Weekend Get-a-way

Over President's Day weekend we took a little family vacation.  Maybe it would even qualify as a staycation.  'Cause we didn't really go that far, but we saw all sorts of new sights--all within about a 100 mile radius of our house.

We started with the 700-year-old Anasazi cliff dwellings just outside of Colorado Springs. The girls loved this place.  Everything in it is size small.  And everything was "hands-on."  We climbed in and out of the dwellings.  The girls thought it was like a big doll house.  I kept wondering how pregnant ladies got in and out of those little doors every day.

Our next stop was the old mining town Cripple Creek.  Most of the touristy things were shut down for the season, but there was the Annual Cripple Creek Ice Festival going on, which was actually really cool (pun slightly intended).  I'd never seen the "making of" process before, so it was fun watching the dudes with their hair dryers and chisels.  The theme was "Children's Stories" so there was a Dr. Seuss display, Chronicles of Narnia, a couple ambiguous sculptures and an ice slide.  Good times.

We also spent some time in the town's museum learning about mining and how big a part of our state's history it is.  And I'm just gonna pretend that I knew about the link between Colorado's gold mining and the fact that there's a US Mint here in Denver.  'Cause the lady explaining it looked at me like I really should've known that.

After the lady at the tourist center told us that in all her life she only knew "a handful of people who had died on those narrow roads," we opted to take the road more traveled to our next destination, rather than the (in)famous Phantom Highway.  We got to Canon City just in time for dinner and a swim in the hotel's outdoor heated pool.  It was, according to our girls, the "best part of our trip!!!!"  And might I just add that John Wayne, John Bellushi, Jane Fonda and many other movie stars had stayed in that hotel?  They've got signs on all the room doors telling you who stayed where.  Our room had once been occupied by the lovely Goldie Hawn.  Apparently there were tons of cowboy flicks filmed in the area back in the day.  And the Quality Inn there housed them all. 

The next morning we headed to see the "second highest suspension bridge in the world!!"

Royal Gorge Bridge is suspended over the Arkansas River (I'm also gonna just pretend I knew that the Arkansas river runs through Colorado) and it is AWESOME!!  They've got a whole park built around the bridge--which is good and bad.  If you have a few hours, it's lots of fun.  But if you just wanna walk over the bridge and not do the other stuff--you still have to pay the park's over-priced entrance fee.  Unless you're with me, of course!!  I somehow talked the lady into letting Reid and the girls in for free if I paid my entrance fee. It probably helped that their biggest attraction--the Tram--was closed.  And it was off-season.  And we were the first ones there.  And i just have magical powers that allow me to do that sort of thing.

We had fun walking across the bridge.  And Eliza, for whatever cute reason, was absolutely convinced that hundreds of feet below her she saw "cwocodiles!!"  It was the cutest thing.  She was screaming it, over and over "I see cwocodiles!! I see cwocodiles!!"  And then she'd throw herself back down on the bridge to look through the cracks to see them some more.

The girls thought it was pretty cool watching Reid's spit take 15+ seconds to reach the river below.

And me?  i just panicked every time a car drove across the bridge while we were on it.  I mean, who decided that suspension bridges actually work anyway?  'cause I'm not sold.

On the other side of the bridge was the Mountain Man Encampment, the Wildlife Park, and the (closed) petting zoo.

And last, but not least--the Royal Rush Skycoaster.  We thought our girls would get a kick out of watching people do this, so we sat down and watched two ladies on this ride.  (We didn't know that they were Mrs. and Miss Potty-Mouths, or we probably wouldn't have been so close.)  But you know who else got a kick out of it?  Reid!  So much so, that he decided to do it!  Never, in a million years, would I ever consider doing this, so I welcomed my built-in excuse (thank you, unborn son o' mine).  But Reid got all gutsy and took the dive!  And, unlike the previous riders, when he dove head first toward the cement, he omitted the four-letter words and merely screamed like a school girl.  But by the time he started to swing out over the canyon, he was loving it! It was pretty awesome.  And i was totally impressed that he did it!  That's my man!   (note: my camcorder died moments before he plunged.  He denies having screamed like a little girl.  So it's just his word against mine... who you gonna believe?)

Our last stop was the one and only castle (that i know of) in Colorado.  I'm not sure what it takes to qualify as a castle, but the guy that built this thing-- with his own hands, from scratch--calls it a castle.  And if he wants to call it a castle?  I'm gonna call it a castle. 

