Certified

May of 2009 seems like a lifetime ago.  I was talking to a friend about how Kyle and I have shared so many big events in the short amount of time we've known each other~graduations, our wedding day, new jobs, travels to various countries, moves in and out of many an apartment/dorm/home park house, and now our baby.  So many wonderful new adventures makes the week that we were wed seem much farther in our past than it really was.  Maybe you get this way too; when we are approaching a special anniversary (our first date, our engagement, wedding), I love to revisit pictures of those seasons.  I'm often surprised by Kyle's hairstyle or find a picture I am positive I've never seen before.  Well, I found a treasure that seemed so relevant to what we were up to today.

Everyone loves to get their marriage license in Marietta where they can also pick up a license for firearms (see door).  Don't be frightened by my face~it was a trial run for bridal make-up.  Kyle was appalled so my look was toned down.  Also, seeing Kyle here reminds me that one friend said he looked like Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's love child.  I married Albus Severus Potter....

Why would this have anything to do with today?  Well, we received an official document that marks a new Ham fam accomplishment....

The tiny diploma states that we have completed training for childbirth preparation.  This is the face of one proud, sleepy daddy (sadly, when baby and I don't sleep, Kyle can't snooze solo.  Poor fella).

I would have loved to have the gift of prophecy on that day in the court house to tell my groom that exactly 2 years down the road, we'd be 1/3 of a pregnancy away from having a baby boy.  It's better that we didn't have the foreknowledge; that's how a bride gets on the fast track back to being a batchelorette.  Still, I think of the French word impressionnant (impressive/awesome/spectacular) when I reflect on how many wonderful things can happen in such a seemingly short period of time.  I can't fathom the next two years being so action-packed, but time will tell on this matter.

Briefly on the birthing class~ we learned lots of great information about labor and delivery.  Our classmates were friendly and our teacher was great.  At times I was super discouraged by talks of how wonderful epidurals can be and even let fear get the best of me when we discussed emergency C-sections (turns out they use epidurals for this much more than general anesthetics).  All in all, though, I took lots of great notes and have plenty of questions for my physician at my next appointment.  Plus, Kyle and I practiced a lot of relaxation and breathing techniques that involved a good bit of massage (for me!).  I loved all the quality time we got to share preparing for this.  Is it weird that I had a good time?  Perhaps... Would it help you to know that Kyle took me on a lunch date to Fresh Market where we picked out some tasty bread and chicken salad?  We have more for lunch tomorrow!

On a final "soapbox" moment about the class, Kyle and I agreed that for clinical purposes it's important to see a good bit of the female anatomy.  We viewed videos for labor, 2 deliveries, and breastfeeding.  Where we had problems were when it wasn't necessarily a breastfeeding segment, there were topless mamas feeding their wrinkly tots.  I am a super easily embarrassed girl and know I don't want folks being able to see me nurse.  I know all aren't like I am, but I definitely have a problem with Kyle seeing other women nurse (he does too, in case you're wondering).  We have a hard time understanding the lack of modesty~ for me, my body is to be seen by my husband and physicians and me ONLY!  Somehow, we believe the "beauty of childbirth" and the (sometimes militant) views on breastfeeding maybe make it okay to show so much in so many videos.  Am I crazy for thinking it's inappropriate for not wanting to see topless women in any form with my husband by my side?  I can't in my mind make it any different than if it were in a movie or a Victoria's Secret catalogue... Perhaps I'm a jerk, but I'll never be okay with using nursing clips outside of instruction on breastfeeding for women (and maybe for men if they are asked permission in advance if they are comfortable viewing the material). 

Let's end on a lighter note!  Kyle is reading a big book on bread (as seen in his lap in the picture above).  He read about pentosans in rye bread and thought it might not be good for pregnant girls.  He was mixing it up with pitocin, a medicine givien to induce labor. I'm impressed that he got so much new vocab today at class.  I probably don't need to avoid rye breads though....

Un magnifique épi de blé! Translation~ A magnificent ear of wheat!  My husband has some serious baker skills!

Fuzzy Brained & Sleepy

I've been wanted to write all this week, but I just haven't been able to muster the brain power.  This is for a girl who never lacks anything to say~ Kyle can vouch for the fact that I will talk sometimes until he asks me to stop.  Well, it's been a very bad sleep week.  Bad sleep yields sluggish mental abilities during the sunny hours.  I have some thoughts on pregnancy that I will share later, but for now here's how I'm looking....

28 weeks~ It's officially the third trimester!

This picture is a mystery~ it almost doesn't even look like I'm pregnant.  Probably user error on my part with my fuzzy photo skills....

Time to rest a little bit so I can muster my remaining brain strength for some quality time with a friend this evening... Look at that~ I used the word muster twice in the same entry.  Lame. Happy Friday!

