Done with Blogger

It occurred to me not so long ago that I'm going to need to change the name of this blog pretty soon. So the other day, I set out to remind myself how to do that and also to change the background. And, low and behold, I find out that MY gmail account does not have access to that part of MY blog???? After lots of hassle, I have decided to forget it and start up a new one. You can find it here: http://katcez.wordpress.com/ . It's not finished yet, but I was able to import all of my blogger posts to it. So far, I'm finding wordpress to be a bit more complicated but I really like all the customization they offer.

Happy Reading!

Big Girl Madeleine!!

Miss Moo has used the potty twice!! Oh, how glorious it would be if she was out of diapers by December……

Another trip to Cayman

We went with all of my extended family on this trip, with one exception - J. He had to stay behind and go to school and take a trip to Virginia, poor guy. We had another great time that just didn't last long enough. Both girls loved playing in the sun - Claire loves the sand and beach, while Madeleine much prefers the pool. Good thing we had lots of people willing to help! If you're interested, here are all the shots from the trip - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Claire was quite the photographer with Aunt Luby's camera, and I think you'll be able to tell which ones she took.

And now, August looms, with lots of preparation in store for school starting up soon and a very special 5th birthday party coming in September!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Prince Charming

I forgot to mention the other details from the ultrasound the other day: He's weighing in at a whopping 10 ounces, which puts him in the 22nd percentile. We also got to see him yawn a great big yawn, and he spent most of the time with his fist in his mouth. He was so wiggly the tech left for a bit because he was just not cooperating and holding still long enough for her to make the measurements she needed to. And, the best news of the day was that his heart looked just fine. We had a little scare at the earlier ultrasound when they found a marker for a heart defect, but it's gone now! We'll go back in about another month for the next look at our BOY!!!

The other 20 percent

So way back during our first ultrasound, the baby was lying funny, but the tech was pretty certain this was yet another little girl - 80 percent, she told us. Well, turns out she was 100 percent wrong! We had another ultrasound today, and, no doubt about it this time, this is a BOY! We are shocked and excited, again. (This child sure does have it out for us.) We were afraid of telling Claire, who had proclaimed this baby a girl with the name of Cinderella a long, long time ago, but she took the news surprisingly well. She decided that Cinderella would be a silly name for a boy, so she's now on the lookout for a new name. As are we - looks like there will be no Beatrice or Camille joining us just before Christmas.

Wow, a BOY! Time to shop!!!!

Lately

Things have been busy around here lately. Here's a bit of what's going on with all of us......

Claire is doing great. She's made a nice little group of friends, and she's all set to start school in August. She's also growing like a weed, although we can't seem to get over 31 lbs. She's up to size 5 shirts and dresses and size 4 skirts and shorts. Fashion and jewelry are big interests at the moment, with pink still being a necessity in all outfits and pants still on the "no way" list. She's finally letting me put her hair in a ponytail as long as a trip to the park or the splashpad is in the immediate future, but otherwise it must be down with some sort of huge flowery headband perfectly in place. And, thanks to the movie Tangled, she hasn't had a haircut since she turned 4. She's also reading, and it's pretty crazy how good she is. She won't admit to it if you ask her if she can read something, but then she asks a question about some detail in a book or on tv that she could have only read. Her favorite book at the moment is a reference book about the ocean, and she can't wait to go back to Cayman so she can "snorkle like H". She's also fascinated with planes and has decided she wants to be a pilot, specifically of an F16. Amazing what 5 months at an Air Force base will do to ya.

Madeleine is also doing great. Conveniently, all of Claire's friends have little brothers and sisters her age, so playgroups are fun for all. She still seems to be more interested in sitting and eating rather than playing, but that's fine with me. She doesn't seem to be gaining much, if any, weight, but she is getting so tall. She's just about outgrown her 18 months clothes length-wise, which is a huge bummer since C spent about an entire year in that size and we have tons of clothes. Her hair is bleached from the sun right now, but definitely wants to go reddish, and it is CURLY. She must have pigtails, otherwise it's one big afro mess back there. She is learning new words every day, and her pronunciation is getting better and better. She can also identify quite a few colors and C has started teaching her some letters. It's so very cute to see them sit on the couch together and read a book. M is also starting school in August, and, as long as this little Mommy-only phase we're in goes away, I think she'll do great. She's going 3 days a week, which is more than I originally wanted, but I think by December I'll be wishing it was a boarding program.

J has had quite a few big accomplishments at work lately. He's been awarded two separate grants, with one requiring research at CERN in Switzerland. We're hoping space is available for him next May so we can all tag along. He also just started his PhD program with AFIT and seems to be enjoying it so far, as much as someone can for just being 3 days into it. I have no idea was 75% of the words he uses means, but I have a feeling it won't be long until I'm back in the swing of it. It's definitely weird to hear him use words and phrases that I haven't heard him say in 8 years. And when he's not reading some weird nuclear engineering or military book, he's running. He's training to do another marathon in September, so that will be exciting. C can't wait to watch him race.

I'm doing just fine, too, just trying to rest as much as I can. For those who haven't heard yet, we're expecting Baby#3 in December! I'm 16 weeks along, which makes my due date Dec. 15, my birthday. We've had only 1 ultrasound so far, and the consensus is that this is another girl. She was lying a bit funny, though, so we'll know for sure in about a month. J is not surprised in the slightest, but my symptoms have been completely different this time around, so I was thinking boy. I have absolutely zero sweet tooth, and I could eat peaches, grapes, and raspberries all day long. I can feel her move every once in awhile, and she already has some super kicks since my shirt has already started to jump when she gets me. We haven't come up with any names yet, and if J gets his way, none of you will know until she's born, anyway. I'm working on him to tell the name earlier, but we'll see. I usually have no luck when it comes to that.