I'd heard about Bishop's Castle several times.  But i never imagined that it was going to be so insanely HUGE!!!  It was amazing. 

Although their parents were panicked about the structural safety issues of the castle (e.g. steep staircases with no hand rails, a waiver that everyone has to sign, the fact that one dude just built this thing to tick off the government, etc) the girls absolutely loved this castle. 

Especially the "ballroom"

And what girl doesn't dream of dancing with her prince in a real ballroom?!?!

It was a fun little get-a-way weekend.  We loved spending some time with our kids.  They're at such a fun and easy stage to travel with.  And this was perhaps the last time our family will all fit in one hotel room!  I'm just glad we could share that room with Goldie.

Abby's 4th B-day

My little Abby turned 4!  granted, it was exactly 3 months ago....but still!! FOUR?!?!!?  How did she get so old?   

We had a fun little family celebration here at home.  She got gifts that she would NEVER have gotten if it weren't for the post-Christmas 75% off clearance section at Target.  And I totally plan on reminding her of that when the day comes that she figures out how ripped-off she is by having her birthday right after the Holidays.

And we invited a bunch of her friends to Chuck-E-Cheese for an evening of games, rubber-pizza (and Subway sandwiches that I sneaked in for the adults) and cupcakes.  I'd never really imagined any of our kids having a party at Chuck-E-Cheese.  But then again, there are a LOT of things that i never really imagined myself doing as a parent....

In spite of the bold "NO GIFTS, PLEASE" that was clearly typed in TWO separate sections of the Evite, she was still showered with presents from all her friends.  Abby, of course, was thrilled at the parents' blatant disregard for a pregnant woman's plea to not add more clutter to the post-Christmas chaos :)  She got a lot of coloring/crafty things....which have actually been really fun to work on.  And a couple books and games and cd's that she LOVES.  She really does like having things that she can call her own, and since she's so good at sharing with her sisters, i can't begrudge her a few gifts now, can i....

Abby continues to be the sweet and happy girl she's pretty much been since birth.  Although we're starting to see a bit more of a temper in her, she really is mostly the mellow sister that the other sisters want to play with.  She loves reading books with Mom, any kind of puzzles and especially GAMES!  She got Charades for her birthday (or was it for Christmas?) and she wants to play it about 3 times a day.  She's actually really good at it, too!  She loves memory games, Guess Who, and really just about any game that she can convince anyone to play with her.  She also LOVES movies.  Of all my children, she has the greatest...um...capacity to tune out all her surroundings and truly focus on whatever show in on the TV.  She's really not picky about what she watches, which is nice....i guess :)

Her speech has FINALLY really started to improve.  Even just in the past couple of weeks Reid and I have both really noticed her consciously choosing to say her "s" and "sh" sounds correctly.  She has known how to do it for 4 months now, but just in the past 2-4 weeks is she doing it without being reminded.  Her "R" and "L" sounds are still pretty rough...but those aren't considered a "problem" until she's like 6 or 7.  

She's my pickiest eater.  Granted, most of my friends will want to shoot me in the head for referring to ANY of my kids as "picky" but still....she's the least willing to try new things, and the most likely to try a bite or two of something and announce that she doesn't like it.  Of course her instinct to survive is stronger than her pickiness, so she eventually eats what's given to her.  But she often doesn't like it. 

She's the first one to wake up in the morning (and the first one to fall asleep at night), but is happy to just read books in her bed (the top-bunk) while she waits for her sisters to wake up.  Their room is pretty light from about 6:30 on.  They don't get up until 8ish.  And, unlike her loud little sister, i have NO idea how long she's been awake each morning when i go in to get them. Bless her for this trait of hers :)

She's very excited about her baby brother coming.  She's full of all sorts of questions about him, and about how he'll get here and what he'll eat and how he'll eat it. Side Story:  She asked Reid the other day if milk comes out of his "boobies", too? (don't judge me for teaching my kids that word to describe all upper parts of the female anatomy.  It just seemed so much better than any of the correct alternatives, okay!)  Reid said no and she asked him then why do you even have them?  And that, my dears, is a question i have NO idea how to answer?  any thoughts on that?