There will be plenty of time...

...for a baby, when we have a baby.  Boy oh boy, this is how I feel we are living these days.  We have had a wonderfully full calendar.  Last Friday Kyle and I drove up to North Carolina for a visit with his family (one last hoorah with Kelly) and a baby shower!  It was a wonderful time full of food and friends and quality time with more of the extended family.  Let me tell you also that Southern women know how to do showers.  Kyle attended a typically female-only event in order to greet all the ladies who spoiled us so severely with baby goods.  If he hadn't come, I'd have been opening presents hours after the guests had to scoot along and tend to the rest of their days.  Baby items literally filled our car to the brim.... want to see some of what we got?

Diapers galore (many more packs not pictured)

A closet full of clothes

Stack of jammies ordered by stage of life/size

Is it a diaper bag?

No!  It's a travel bed for infants with cutie mint chocolate chip-colored blankets!

Little companions for our little man~ to me they look like they are enjoying a relaxing time in a hot tub... unsavory little friends.

We came home Saturday night in order to attend a (mandatory) membership Sunday school class at church.  We really love Church of the Apostles in Atlanta and are glad we found a church home after many months of searching.  The afternoon was spent chez nous with Audrey who helped me sort through our mounds of baby goods.  Kyle, of course, baked bread and we watched Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  It was good~not great; it won't be appearing on my Christmas list this year.

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Monday we had a tour of Northside Hospital with a number of expecting parents.  My mom reminded me that this was where I made my world debut nearly 27.5 years ago.  It's a family tradition, I suppose.  The tour put my heart to rest on a number of things.  I can now visualize where all the action will take place and know that Kyle will have somewhere to sleep in the room with me both during labor (but he really won't be sleeping then) and recovery.  The coolest discovery we made was that my OB has a secret parking lot entrance straight from the office to the women's center.  I imagine some sort of scenario where he slides down a pole in normal civilian attire but arrives in his secret lair sporting his super doctor suit and cruises in a sweet ride to the hospital to save me from myself.  It could happen...

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Tuesday I had a lovely brunch with my Bible study class.  We'll be taking a break for the summer so this was sort of a farewell-for-now party.  Doesn't it always happen that you really connect with some person/people in the group that you've been at for months right when things are coming to a close?  I can only blame myself because I told myself since January that these ladies probably wouldn't be interested in being my friend because I'm so much younger (and therefore, less informed, naive, silly, *fill in the blank with any self-doubting adjective*).  Gah~I'm my own worst enemy.  Well, now I have new friendships to look forward to in the fall when we pick up again.

My summer Bible study review cards~ Facts on one side & memory verse on the other

I laminated them myself.  Super geeky...

Wednesday night I cooked dinner for Kyle, and we attended small group together.  Now cooking dinner may not sound so special, but when we first moved into our apartment, I committed to being Susie Homemaker big time while I was looking for a job.  For about 2 weeks straight, I was perfect~ unpacking the home, lining all the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, cooking dinner every night, etc.  Well, cooking is not my forte.  Like anything else you commit to doing with such intensity, the motivation disappears, you let it slide one day, and the next thing you know you've been eating yogurt and cereal for dinner for a month.  So~ new resolution?  Well, momma's got cook.  My goal is cooking one meal a week for Kyle as well as making a snack for small group each week.  Last week I made sausage & pepper grits (cheesy grits, I might add) and this week I made tuna fish casserole (with plenty of leftovers!).  I also worked up some rice krispie treats for small group, and they were a hit.  Once I feel confident about these undertakings, I'll add a second meal to my weekly goals.  Slow and steady for the meantime...

Last night Kyle took me on a hot date to Waffle House (this girl & baby crave hash browns something fierce).  Then we headed over to our bird watching supply store to find a solution for mounting our feeder.  We ended the evening strolling around Barnes & Noble in the kid's section.  Can you believe Kyle had never read The Giving Tree?  We had to read it right then and there.  As Kyle is turning the pages and reading aloud, I just get emotional about how sweet it is and the tears well up.  Oh, pregnancy~ I love the power of the emotions but expressing them in public is not favorite.  I mellowed out when we wandered to the cookbook section (Kyle's favorite bookstore region).

Today I have the busy task of writing thank you notes.  Why did it take me a week to get started?  I left my list of gifts & givers in North Carolina... I'm such a dork!   Happily, I have some fun cards from my friend, Maria, to make the process more enjoyable...

Does she look like me?

27 weeks!

Farewell, 2nd trimester.  Hello, maternity pants!

Tonight~ we are having dinner in Atlanta with some of Kyle's French friends followed by worship night with the young families from church (singing, prayers, and desserts).  Saturday~ there is nothing on the calendar and we are going to soak it up!!!  Happy weekend friends!