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I don't know how I ended up with such a great little traveler, but Nate did great again yesterday for our flights home. I was pretty miserable not being able to breathe (I caught Nate's sickness with a vengeance over the last 3 or 4 days), but I'd much rather be the one who is sick (not Nate). I'm feeling pretty terrible again today, but I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be better.

Here is Nate on a walk with Grandpa:


And playing with Mimi:


I'm 30 weeks along today! That means the baby is close to 3 pounds and over 15 inches along. He/she is still a mover and shaker, especially when I sit down or lie down. I feel huge but know I'll still get much bigger from here...

:)

Nate has made a nice recovery and was acting much more himself yesterday and today. Even better, he slept through the night last night and the night before, which makes for a much happier Mama. We're having a good time just hanging out with the family and taking it easy. I'm looking forward to being home with my husband tomorrow, though!

VA

Nate was an angel for our travel day yesterday. He was fascinated getting to see so many airplanes up close (for months, he looks for and points out every plane we see in the sky at home). We had a row of 3 seats to ourselves for the OC-Atlanta flight, so we spread out and Nate watched a few videos, ate some snacks, etc. He even clutched his blanket, sucked his pacifier, and sat still for a good half hour (he should have been napping, but sitting still and silent is nearly as good). The Atlanta-Lynchburg flight went quickly, and now we're here! Nate is definitely still sick, though. He was up several times last night and is back to being kind of cranky/fussy/sad today, with what seems like a slight fever. That just means to me that God answered the prayers of everyone who prayed that the travel day would go smoothly yesterday!

Still going

Nate is worse, not better, but we're still going to VA tomorrow. He's running a fever and has the worst cough he's ever had, but I really want to visit my family and know my mom will help me take care of Nate, sick or well. The major downside is the day of travel (including a layover). Alone. With a sick 20 month old. I'm bringing our portable DVD player (an absolute lifesaver without which I would not travel) and lots of videos, some books, snacks, and prayers. :) We'll be back Monday night.

Weekend

We had a wonderful time on the retreat. It was a low-key retreat without much planned; we all just played games, went on a nice walk, some went snowboarding (not me), ate out twice, had some times of worship, some of us girls scrapbooked, etc. The cabin we stayed in was REALLY nice (it belongs to one of the participants' uncle). It has 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths; Jon and I had our own room and own bathroom. Two couples did have to share a room, but that's it. It was relaxing, fun, and beautiful!

We came home to a happy but sick son. :( Nate has a fever, cough, and stuffy nose. He is still acting OK, though, so it's good to know he isn't miserable. I pray that he feels much better by Thursday, though, because he and I are going to Virginia for a last-minute trip! I'm very excited.

Banana

Retreat

Jon and I are going on a marriage retreat this weekend to Big Bear with 6 or 7 other couples from church. I've really been looking forward to it! Nate will be staying at Ray and Colleen's house. This is the second time we will have left Nate with grandparents for more than a quick overnight (the retreat is 2 nights). Nate likes it so much at Ray and Colleen's house that he most likely won't notice we're gone. It's nice not to have to worry at all.

I'm looking forward to some time with friends and with my husband... without school! Since Jon started University of Phoenix a few months ago, he has been so busy with it. I am so proud of him for doing so well--working a more-than-full-time job, taking care of a wife and son, and getting great grades in full-time college classes! But doing all of that means that he gets home from work every day, eats dinner with me, and goes right to work on school work. He's usually still working when I go to bed. Weekends aren't much better, since his classes have work due usually on Fridays and Sundays. Anyway, he's trying to have his work done for the weekend so we can have a true retreat. I can hardly wait!

Better

Today was the first day in nearly a week that Nate slept until later than 6:00 a.m. Who knew I would ever rejoice to get to "sleep in" until 7:00?

Night before last, I had a vivid dream that I had our baby, and it was a boy--but we still hadn't picked out even one boy name we liked, so the baby went nameless for a few days. In the dream, I ended up calling him Eli, but I think that's because my friend Ricci's 4-month-old son is named Eli (Elijah).

Audiology appointment

I'm no longer sure Nate is sick. I think he just might be having some monster-strength teething. He woke up a little after 4:00 today and was up for good at 5:00 (in a good mood at least). What happened to last week, when he slept in until 8:00 every day?

Nate and I got back from his audiology appointment a few minutes ago. It went well, and he has normal hearing. Nate sat in my lap in a chair in a small room with a window (how's that for 4 prepositional phrases in a row?). Anyone who knows Nate knows that keeping him in a sitting position, especially in my lap, is a feat in and of itself! I lured him with Honey Nut Cheerios. Anyway, in the room there are two speakers, one on the left and one on the right. The doctor turned on various noises (quiet static, different pitches of a whistling noise, etc.) in one speaker or the other and observed to see if Nate would look toward them. If he did, a toy just below the speaker would light up and play. The doctor also spoke through a microphone a few times in the left or right speaker. Nate seemed to respond to most all the cues if he wasn't trying to get out of my lap. He did well. So no surprises today!

