sara without an h

proud, full, nervous, and excited.

I'm so sorry that things have been quiet around here for a few days.  this past weekend was incredibly busy, and today the dust has finally started to settle.  on friday i came home from ohio and attended the opening for travis' thesis exhibition.  his speech was wonderful, and his work looks great.  i'm so proud of him!

our parents and travis' brother were here all weekend, so saturday and sunday were equally as busy.  everyone except for my mom left yesterday.  she is here until wednesday morning.  saturday night we enjoyed an amazing meal at our favorite restaurant.  sylvie tried both octopus and rabbit for the first time and loved them both!  she also went to town on some rosewater black pepper ice cream and some butterscotch pudding.  my girl can eat!  in fact, in the almost 3 month since she started solids, she's enjoyed raw salmon, duck tamales, palak paneer, lamb shank, fish and chips, curry, and goat cheese.  my baby is awesome.  just sayin'.

next step:  BABY-PROOFING.  sylvie is this close to crawling, and is scooting/log rolling everywhere.  she has such busy hands.  i feel like she's into something potentially unsafe every time i turn around.  NOT COOL.

on a separate note, a big CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin, marci!  she is expecting baby #3 this fall.  travis, sylvie, and i can't wait to meet the little guy or gal!

texas y ' all.

these are two of my favorites from the past week. she's a big ball of personality while awake, but still my squishy baby when sleeping. we're packing up for our big holiday trip down to texas! i'm beyond excited to spend sylvie's first chirstmas surrounded by both sides of our families. i hope houston, dallas, and austin are ready for us. stay tuned for updates from the lone star state!

when sylvie met meme and pop-pop.

travis' grandparents stopped into town today as part of their annual cross-country RV tour. here is a video of pop-pop singing her a little song. never mind the shoddy camera work. travis momentarily forgot that turning the camera sideways doesn't translate well in video. oops! it is a sweet moment, nonetheless. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR882yPVQMg] and a picture with her great grandmother, meme: we're off shortly to a little cookout at a friend's house. go go gadget porta-baby!

4D ultrasound.

we had our 4D ultrasound this morning.  sylvie did NOT want to cooperate.  she had half of her face snuggled into the placenta the whole time.  we never did get a shot of her entire face, but we got enough partial face pictures to piece it all together.  we saw enough to know that she has super chubby cheeks, really long fingers, and a full head of hair!  i suspected our girl would have some hair.  travis was born with a full head of thick, black hair.  i am also happy to report that she has my lips, travis' nose, and an adorable little chin. in this first picture you can see the bottom of her face and both of her hands. when this was taken she was playing with the umbilical cord and waving it around! here is a decent shot of her face. just look at those full, little lips! we also verified that she is DEFINITELY a girl. phew! all-in-all, even though she was uncooperative, i'm still extremely glad that we did it. it was amazing to see her moving around in there, playing, and stretching. we got to see some of her personality for the first time, which was incredible. i would highly recommend doing an elective 4D scan if your health care providers don't have the option. i'm also glad we waited until 34 weeks to do it. she had an adorable amount of baby fat to look at! we're about to head out to dinner with my parents. i hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

34 weeks and 1 day.

sylvia finally dropped and it's way better than i thought it would be. yes, there is now some insane weight in my pelvis, but the pain in my ribs has substantially decreased. it still burns like crazy when i get into bed for the night, but it is much better throughout the day. i'll take it, waddle and all! my parents are coming into town tomorrow for a weekend visit. we're going to do some last minute shopping before sylvie arrives. at the very top of my list is a good breast pump. do the mamas out there have any recommendations? other than that i need a set of comfortable pajamas and a nightgown for the big day. one thing i love about our hospital is that they let you wear your own clothes all throughout labor and birth. i want to hit up target to get a long, super soft nightgown for that. i was so relieved to learn this! the hospital gown they gave me when i went in for my gallbladder was horrible. it tied in the back in big knots and still managed to expose my tuchus to the world. other than shopping we're planning on a nice dinner at travis' restaurant and lots of quality family time. it's been a super fun week with all the visitors coming and going. i can't believe that the next time i see everyone will be after sylvie's birth. i feel like there's still so much to do, but i know it will all get done. travis and i are shifting a few pieces of furniture around tonight to make more open space in the living room. i think eliminating all that clutter and opening up the room will make me feel a lot better. it will also make me feel better to finish up this last illustration commission today so i can focus on more baby-related projects. her crocheted afghan has been awfully neglected the last few weeks. the original purpose of this post was to show off some 34 week bump pictures. travis took these earlier this afternoon. sylvie, i can tell that you're getting cramped in there! just stick it out for 3 more short weeks. then you can come anytime you like! your papa and i can't wait to meet you. it's all we talk about these days, and we're about to bubble over with excitement. stay healthy and strong and keep on growing! we can wait until you're ready. i love you, baby girl. if you don't mind, please take a moment to vote for us.  we would love to be back on the first page again.  thank you!

