this great neighborhood that will be overrun with children tonight. I'd love to know how many trick-or-treaters we have come by, but I'm sure we'll probably lose count. One of the associates at my firm just stopped by with his wife and their 1 year-old twin girls, who were decked out in bee costumes. They were so cute, I couldn't help myself - I promptly got online and bought this puppy costume that was on sale for the baby to wear next year (when he or she is about 6 months old). I might not have enjoyed dressing up when I was young, but I'm sure going to love dressing up our child!

Latest Ultrasound Pictures

With huge thanks to my Dad, I'm finally able to post some of the ultrasound pictures that I referenced in my previous post.

This first picture is definitely the most clear of all of the photos from that day. As you can tell, this is a picture of the baby from the right side, with its arm up in the air with a clenched fist:



Here is another side view, this one from the left, again with the baby waving its arm in the air:



This third picture cracks me up - the baby is directly looking at the camera, and I swear you see this gigantic smile on its face!:



This fourth picture is a frontal view of the baby - it's head is to the left of the image, looking at the camera. The baby's left arm is raised, with its little left hand by its forehead:



In this fifth picture, the baby is again facing the camera (photogenic little thing, isn't it?!), but this time it's head is to the right of the image and the abdomen is the large circle underneath the head. Both arms are raised up and are next to the baby's head:



This last picture shows the baby on his or her back and shows you the length (at that time, 2 inches - the baby has since grown to 3 inches according to my weekly baby book):

Baby Follow-Up

Here we are at 12 weeks and 2 days in the pregnancy countdown. I wanted to pass along the good news that Ryan and I got this past Friday. We had scheduled over a month ago a special ultrasound at Baptist East (the hospital where the baby will be born)to take place on Friday. This is called a nuchal translucency screening - basically, a specialist takes tons of measurements of the baby and then tells you the projected odds of your baby having Downs syndrome. There is also some blood work that goes along with this. I should note that this is a completely optional test - many expectant parents do not opt to undergo this ultrasound.

When my obstetrician asked us at our very first appointment if we wanted this test, I immediately responded with a resounding yes. Since that time, however, I've been filled with lots of uncertainty as to whether we should actually go through with the test. On the one hand, there was nothing Ryan and I could do to change the results of that test, which I can't even begin to convey what a scary thought that is. On the other hand, I definitely wanted to know so it could at least quiet some of the fears I was having (trust me, since I've found out I'm pregnant, I've turned into Chicken Little - constantly thinking of all the possible things that could go wrong!). Plus, it sounds silly but I wanted to get a better look at the baby - the obstetrician told me at this appointment, the baby would definitely LOOK like a baby as opposed to a blur like in my previous ultrasound. She also told us there was a CHANCE the specialist would be able to tell the gender, but warned us not to get our hopes up (too late!).

Wow, when my obstetrician said that the baby would look more like a baby, she wasn't kidding. Everything looked so developed - except that critical part that tells us whether to look for pink or blue clothing. This is definitely Ryan's child - he or she would not stop moving for the first twenty minutes of the exam! (I should note that we got to watch our baby for about 30-40 minutes on the computer screen - I could have watched it all day, but I don't think I would have been able to stand much more of the pressure they were putting on my abdomen to get the baby to flip around!). This child was kicking and jumping, and kept waving its little arms at us - it's like the baby knew it was being filmed!

The specialist came in toward the end to take the measurements. By this point, the little peanut decided to stop moving...for a few minutes. Then we witnessed just about the cutest thing I've seen in my life thus far. Every couple of seconds, the baby's little body would bounce up in the air. The specialist confirmed to us that our baby did in fact have hiccups. I got teary eyed just hearing that, though who am I kidding, I get teary eyed at alot of stuff (especially since I've been pregnant!).

I am happy to report that based upon the measurements taken by the specialist and ultrasound technician, as well as the first round of blood work, the odds of our child having Downs syndrome are very low - about one in several thousand. While there is no guarantee that the baby will be born completely healthy, this is still remarkable and relieving news.

So that's our latest update - I wish I could post some of these latest ultrasound pictures, they are incredible! I'm still struggling with the scanner at work to see if I can get these copied so I can post them on the blog - I'm determined I'll win that battle. In the meantime, thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and well wishes, we are grateful for them all. We have about a week and a half till we are officially through with the first trimester, at which point I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief. In all seriousness, I've been very fortunate to have so few pregnancy symptoms. To address the other question I seem to get the most from our friends and family, we expect to find out the sex of the baby in about 7 weeks (our 19th week ultrasound in the first week of December).

Happy Belated Birthday Granny

So, everyone has asked me how the infamous chocolate cake went that I made for my grandmother's 90th birthday this weekend. For the record, I love to cook, but this is the first time I have baked a cake completely from scratch. Seriously, this recipe was completely ambitious - it took me about 3 1/2 hours to make Friday night and I lost count of how many ingredients it contained. Truth be told, I doubt I'll make it again for those reasons. However, all that work was worth it to celebrate such a wonderful day with my family. I think my grandmother really enjoyed having us all there to celebrate. Ryan and I are very lucky in that we have about half of our grandparents still with us. My paternal grandfather, Ryan's paternal grandfather, and Ryan's maternal grandparents are no longer with us, unfortunately, but I know they are with us in this very exciting time of our lives.

