My First Appointment

Yesterday was my first visit to the doctor's office for my prenatal checkup and first sonogram. The baby was still too small to see, but I was able to see my yolk sac (gross!) and my embriotical sac/membrane. I also got checked out thoroughly by the nurse and everything seemed to be fine. Mark was with me the whole time, and really interested in the free book that I got in my goodie bag from the doctor's office. The sonogram was interesting, even though the baby is too small to see. Mark and I thought we saw the baby's heart flicker, but the nurse said it was too early to determine what that blip on the screen was. After taking six vials of blood, some urine, and a pap smear, I was allowed to go and eat some dinner. My next appointment is on the 17th of August and hopefully it won't be as invasive as the last appointment. I thought I would have a picture to go with this post, but I will have to wait three weeks before I do. Overall, it was a good experience. I am excited to learn more about my baby, and I am really excited to get all of my stuff out of storage this weekend, see my family, and spread my stuff out in my new house.

Oh, and my due date is March 27, 2008!

A Place to Stretch Out

Today we are going to sign a lease on a cute little house just outside of Roanoke. We are really excited about being able to have our stuff with us and to relax a little. It has three bedrooms, an eat-in kitchen, a large bathroom with double sinks, and a big front porch. Here are some pictures. We move in on Wednesday.

This is the front of the house.

This is the view from the front door.

This is the side of the house.

So, we are ready to get settled in here in Roanoke. The people are nice, they have actual seasons here, and we are really happy here. Mark always said that he wanted to retire here, so now he gets to see if he wants to or not. The only thing we have to do here is mow the grass, so we are going to have to find a lawn mower!

Plum Vomit and Sesame Seeds

There are a lot of August birthdays in my family. I have come to the conclusion that the reason for this strange phenomenon is that there is something inherently romantic about Christmas: a roaring fire in a fireplace, candles burning, lights twinkling, a beautifully decorated house, thoughtful presents, family and friends visiting and sharing hilarious stories, etc. Apparently the members of my family cannot resist the charm of the holidays, so nine months later a baby enters the already large family.

Mark and I got married the day after Christmas, not so that we could miss the holiday season fertility period that seems to snare so many of us, but because we were so in love with each other that we simply could not wait anymore to be together. When we came up to Virginia, our bond seem to grow stronger and we became more relaxed and a lot more happier, even though we had been living in a hotel room together for weeks.

At the beginning of this month, we moved to an extended stay hotel, where we could spread out a little better and start cooking our own meals. On the fourth of July, we went to one of Mark's professor's house and watched them shoot off firecrackers. We drove back home slowly, pulling over to watch a few random fireworks every once in a while.

So far, all of this seems like random thoughts, I realize, but what pulls it all together was when I realized that I was pregnant and confirmed it yesterday by peeing on a special stick that told me I was before I could even flush the toilet. My baby is now the size of a sesame seed, and I am on week five of my forty week journey. I have to stay calm, even when I feel nauseated when I smell a magic marker, or when I throw up a plum in the bathroom at work, or when I cry when I read advice about not doing any heavy lifting. We don't have wills, a house, a big enough car, a plan for our lives, or a plan for the upcoming month. I don't know anything about parenting, except for what I have seen on Supernanny or The Dog Whisperer.

I always said that I didn't want to know the gender of my babies if I ever get pregnant. Now that I am having a baby, I think that I would like to try to not know. The only reason that you would need to know the gender is so that you could pre-buy gender specific clothing and accessories, but I think that it is good to not limit the colors and types of toys and accessories that a baby can play with because that is a cultural limitation that does not make sense to me. Whatever. I will have to be more active on my blog now, since Kirsten pointed out that we are apart and everyone is dying to know what is going on with the baby. I have my first sonogram planned for next Monday. Hopefully, there will be a picture to accompany my next post.

Photos of Hollins University

This is the walkway up to the library at Hollins University.



This is the library. It has five floors and is very beautiful inside and out.



This is the other part of the circle of grass in front of the library.



This is the view from the walkway, off to the right. The chapel is behind the tree.




This doesn't relate to my last post, but I thought you would like an update and photos.