family.

travis' parents are in town today and tomorrow. it's been wonderful to spend some time with them before sylvie's birth! we ate dinner on the lake tonight and had a great time. it's family time now so i'm going to cut this short. enjoy what's left of your weekend!

earthquake! (not really.)

i woke up around 3 o'clock this morning thinking i was in the middle of an earthquake. i was tired, disoriented, and my whole body was vibrating and shaking. it turns out it was just sylvie doing a very spastic dance in my belly! it was bizarre to say the least. i have a prenatal message booked for tomorrow afternoon. i am beyond excited. travis has been telling me to get one for a while, but i wanted to wait until i got really pregnant. well guess what, folks? i am really pregnant! i'll be 34 weeks tomorrow, which means only 3 more weeks until sylvie is full term and 6 more until her due date. speaking of that due date, i'm fairly convinced she will make her debut a little early. it may just be wishful thinking, but i have had a few dreams that she will be born on august 24th. the nurse who taught our childbirth class said she sees a spike in births during a full moon. travis' grandfather, an OB-GYN, said the same thing. i just found out that august's full moon is on the 24th. coincidence? maybe. then again, maybe not. only time will tell. as long as she's healthy i could care less whether she comes early, on time or late. however, i would prefer if she didn't hang out in there long enough to be induced. my midwife and i will try every natural method of induction first (herbs, essential oils, walking, etc.), but she won't wait longer than two weeks past due to start medical interventions. i was over two weeks late and travis was 6 days early. baby girl, this would be a good time to start taking after your daddy! in fact, just go ahead and take after your daddy. he's patient, kind, and can sleep anywhere and through anything. i, on the other hand, am irritable and an extremely light sleeper. eh, who am i kidding? you will be perfect no matter what. ******** we had a wonderful visit with travis' parents. they were kind enough to get us sylvie's pack-n-play (which will also be her bassinet), a boppy pillow, and some other adorable baby items. we had a great time with them and i can't wait to see them again after the birth. later on this week my parents are coming in for a visit, too! my mom got us an elective 4D ultrasound for a a first mother and father's day present. travis and i are beyond excited to see our little girl again on thursday! my practice doesn't perform a third trimester ultrasound unless complications arise. this means that we have only seen sylvie twice, the last time being 15 weeks ago. i hope we get a good look at her chubby little face! the ultrasound tech told me that 34 weeks is the perfect time for facial picture. she won't be super duper squished yet, but she'll have a fair amount of baby fat on those cheeks. i really can't wait! now i think it's time for a couple of hipstamatic nursery pictures! i have a lot of work to get done (illustration commissions and cleaning) before our next batch of visitors. i had better hop to it!

eastbound.

i leave for my hometown bright and early tomorrow morning! i can't even begin to tell everyone how excited i am. we have so much fun stuff planned including my parents' 40th anniversary party, our baby shower, my sister's birthday, lounging by the pool, and trivia night at my favorite bar (i'll have the root beer, thanks). my posts will probably be short and infrequent over the next week. i apologize in advance for this, but life is for living. and i have a lot of living to fit into the next seven days. i'm all done with my packing and ready for bed. it was a LOOOOONG day today! auggie had to go to the vet and he did his best to make the experience as unpleasant as possible. he's pooped. I'm pooped, and i have my alarm set for 6:45am, so i'm going to call it an early night! goodnight and a pleasant tomorrow!

sylvia ' s namesake.

my nana. wasn't she beautiful? i wish i had known her better.

the gallstone gourmet.

since there's not much i can do about my gallbladder until after sylvie is born, i've decided to embrace the whole ordeal! the one thing i can do now is modify my diet. in order to minimize attacks, i need to cut out red meat, most fats (saturated especially) and cut down on refined sugars. i can do this! starting monday, don't worry baby will have a new weekly feature entitled the gallstone gourmet, wherein i will post gallbladder friendly recipes and tips! i know a fair amount of pregnant peeps read this blog, and some of you may even have gallbladder issues, as it's not uncommon during pregnancy. let's get healthy! i'm out to prove that it can be easy, fun, and (most importantly) delicious. that aside, travis and i are back in indiana. our trip to columbus was a ton of fun (except for the five or so hours i spent in the hospital), and i always enjoy staying with my in-laws. they are really like second parents to me and are two of the kindest people i know. they even gave me my first mother's day gift--a bag full of goodies with which to pamper my pregnant self. in fact, it's been a loooooong day. i think i'll go put those scrubs and lotions to good use before i turn in for the night. i hope everyone has enjoyed the start to the weekend. happy friday!