29th Week Profile and Happenings

Well, we've had our 29th week check up. We met with a new mid wife, and we both really liked her. Her eyes remind us of Vicki's/ Mom's. We have news that the glucose test was high, so now I'm on a special diet for three days. It consists of the basic food groups, but they require a minimum of servings and a limited amount of sweets. Little did I know that one tablespoon of honey, jam or syrup would be the limit for the day. Wow, that's extreme to me. So, Wednesday I then go in for a three hour testing of your glucose level again. They draw blood four times. You all know how much I really dislike that.

Good news is that the mid wife has requested that we have another ultra sound to find out what the sex of the baby really is. We didn't even ask for it. We are assured that the number of ultra sounds won't harm the baby, so there's no need to worry. This appointment is Tuesday...two days away. Yeah. We really love seeing how "she's" moving and looking at "her", so we're excited.

Last night we went to a performance of the Nutcracker here in Alamogordo. They have a quaint, but good sized theater. The performers were local and it seemed like most of them were in high school or younger. The talant was excellant considering that. We certainly appreciate their hard work and efforts, but at the same time appreciate the sound of the live orchastra and the professional talent you see in larger cities.

This is not all the evening had to offer. We went out to eat with our friends the Shockleys first. This eating establishment was new to all of us, and it was very nice. It was set up like a bed and breakfast where you eat in different rooms of an old house, so it was like having a private party Victorian style. This is a good place for out of town visitors to experience too. After dinner we walked to the theater. It was only a block away.

So, we all dressed up a bit. It was nice to have a reason to dress up. Since my Mother (Vicki) has questioned that I'm even pregnant because she couldn't tell in photographs she's seen lately, we've attached this picture from last nights events. You'll have to tell me if you think the belly looks like it has eleven weeks left.

I can speak for others who write blogs as well when I say that we like to hear comments. Then we know it's worth putting the information out there.

Thanks

First Time Dishes

I've attempted ginger bread cookies for the first time, and I thought I'd share how they turned out....well, you can see but not taste. ;) It took me quite a while to make them actually, but it was fun once the decorating with the icing and sprinkles came along.





Also, we had a lunch party with Adam's squadron. I finally had the tour of the building he is working in. It was nice to see. The lunch was a pot luck with a theme of ethnic dishes world wide. I made a rice dish that I grabbed off of the internet. It was Brazilian rice with onions, beef boulion flavoring with crumbled gorganzola cheese, salt, pepper and a bit of margerine added at the end. It was unique and worth the try....at least I could say people ate it. ;) Leanne Shockley came over to cook her dish this morning too, so we had fun chatting and cooking. It's nice to have a friend like her here in Alamogordo.

Christmas is Here

Since everyone that checks this blog out is a very long distance away, I thought I'd include a picture of the Christmas decorations. This is our living room that you walk into from the front door. It would be nice to paint the walls, but when we're renting we just couldn't justify it. Especially if we are only here for a short time. So, Home Depot and Walmart are the places you can purchase trees in Alamogordo. They ship them from Oregon as far as I've noticed. You can also get a permit of some sort from the parks and recreation in New Mexico and cut your own in the mountains. They offered the same thing in Colorado.

We hope you are all enjoying your decorating and all of the wonderful fragrances that come from the pine trees, candles and such. (Deep breathe in through the nose....Ahhhh).

Adam's Results and Baby

Morgan asked for Adam's results from the marathon. I left that part out. Oops!

He finished in 4 hours and 20 minutes. I might be off on the seconds/ minute. He beat Opra Whinfry's time. She didn't run the Philadelphia race. She ran the New York City one at the beginning of November. Adam didn't train as much as he would have liked, but he injured his foot and that limited him in the end. He even had a bit to drink the night before the race, and I was worried that he'd feel like the plague had hit him in the morning. BUT, he ended up beating his previous marathon time by five minutes. Granted, this was at sea level and the previous race was in Fort Collins, Colorado. Never the less, he did have a better time. Maybe it was the support of his parents that pushed him along this time. ;)

The latest baby update is that my waist just below my belly button is 40-1/2" around. During the Thanksgiving week JoAnn would think I was bigger every day. I think she was correct. I'm carrying it low. I thought the "wives tale" for that was that the baby would be predicted a boy. Who knows. I know that everyone just carries differently.

