Long-Overdue Update

WOW, it's been a really long time since we've updated our blog! I guess life has really been catching up with us. Between working long hours, chasing around after a 3.5 year old, and attempting (hah!) to keep up with the house, it's been tough to update as well.

Oh, and there's this...

(Yes, that's a very faintly positive pregnancy test...that's what you get on day 14!!). So yes, we're having a baby! All 3 of us are very excited, although I admit this pregnancy has been much less fun than the first one. Between the instantly-pooching belly (seriously, at like 4.5 weeks); the strong aversion to pretty much every smell I encounter on my daily walk to work downtown (exhaust, anything resembling a food...); the terrifying bleeding that started at 6 weeks and continued throughout my 1st trimester and into my 2nd; the unbelievable irritability (sorry family!); and fatigue so extreme that I've more than once fallen asleep with my head on the dining room table while Jeff and Amanda talk around me, I've seen better days. It's disappointing, because I so enjoyed my first pregnancy, and really I don't have that much to complain about - no serious nausea and so far I'm still down about 5 lbs from my starting weight (despite feeling and probably looking like I'm about 6 months pregnant!). I keep telling myself I'll feel better "when"...but when hasn't quite arrived yet. I thought by now (17.5 weeks) I'd be hitting that lovely 2nd trimester energy spurt, but it hasn't happened yet. I will definitely feel reassured when I feel the baby moving more consistently, but this one doesn't behave very well and I'm getting only faint and intermittent sensations that could possibly be the baby. On the upside: I've had 2 ultrasounds, both of which looked good, and am really looking forward to the 20 week one (on March 17th), to which we're hoping to bring Amanda. So really, everything is good! Baby is due on August 6th, but will probably arrive sometime towards the end of July.

So what else is new with us?

• Amanda's music lessons continue to go great. She had her first recital last weekend and we were so proud of her! She didn't get nervous, even a little bit - she was just so excited to get up in front of everyone and perform. She also played a pretty hard song (Mary Had a Little Lamb) for someone who only started a few months ago and is one of only two 3-year olds in the class, and did really well, although she got a bit lost in the middle; she totally recovered by the end and felt great about her performance, which was the most important thing! We celebrated with dinner out with her grandparents, then ice cream cake back at our place. A few photos are posted on a Flickr set; here's Amanda performing the "Sunshine Song" with her class:
  
  We have a videotape of her performance but haven't pulled it off the video camera yet...will update here once we've got it done (maybe this evening).
  
• Christmas! Well, we had a great Christmas although it felt pretty low-key this year. We announced our big news to both Amanda and our families on Christmas eve, after having a very reassuring first ultrasound early that morning, so that was fun. Didn't take as many pictures as we usually do, but there's a set on Flickr, and here is my favourite picture from this Christmas - Amanda and my Dad on Christmas eve (Amanda is wearing her Christmas nightie, handmade by Grandma):
  
  
• Jeff had a particularly exciting start to his year, with two surgeries - one pretty minor to remove a thingie from his lower leg, and a second more serious to remove his gall bladder. It's quite a relief to have it all over with and for both of us (especially him!) not to have to worry about the possibility of another gall bladder attack. He is recovering well although I think it was harder than he expected.
  

Hmm, sadly that's about all that's been going on with us. We will try to update more frequently with info about the new little monkey and everything else that's going on in our lives!