She LOVES to play pretend with her sisters.  She loves preschool.  She LOVES her ballet/tap class.  She loves watching Grace's soccer games.  She loves playdates with friends.  She HATES chores and cleaning up, although she's getting better at them.  She hates being excluded from ANYTHING.  She HATES getting ready for bed, though once she's in bed we almost NEVER hear a peep from her. 

She loves her mom and dad.  I wouldn't say she prefers one of us over the other, but Reid might say she prefers me.  Either way, she really is just happy to have us around.  And we feel the same way about her!

We love you, Abby!  

Christmas 2010-Part II

Remember almost four months ago when it was Christmas?  yeah, neither do it.  Which stinks 'cause there were a lot of fun things we did at Reid's family's house, but they're all long-gone in my pregnancy-induced amnesic mind.  Maybe this will teach me a lesson about putting off blogging....but probably not.

Although i remember shockingly little, what i DO know is that every time we go there--this Christmas included-- i feel even more grateful to have married into his family.  They are wonderful people who make me want to be a better person, and especially a better mom.  I, of course, can't remember the why, but I do remember driving away from there and talking to Reid about the fact that his parents and siblings inspire me to be a better mom.  Who gets this lucky with in-laws?  honestly?!?!

The girls LOVE their Allred cousins/grandparents/aunts/uncles.  They love Grandma and Grandpa Allred's house.  And I love how happy they are when we're there.  I also love how many other people are around that make it feel like a mini-vacation from my full-time job.  And when we go in wintertime, my dear sweet husband doesn't golf 18 holes/day, which is nice, too :) (honey, you know i love and support you in your hobbies, right? i'm just sayin'...)

Christmas morning was wonderful.  I'm sure it was.  If it wasn't, then i'd probably actually remember it.  

 Luckily I took some pictures to prove that we were there, fun was had, gingerbread houses were made, and that we all had matching jammies.  

Quick little update

January and February are typically my two least favorite months of the year.  Along with the post-Christmas slum that hits most years, having kids has turned those months into get-sick-and-stay-inside-for-60-days-straight months.  And i dread them. 

But this January and February have been an exception to what's hopefully becoming the old rule.  We have had two really, really great months here at our lil' house.  I think most of that is because my girls have been getting along really well--at least well for them.  They definitely still have their days--and usually they take turns having "those days" but for the most part, they're playing really, really well together.  I love having Grace in afternoon Kindergarten.  We are all in our best moods (well, usually) in the mornings and only two mornings a week do we have to rush out of here to get Abby to preschool.  So our mornings usually are a really good together time.   And this whole second trimester has been pretty good to me.  I've had way more energy, fewer moody days, and am sleeping better at night....not to mention i'm not lying on the couch all the time telling the girls that "mommy can't do that right now."  So i think part of what's made these past couple of months so great is just that Mom is back.

Grace has been "off track" for almost 4 weeks now.  And it's been wonderful.  I really like having her around more, and the lazy part of me really likes not having to watch the clock and make sure we get her to school on time.  But she was excited to start back up again today.  She loves her friends and teacher and learning.  She's doing really well at school.  She's a "top reader" in her class.  I don't really know what that means, but that's what her teacher told me.  She's not reading chapter books, but i think she could if she wanted to.  She enjoys reading to her sisters, and prefers books with pictures.  Can't say i blame her.

Grace started Girl Scouts a few weeks ago...and it was just in time to sell cookies. Cookie Week was a week of mayhem, but she did great and sold 60 boxes!  Granted, it was I who sent the email that resulted in most of those sales, but she overcame her shyness and delivered almost all of those boxes to the people's doorsteps.  She loves being a "daisy" and i'm enjoying learning more about the world of Girl Scouts, since I never did it as a kid.

Grace and Abby both started gymnastics last month.  I've been promising them for months that we'd get them started, and we finally did it.  They both love it.  Grace, who is insanely athletic (especially for an off-spring of mine!), is doing really well.  She's really, really good at it. Abby, on the other hand, seems to take more after me :)  Gymnastics is really, really good for her :)

Abby, however, is a little ballerina, and has started ballet/tap classes from this sweet lady named Miss Muffie.  Abby LOVES to dance, and is quite the natural at it.  She's got a little friend who goes to class with her, and she looks forward to that class all week long.  A couple weeks before we signed her up Abby went through a little grumpy/whiny/sassy stage.  Reid and I were at a loss as to what to do.  She's never really even been disciplined much because she so rarely does anything naughty.  So, we tried time-outs....but they didn't work.  We tried sending her to her room, but saw no change.  Finally, the day after her "trial" ballet class, I decided to take away "stars" every time she acted out.  And if she lost all her stars she wouldn't be able to sign up for ballet.  It worked like a charm!  She only lost 7 of her 15 stars, and she's been much more Abby-esque ever since :)