Changing plans

Nate woke up this morning with a cold. Bleh! If he's sick, it changes most of this week's plans--at least any plans that involve someone else watching Nate. I was going to go in for my glucose test (a pregnancy screening to see if I have gestational diabetes) on Wednesday and have my neighbor watch Nate, but she has a 9-month-old daughter. I have really been looking forward to getting my hair cut on Thursday, and Casey is supposed to watch Nate, but she has 4-month-old Bennett. I just remember not wanting to watch someone else's sick child when Nate was really little (heck, I still feel that way now). And unless Jon can get home early on Wednesday, I will probably have to stay home from AWANA because I shouldn't put Nate in the nursery. Nate has his audiology appointment tomorrow, which I will still take him to. I hate when Nate is sick!

Progress

Jon and I have really been encouraged in the past 6 weeks or so with Nate's development. It's like having the evaluation at the end of November spurred something in him! He has become much more interactive with others, especially other children; he started doing the sign for "more"; he learned all 9 of the shapes in a puzzle he got for Christmas (I ask, "Where is the [trapezoid, circle, triangle, pentagon, etc.]?" and he picks up the correct shape); he points to objects in books when asked where they are; he now pays attention much more often when his name is called; he seems to understand even more of what I say to him. It is a bit of a relief. Several people who know what they're talking about (educators, etc.) have also known that the word "autism" has floated around in reference to Nate, but they have commented to me that he does not fit the picture of the other kids they've seen with autism, even high functioning autism. That is promising. We still aren't sure if we'll take him to the pediatric neurologist, but at this point I'm leaning toward no.

Promised pics

Here is Nate in his new car (and the first picture has the back/side of our house in the background). :)

Car

Jon did get a car on Saturday! It's our first car purchase together, since we have had the Sentra and Tiburon since before we got married. Jon traded in the Tiburon, so now he'll drive the Sentra and I'll drive our new (well, new to us) 2006 Dodge Durango. It only had 12,000 miles on it. I'm super excited!--especially now that we don't have to worry about fitting car seats and passengers into our vehicle. :)

Update

Jon is in Buena Park at this moment possibly buying a car. Our Sentra has been great 'til now, but the only way it will fit the new baby's car seat and Nate's car seat is if the passenger seat is pushed up all the way, leaving essentially no leg room (I'd have to sit Indian style somehow). So Scott is with Jon right now as an impartial voice of reason and because Scott is a great haggler.

I've been searching for different fabrics to use for crib bedding if this baby is a girl. I want to do green and pink and have found some really cute ones. I'll choose between the first two paisleys (either the simpler just pink and green one or the more elaborate one) and try to find coordinating fabrics like the ones below those.















Nate has an appointment with an audiologist next week (1/9) for a hearing screening. Jon and I are both sure he hears just fine, but this is a "rule it out first" precaution I guess. My mom and grandfather have genetic hearing loss, so it is of course a possibility. The referral for the pediatric neurologist has also been approved, so now it's a matter of deciding whether we want to take Nate. The pediatrician told me that every child he refers to the ped neurologist does get diagnosed with autism--it's like every child has some sort of symptom that could be assessed that way. So he said that, if we do take Nate, we should take the diagnosis with a grain of salt. The reason we would still take him is that, with a diagnosis, Nate is ensured the highest quality therapy (at no cost to us). So we'll see.

Signing

I have signed to Nate since he was about 8 months old. I say I sign to him because he has never done any signs in return. I got discouraged with the whole signing thing after 6+ months of him not getting it, so I mostly stopped except for every once in a while when I'd try it for a day or two. He finally got it on Saturday, though! He realized that, when he does the sign for "more," he gets more food without having to make a fuss. He doesn't do the sign exactly right, but hey, I know what he means!



I should mention, too, that Nate has never clapped before!

Merry Christmas!

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2:8-14

LE

Our friends Neil and Casey came over last night (with their 3-month-old, Bennett) to have dinner and exchange gifts. They gave Nate a Little Einsteins (LE) book, and I just know he is going to love it. I don't have any LE paraphernalia at the house, though I have browsed the children's book club I joined to see if they had any LE books, but they don't. Nate still watches LE every morning and often one in the late afternoon while I make/start dinner. I haven't showed him the book yet because I'm waiting for Jon to get home from playing basketball. I figure I get to see Nate do a million cute things every week while Jon is at work, so if I can save something and let Jon do it with Nate, then I will.

News buff

Nate is fascinated by the ticker at the bottom of the news channel. I don't know what he's doing here, but he does it nearly every time it's on.



P.S. There was obviously not a lot to report on.

Labels and new look

I've been having fun today applying labels to lots of my posts. Blogger finally caught up with everyone else and has a new version that allows this. My labels so far are Baby #2, Cute things Nate does, Deep thoughts with Katie Varela, Editing, Flute, Jon and me, Nate's development, Parenting, Pictures, Pregnant with Nate, Trips/holidays/events, and Work.

Funny, but this post doesn't fit into any of those categories.

And you'll notice the change in look, I'm sure. I'm still messing around with it and will make some more changes I think.

Christmas thanks

Christmas card drawn by my 7-year-old student (whose 9-year-old sister takes lessons too):