Peeping Tom

Today we had an appointment with Kappi Rushing, our certified nurse practitioner. She answered all the questions we had about pregnancy, preparing for delivery, delivery, and our first few months with baby. After spending an hour with us, she checked on the sonogram room for availability. There was a two minute opening between appointments so she quickly tried to look for signs of a boy or girl. Unfortunately, there was no clarification. The baby was in an odd position and we were unable decide on a sex in the one minute we had. We really appreciate her trying and had hoped to find out the sex today, but we will have to wait for our next appointment on April 30. 

Gettin' Knitty With It

Since moving to Natchez, I have learned to knit.

Stella started me on knitting and has introduced me to several

women in town who also knit. They have all been very encouraging and helpful. Instead of starting on a scarf or something easy, I dove right in and made a stuffed monkey for the baby. He is a large monkey with plenty of imperfections, but I think he is adorable and no one will have another like him. And if the monkey alone didn't make me smile enough, seeing Hyde practice getting ready for Baby Carby certainly does!

Buddha Belly

Friends and family have been asking me to post a picture of my belly.....well, here you go. This was taken on Saturday, March 28, the first day of my fifth month. It may not seem like a big belly yet, but it looks a lot bigger from above! I will keep you posted with more pictures as it grows.

This week, the baby will double in weight to around 3.5 oz. and will have a crown to rump length of 4.5". (Picture your hand open. ) We are going to the doctor Monday and will keep you updated on Baby Carby.

Viking Cake Decorating

Stella, Bettye Jane, Jan and I went to a Viking cake decorating class on Sunday, March 22nd. Our class of 10 spent 6 hours learning the tricks of cake decorating. We used several different icing tips and practiced stars, leaves, shells, rosebuds, roses, the rope, and the basketweave. Personally, the basketweave was my favorite. We learned to level the cakes before stacking and the proper way to add icing between the layers. Simple sugar for extra flavoring and moisture, tricks to add the icing to bags for piping, and smoothing techniques are just a few things we learned. We left with 4 beautiful cakes and NOTHING to clean up! I think that might have been the best part of the class....no cleanup! I had a great time with my mom, mother in law, and sister in law. I hope we can do it again soon!

one down - two to go...

Today, the baby is twelve weeks and six days old, and we finished the first trimester (give or take a day or two) with flying colors. According to our rockin' baby doctor, Dr. Guedon, mama bear and baby bear are right on track and the picture of health. That's how we do it down here in God's country. A few vitals - 6.56 cm. This is about 2.6 inches (or .071 yards, or 4.06 x 10 ^-5 miles). The heart was thumping at 155 bpm. Our rockin' doctor also noted how big the noggin is. Paternity confirmed!

Thanks to the wonder of 4D ultrasound technology, we were able to see the baby kick its legs and touch its face doing its best Elaine Benes impression. Don't miss the Popeye forearms in the top left picture. Hyde says the baby will be cast in the sequel to Sly Stallone's "Over the Top," the best movie about arm wrestling out there.

The 4D ultrasound is truly amazing (the picture with the golden tint is representative of what you see on the screen). You can see the baby doing "the little kicks" REAL TIME and in high definition. Seeing a living, moving, functioning baby the size of a large plum inside Lee's belly was an inspiring experience to say the least. The placenta - the part they do NOT talk about in movies - obscured the views of the baby, but as he/she grows and squirms around, that should change for the better.

We will be end the pink v. blue debate in late April. Lee thinks boy. Hyde thinks girl.

Another year, another birthday.

Hyde celebrated his 29th birthday today with the help of the Carbys and Roberts. Mollie, Gaston, Bettye Jane, Charlie, Stella and Philip sang Happy Birthday and ate hummingbird cake to help him celebrate.  Happy Birthday Hyde!

MooMooChicken Update

Mom and Dad sent me to school on January 11 in Tomnolen, MS at Outback Lab. This is where I was born and I have several of my cousins in my class. Freddy McCrory works with me every day and I have learned to sit when told, stay until told otherwise, and heel to the left leg. I walk beside Freddy or Hyde's left leg, but never walk in front. I can also retrieve the dummy on the ground and in the water. I showed Mom and Dad how I could retrieve a dummy 40 yards in the water when they came to visit February 8th. I have become a very good swimmer in the 3 weeks I have been at school. They were able to give me lots of hugs and kisses (and mom only cried a little when she left). I can tell they miss me tons!!