Eliza loves to wear her leotard to both the gymnastics class and the ballet class.  And doesn't seem to notice that she is not actually a participant at either.  Which is nice, since i have no intentions of spending a dime on any classes for her.  Poor third child!  Grace had done tumbling AND ballet at our rec centers by age 2.5.  Same with Abby.  But Eliza doesn't need to know that, does she... :)

As for baby boy--he's growing every day.  As is his mom.  I had someone ask me the other day if i was "close to delivery."  I wouldn't consider three months close, so i said no.  She probably felt bad.  But i think i felt worse. I feel like i am 8.5 months pregnant--at least.  Bending over, going up stairs, fitting in clothes--they're all so much more difficult than they should be at 6 months.  But that doesn't mean i'm at all ready for him to come out.  We are at such a manageable stage of life.  My girls are all so much more independent than they were last time we had a baby.  All of them get themselves dressed (Eliza actually does it better than Abby, who still prefers for mom to do it...lazy thing) and they all get themselves in and out of their car seats (well, Eliza has sisters help her get out) and they all take their dishes to the sink, put their clothes in their drawers, walk with me at the grocery store (giving me much more room for the food!) and feel like KIDS rather than babies!  It's such a lovely stage.  And what in the world are we doing LEAVING this stage?

They're all so excited for him to join our family.  Eliza hugs and kisses my belly every day.  Abby, who saw the reaction that Reid and I gave Eliza when she prayed "for the baby in mommy's belly" without any prompting from us, now includes the same thing in her prayer every night--and always looks up afterward expecting the same reaction.  Of course, I oblige.  Grace is the most anxious for his arrival.  She wants to know his name.  So do I.  Reid and I can't agree on a single name.  Though we both know we want him to have Reid as a middle name.

Reid's firm has allowed him to do a two-month "internship" at the City Attorney's office.  He's been there about 5 weeks and he is LOVING it!!! He's done 8 or 9 jury trials, and has won all but one of them.  He's a natural trial lawyer.  He jumped right into the whole thing and has just blown everyone away.  Although his hours are a tiny bit worse at this job than his normal job (he has to leave at 7am, before the girls and i get up, but he's still home by 6 most days), he has lots less work to do in the evenings, and he LOVES what he does!  And, for the first time in his career, I find myself actually interested in what he's doing :)  Who knows what will come of this.  Come April, he'll be back at his firm, behind a desk and computer, editing briefs and memos.

I am enjoying a relatively relaxed time in life.  No overwhelming projects going on, no fund-raisers (have i even mentioned that we raised the $$ and bought the chamber for my sister!?!!?!  i'm so behind!!!), no deadlines, no holidays to stress me out or make me sad.  It's just been a good, healthy, wonderful start to a new year.  And now spring is around the corner!!  I've started my tomato seeds, my compost is all decomposed, and my tulips are starting to pop up!  

Life is good.

Christmas 2010

There's nothing anyone could have said, although many tried, that could have prepared me for the heart-ache that would arrive with the Christmas season.  And it turns out that there was no project big enough and no to-do list long enough to stop my mind from constantly being turned to my mom. 

She loved Christmas.  And I loved the way she did Christmas.  Everything she did defines my version of the way Christmas should be done.   From homemade toffee and salami to homemade gifts and decorations--everything she did was just as it should be.

She would call me at least 3 times a day to discuss gifts for everyone, or just to tell me what she'd bought for the girls because she couldn't stand keeping it a secret.  Nothing made me happier than watching the extremely practical, frugal, budget-bound mother I knew growing up slowly turn into the buy-random-lavish-overpriced-unneccesities-just-because-I-can mom.

She would have loved to see all the work that my siblings and I did to raise money for our sister.  My mom worried about Cynthia constantly, and would call me all the time with ideas or questions about how we could help her.  She would have been "tickled pink" (her words) at the sight of all of her children pooling their resources for their big sister. 

