Fine Dining, Famous People, and Baby Jail

On February 19th Doug and I had our much talked about Valentine's/Anniversary/Birthday dinner and a show date. We ate at a restaurant we had never been to in Durham called Blu Seafood and Bar which I picked almost solely because they had pistachio crusted trout with roasted grapes. I have had a variation of only one other time at Doug and Keri Petersen's rehearsal dinner, though I think it was pecan crusted with grape salsa. Doug got the shrimp and grits and we were both very happy with our choices. This was taken before dinner and after the mediocre crab enchilada.


So, dinner was good, on to the show. Doug was super sweet and bought me VIP ticket to see No Reservations: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain at the Durham Performing Arts Center which is extremely nice. Tony was in a good mood and the talk was very entertaining, he even got a few laughs from Doug. It was only about an hour long and then 15 minutes for questions and on the the private book signing. This was where things got a little disappointing.

It was pretty much of an assembly line: write your name on this card so he can personalize, have the book open to the title page, he'll look up if you want a picture, etc. So, I finally get up there and the one time he does look up for Doug, some lady is all in the way. Then the people behind me had him writing this whole long inscription and I'm feeling more and more like a dork just standing there, so Doug just takes the picture and this is the impressive shot we got:


Seriously, we're like best friends. Notice the box of Pepto on the table, apparently a constant companion. As it also turns out, the instructions should have been, "write down what you want him to write." I wrote my name as instructed and this is what I got:


I still enjoyed the evening very much, but my attitude of not getting all excited about meeting famous people was reinforced. Specifically: don't expect too much.

We certainly have other things in our lives to be happy and excited about. Grandma and Grandpa Robert came to visit this weekend. We were at DSW shopping Saturday afternoon for shoes for my apparently already enlarging feet when I got a call that our crib was in at Babies 'R Us (BRU to those in the know). It was a whole 2 days earlier than the shortest lead time we were given! Not quite the baby furniture horror stories I read about online. We hijacked or neighbor with a truck and went out to Capitol. It was amazing how many people were in this crappy little shopping center. Chuck E. Cheese and BRU were packed. I can't say I've ever seen a line to get into a Chuck E. Cheese, but we sure saw it yesterday.

I must say I am extra happy with the timing because I didn't have to help put the crib together at all! Here are the boys in the early stages of assembly.


A little further along...


It's a crib! Or baby jail as I've heard it called. I know I'm wearing the same shirt as Thursday. It's on of the few long enough to contain both my boobs and my belly and still cover the belly panel of my new maternity jeans (thanks, Mom!) I came downstairs and Doug said the jeans made me look thinner. I laughed because I'm 4.5 months pregnant! I guess it's just that now I have an excuse to have a belly.


I then had to turn sideways because I didn't "look pregnant enough" in the straight on shot. I'm wondering what sort of growth I'm going to be experiencing here shortly. It doesn't seem like I could have a half-cooked baby in there. The matenity jeans are too big, but regular jeans don't work either. I think I had better enjoy this "small" time. I have the feeling it won't be too much longer.

And finally, big brother Dozer was supervising the whole process. He even helped by taking a trash bag up during the unpacking stages. (He's not really that helpful. I tied it around his neck and had Doug call him upstairs.) Here he is practicing threatening intruders with his laser eyes to protect The Bug from danger. Good job, Bubba! Though I'm not sure The Bug will appreciate her bodyguard gnawing on bones while she is trying to sleep. We'll have to find him a quieter hobby.


In Bug news, I am definitely starting to feel her moving around from the inside. The traction table at the chiropractor seems to inspire her to engage in baby aerobics. I guess soon we'll be able to feel it from the outside so Doug can join in the fun.

Until next time,
Love and Bug Hugs

The Bug House at 4 Months

I don't like having pictures taken of me, but we have to document my growth as well as The Bug's. Here I am in the attic after Doug thoroughly beat me at pool. And Yahtzee. Dangit.

It's a girl!

Well folks, sorry it took some time to get this post up (Daddy was being slow on the scanner) but I finally hassled him enough. The technician seemed very sure and The Bugette (thanks Parker!) was not being shy. So to make sure we have plenty of things to embarrass her with later in life and because it occurs to me that this is the only time you can post a picture of your child's little bits on the internet without getting arrested, here is the telltale shot! The arrow is conveniently pointed at the area of interest.


Here is one from the side with a little profile action going. You can also see the spine and heart in this one and the top half of a leg with femur.


I'm going to post this last one even though it's a little creepy. It's her face, but we're seeing the bone structure so it's like a little skeleton baby. I turned it on it's side so you get the full effect. I think you see little hands on the right side and the bladder at the bottom. I'm sure that dot is just an artifact of the film, but it sure looks like an eye! (New info as of 2/17: I was looking online at other people's ultrasounds and I came across one almost exactly like the one below complete with the circle. So maybe is is her eye!)


All in all the exam went very well. She is on schedule for growth ( I don't know about me, I'm working on getting a belly picture up soon). All of the important parts were located: kidneys, bladder, brain, heart complete with four chambers and umbilical cord.

Send us your ideas for girl names! Until next time,
Love,
Christie, Doug, and The Bug