Here's a picture of my grandmother with the infamous cake - unfortunately, it did not look a thing like the picture of the cake I posted below! The important thing is my grandmother loved it!

Mmmm....chocolate

My family is celebrating my lovely grandmother's 90th birthday this Saturday and I have volunteered to make the cake. I've selected a recipe for a cake called "Chocolate Cake IV" - I have no idea what the name of the cake means. It's basically three layers of chocolate goodness, divided by chocolate ganache and mocha cream. The cake is then completely covered in more chocolate ganache and chocolate curls. My mouth is watering just typing that and looking at the picture below!



This recipe is pretty ambitious - everything is from scratch and it calls for a ton of ingredients. But hey, how often does your grandmother turn 90?! Just in case I totally screw it up, I'm also going to pick up a caramel iced apple pie at Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen:



If you don't live in Louisville, you are truly missing out. This awesome bakery puts all other bakeries to shame, at least the ones I've tried. This pie is their most popular pie - the picture does not even do it justice!

I'm also planning on making a spinach and artichoke casserole. I got the recipes for the casserole and the cake from one of my numerous Southern Living cookbooks. I am cautiously optimistic that these recipes will turn out great, because I firmly believe in what my Mom always says, which is that she has never made anything which came out of a Southern Living recipe that didn't taste great.

A Fantastic Day

Just had to put up a post to share with you what a great day I'm having so far, especially after having so much nausea with morning sickness all day yesterday. I had my second follow-up appointment with the obstetrician this morning, so I didn't go into work first but stayed at home till my appointment. I got to sleep in (a little) and then go for a nice hour-long walk in our neighborhood in this fantastic brisk weather Kentucky is enjoying right now - it finally feels like fall!

After my walk, Ryan and I got ready and headed on over to the doctor's office. This visit was not quite as momentous as our visit last month, when we found out our due date and had our first ultrasound, but it was really special nonetheless. Dr. Kuntz was able to use the Doppler on my stomach and let us listen in on our baby's heartbeat - my this child has an incredibly strong heart!! That sound is absolutely amazing...I wish I could hear it everyday because it made me feel like I was floating on air as I walked out of the doctor's office. I was also happy to hear I had only gained 1 pound this past month - I was a little nervous because I knew I hadn't gotten to work out nearly as much as I had at the beginning of my pregnancy due to my fatigue, and I haven't been eating nearly as healthy as I did at the beginning (when you're nauseous, some foods which aren't quite as healthy, aka pasta, are the only thing which can make you feel better). To top it all off, I met with the benefits coordinator and my insurance plan will cover the entire labor and delivery - we shouldn't have to pay a penny, which is a huge relief.

Finally, I got into work and went through my mail, only to find two Orders entered by different Judges in the Jefferson Circuit Court, sustaining my motions in two cases and dismissing the claims in their entirety against my clients!

Not a bad day, huh?? Sorry to gloat, but when you have a great day like this you want to share. I think I'm going to knock on wood that this day remains fantastic!

Honduras

So, my father arrived at the Louisville airport bright and early at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday to catch a flight to Honduras with about 10 or so other individuals for a mission trip. Obviously, my father is NOT in an area right now which is quite as green and lush as the above picture of a Mayan ruin (although, he tells me that the last two days of their trip their group will be able to do a little sight seeing at some of these ruins). No, my father and his group are in a small village in Honduras - the residents of this village all live in thatch huts. My father and his group are sleeping in tents on the ground (they do have air mattresses, though, for what it's worth!). The group, whose corporate sponsor is Heifer International (an incredible organization, visit www.heiferorg.com for more information)is going to assist the village residents in making cement blocks which will be used to build more stable homes for the residents. I wish I still had the email with some of the pictures my dad had previously received of the village - it's definitely eye opening that there are many in our world who live in this fashion while we take for granted the modern conveniences of the 21st century. I'm very proud of my Dad for doing this, but would be lying if I didn't say I am completely anxious for him to get home soon (they come back next Tuesday), healthy and safe!

In Need of Some Fall Weather

I generally love this time of year - the leaves start to fall, pumpkins make their debut on porches as homeowners begin to decorate for Halloween, football season is in full force, there's a crisp chill in the air....wait a minute, Sara, not so fast. It's supposed to be 90 degrees today in Louisville. As anyone who has lived in Kentucky for five minutes or more can tell you, Kentucky weather is nothing if not unpredictable. Where else can you experience balmy temperatures one week, and then two feet of snow the next week right before you leave for Florida for spring break (as all of you UK grads will recall from March of 1998)? The weather really is what makes the fall season, so I'm definitely ready for a nice cold front to come through. I tried to make a big pot of potato soup the other night to get myself in the mood for fall, but it just doesn't work when people are still wearing shorts outside!! The sooner the cool weather gets here, the better, so everyone else can start breaking out their sweaters and jeans for those evening football games . . . as for me, the cool weather will probably arrive when I'm ready to start squeezing into those every so lovely maternity clothes!!