She would have LOVED the fact that Reid, upon my request, clipped boughs from our blue spruce out front, threw them in the tree pot she gave us and made our own Christmas tree!  We weren't going to be here for almost half of the month, so it seemed like middle-ground between no tree and big tree :)

She would have loved to hear about the girls visiting Santa, and how Grace just spoke right up and talked to him--no tears, no fears.  And how he couldn't understand a thing Abby said, but responded with a perfect "Oh, that'll be nice."

I feel like I cried my (pre-pregnancy) weight in tears this holiday season.  I missed my mom more than I had since she passed away.  It had never felt so permanent.  So unchangeable.  I needed to call her SO MANY TIMES.  Between questions about Christmas, sewing/crocheting projects and fund-raising stuff--i just NEEDED my mom!!! And it hurt so much to think that she's gone, and that she'll be gone for all the Christmases to come.  The faith i have that I'll see her again someday, and that we'll be together forever did nothing to ease the pain of her being gone during the holidays--which was sad and made me feel like I was missing the whole point of the season. 

I thought it would help if I buried myself in projects, especially the kind she used to do.  So, on top of the fund-raising, I made a quilt for my dad and siblings--one that should have started in October or November--but didn't because of morning sickness.  I had these two pairs of her pajamas that were the inspiration for the quilt:

Both pairs, as you can see, were very pink, and i didn't want it to look like a baby quilt.  So with MUCH help from a dear friend of mine, Gina, i found just the right combination of colors and spent every free second in December working on this:

Even with all the quilting no-no's and short cuts i took, it still took so much longer than i'd anticipated!  But it was probably the only thing I did that made my mom feel closer.  Most things just reminded me how far away she is, but when I worked on this--it didn't feel like that.  So, although i complained non-stop about how this was stressing me out and taking over my life...the truth is, i really, really, really loved working on it. 

My favorite part is this little p.j. pocket :)

I didn't realize how much I needed to be with my family until we got to Provo a week before Christmas--5 of my 7 siblings were there-- and I felt like my grief was lifted.  There were people around me who were feeling as sad as I was--who also missed Mom. And I was home, in my mom's home.  I was able to "deck" my parent's halls (my dad had 'saved' all the Christmas decorating for us :) ) which was SOOO healthy and healing and good for my aching heart.  It was just so good to be back where all of my memories of her and Christmas take place. 

We went to the cemetery.  That was a beautiful and sad moment.  I hadn't seen my mom's grave marker yet.  It was a lot like when I first saw her obituary--it made it feel even more real.  Why does it need to keep feeling more real???

We sang some carols, including one of her favorites--The Holly and the Ivy.  We cried.  We hugged.  We grieved.  

We also had so many joyous moments.  For the first time all season, I was truly able to enjoy Christmas and all the wonderfulness that comes with it!

We had a birthday party for Kristie/Baby Shower for Jared and Kristie's little girl--Alia Kathryn Ashworth--who'll be born in a couple weeks.  And we even convinced the men in the family to play a baby shower game!  Granted it was Baby Shower Taboo rather than Name The Melted Candy Bar In The Diaper...

We play Celebrity Bowl Game (as always) and stayed up past 1am (as always)
(no photos...thank heavens)

We did a little Nativity with hymns and scriptures.

We ran barefoot in the snow (by "we" i do not mean "me"--i was the designated photographer :) )

We had a great time just being together.  It wasn't "my year" to have Christmas at my house, so this little jaunt to Provo for some pre-Christmas celebrating wasn't actually in the plans.  But plans changed.  And I'm so glad they did.  I don't know if I could have really enjoyed our next few days up in Wyoming at Reid's house if I hadn't had those three days in Provo.  It was just what I needed.

Catching up

I spent most of October and November wanting to puke, laying on the couch, and sleeping. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, since i really was able to hold down food, get out and take Grace to kindergarten every day, and maintain most functions as a mom. But when i wasn't absolutely needed throughout the day, I usually crashed.

I got feeling lots better right around the beginning of December, which is when life got insanely busy (as i'm sure it did for all of you) so I never got around to updating this sad, neglected blog.  But that's what January is for!  Here's what we were up to....