We had our first doctor's appointment with the hospital here in Alamogordo last Friday. It was alright. It is more of a clinical experience rather than a carrying one we had in Denver, but all that matters is that the baby and I come out of this healthy and safe. We have the option of one of four different nurse mid-wives delivering us. We met with one last week, and we are going to eventually get aquainted with all four by the labor hopefully. There are two doctors that are on staff. We were told that the only reason we would ever meet them would be if there is a complication with the labor or we need to have a C-section. Oh, and the mid-wife had to do another pap smear, because she didn't see the results of two tests the first time I had one back in Denver. That wasn't the most fun experience I've had, but I know I should get use to being uncomfortable. We have the next appointment on Dec 15th. It might be every two weeks now.

I took the glucose test last Monday. They have you drink a sugary orange soda kind of drink and wait for an hour. Then, they draw your blood to check your insulin levels to check if you have diabetes. Once again this blood drawing technician was excellant. She was talking to me as she did it, so I wasn't thinking about what was going on. ;)

Well, the baby should be about 14" long head to toe and weigh about 3lbs. That's exciting. She's been moving around A TON. I haven't been sleeping very well the last couple of nights, but it's not too bad. If that's the worst thing I have to say, I am thankful. I want to add that my cousin Jami had a beautiful baby girl Nov. 29th. They are both healthy and well. I am so incredibly happy for them!

Since we've been back from Connecticut, I have job searched. My resume is out at numerous places around town and on the base, so I'm waiting to hear from possible employers. I have heard from Ricca Newmark Design which was my place of employment in Denver. They have a lot of work for me that I can hopefully get started on today. Boy oh boy, it is hard for me to sit around the house day after day. Frankly, it drives me crazy. ;) I am praying that something comes up.

Yesterday, Leanne called though and we hung out at her house a bit, picked her daughter up from school, and went shopping for some Christmas gifts and things to wear to the Air Force Christmas party tomorrow. It was fun, and it made me excited to have a little girl. Her daughter, Liberty, was debating which earings look best and helping her Mom when she was looking at clothes to buy. I noticed their bond and love, and it just made me excited. It was also fun to scope out the school parking and picking up of kids. There's this whole strategy Leanne has involving where you park, who is parked in the way so no one can get by, what time some parents show up (1/2 an hour before they even let the kids out), the cross walks kids get around on. It's this whole strategy,as I was saying, that I've never thought about.

Marathon, Thanksgiving and Travel

Since the last posting, quite a bit has happened. First of all, Adam ran in the Philadelphia marathon November 19th. Adam's parents, JoAnn and Chris met us in Phily to support Adam, and to bring us back to Connecticut to spend time with them for the Thanksgiving week. Adam and I enjoyed our time with family, and got our fill of the east coast. Though we spent most of our time with JoAnn and Chris, we also visited with Aunt Patty and spent some time with Andrew and his girlfriend Cori. I can't leave out Ty, the family's dog. He's a great dog, and we had fun playing with him.



Here Adam had just finished his race. The museum in the background is the well known setting for the "Rocky" movies. You know of those famous steps I'm sure.




This is a good candid shot of the exhaustion Adam was feeling and his parents there for him.















They handed out this "cape" to the finishers. It helped keep them warm. The weather was chilly, so it came in handy. Adam was stretching when his Dad was next to him. It sure was nice that they had all of these fences around. They came in handy for those who needed something to lean on. ;)








While Adam was running, Chris, JoAnn and I went sightseeing a bit. We stopped by the Liberty Bell. They had quite a bit of history to read about it, and the actual bell is pictured above. It was quite a bit smaller than I was expecting, but non the less it was neat to see.


This is a view from the airplane when we were landing in El Paso, TX. Much of the land looks like this. The green "dots" are shrubs or brush.










These photos are of the mountains in the area. The picture on the left is in El Paso. Juarez Mexico is on the other side of them. The picture on the right is of the mountains that border Alamogordo.