FALL FESTIVAL/ATTEMPT AT FAMILY PHOTO 2010:

We took the girls to the Littleton Historic Museum, which has a 1860's farm behind it. I foolishly thought we could combine this outing with a quick family photo. Bad idea.  I wish i could say that the biggest problem with family photos in general, and this day, was my kids. It wasn't. It was their father. Reid is the WORST when it comes to family photos! He is grumpy. He is ornery. From the moment I say, "let's take a photo" he is saying, "babe, the girls don't want to do this" in a whiny i-wanna-kill-him kinda voice. It is, to this date, the biggest ongoing battle we have. We can sometimes joke about it. But usually i just want to strangle him. His attitude OBVIOUSLY rubs off on the girls, so they're miserable. I'm trying to bribe them, keep them happy, and keep the steam from coming out of my ears, since i don't really know how to photoshop steam out. And we all look like we're faking being a happy family.

What i learned this day is that attempting such a feat in the middle of what SHOULD have been a fun family day was a BAD idea. It made for 5 grumpy people, all wanting to leave, but not being allowed to until we'd found the perfect pumpkins, played with pioneer toys and had some fun, damnit!

Anyway, here are the best we came up with.  Between the wind and Reid's "Girls, do you want to be done with photos?" i feel pretty lucky you can see most of our faces.

This photo really captured the entire outing--Abby was mostly pleasant, Eliza mostly cried and Grace mostly grumped.  If you'd captured my attitude in a photo, i'd probably have been giving Reid the bird.  HAPPY FALL FESTIVAL! :)

  

HALLOWEEN 2010:

Grace dressed up as Jesse from Toy Story. I somehow managed to make her some chaps, turn a white shirt into a Jesse shirt, and figured out a hat/hair ensemble--which all turned out really cute. (her red-yarn braid isn't showing in this picture, but it was cute!)

Abby dressed up as Little Bo Peep from Toy Story.  Somewhere, at some garage sale, i guess, i got this Little Bo Peep dress.  I never knew how thankful i'd be for it years later, when it saved me from having to make one!

Eliza dressed up as Mrs. Potato Head from Toy Story. Never in my life have i created something so homemade looking. I mean, it had potential, i guess, but WOW did it turn out homely. And you should see it in person. It was a mix of atrocious and adorable.  But c'mon! I was feeling really sick. And she's two. And it went really well with her permanently crazy hair (which deserves its own post).  And for whatever reason, everywhere we went--her costume got the most comments :). 

Some friends put together a little party for all our kids a week or two before Halloween. Eliza got to be Tinkerbell for this gathering....which i probably shoulda just stuck with...

VISITS FROM FAMILY/THANKSGIVING 2010:

Tom and Jana came out in early November for a brief but wonderful visit. Our girls were thrilled to have "baby Gabe" around (he's no longer a baby...but we can't quite drop the "baby" part....)
Jana and I crocheted up a storm--she is amazing and was so helpful in getting me jump-started for my sister's fundraiser. It was so nice to have them here!!

Reid's mom, dad and little sister drove through some nasty weather to join us for Thanksgiving. We loved having them here!
Reid ran a 5K Thanksgiving morning, and came home exhausted and with a sore knee. But that did not prevent him from tackling the turkey. He seriously prepared one of the best turkeys i've ever had.

The girls had fun making the rolls with Grandma.

The dinner was delicious.  The kids gobbled down 20 fingers worth of olives before the meal even began.   Everything was delicious.  And I was so sad not to have the stomach to eat even my first serving....but i made up for it in leftovers :)

After dinner we read some little papers we'd been collecting in a mug--things we were thankful for. We had Grace read the last one, which said "I'm thankful that my mom has a baby in her belly." She looked up and me and gasped, "What?!?!? Why does it say that?" She was completely shocked and so happy, she just kept hugging my belly saying, "my baby, my baby." Abby was happy, too. And Eliza didn't really get it. Reid's parents weren't really paying attention when she read it, so we had to re-read it. The whole "announcement" didn't go down like i had envisioned it. But it was a priceless moment, nonetheless.

Now onto December.....

It's a....

Just take a guess.  A stab in the dark, if you will.

Due: June 10, 2011

The girls (and their parents!) are all so excited to have a little boy in our home.  From the moment we told them why mommy was on the couch all the time we were having a baby, they've been pretty certain that it was a little boy.  Considering how much sicker i've been this time around, how much weight i've gained (!!!) and how i couldn't get enough protein (yes, meat!) for the first 3 months--i was thinking it was a little guy, too.  But really, going into this ultrasound this morning, I realized that truly i just wanted to see a healthy baby in there.  And we very thankfully did.